"]This enhanced book includes the entire text of Rob Bell’s The Love Wins Companion, A Study Guide for Those Who Want to Go Deeper, and eleven exclusive author videos. Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God’s love and God’s judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this “good news”? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the “good news” is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love Wins.

"]Love Wins Companion [aka Study Guide] offers support and resources for individuals, groups, and classes wishing to further explore the ideas presented in Love Wins and includes brand new material from Rob Bell.
Love Wins Companion includes:
• Insights and commentary by theologians, scholars, scientists, and pastors
• An in-depth exploration of Bible passages on heaven, hell, and salvation
• Detailed chapter summaries, discussion questions, and study guides for individuals, groups, and classes
• Excerpts from several historical works that speak to the breadth and diversity of Christian viewpoints on heaven, hell, and salvation.
• New material from Rob on his mission for the book, the positive and negative attention it has received, and some thoughts for readersNow available in the US but not Australia!!

Looks like I’ll have more to review soon.

Here’s one of the videos: vimeo.com/32165364

I’ve just downloaded it to my Kindle. Looks good - here is the “Contents”…

Foreword - Do Not Be Afraid by Jack Heaslip
Preface by Rob Bell
How to Use This Companion by David Vanderveen

Chapter One - What About the Flat Tire?
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: A God Who Loves Questions
Group Exercise: Knowing Your Story
Discussion Questions
Reading: Questioning God by David Dark
Reading: The Temptation of Religious Success by Oswald Chambers

Chapter Two - Here Is the New There
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: Earthly Heavenly Visions
Discussion Questions
Reading: Going to Heaven? by N.T. Wright

Chapter Three - Hell
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: (Almost) Everything the Bible Says About Hell
Group Exercise: The Hell Download
Discussion Questions
Reading: Becoming a Deep Reader of Scripture by Clayton Libolt
Reading: Hell on Earth by Shayne Moore

Chapter Four - Does God Get What God Wants?
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: “All Things”
Discussion Questions
Reading: The Secret by Peter Rollins
Reading: What Is Eternal Life? by Pope Benedict XVI

Chapter Five - Dying to Live
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: The Metaphorical Riches of the Cross
Group Exercise: What is the Gospel?
Discussion Questions
Reading: Melchizadek, the Magi, and the Isa al-Masi by Glenn Parrish
Reading: Stingy Orthodoxy or Generous Orthodoxy? by Richard J. Mouw
Reading: Confession by Donald Miller

Chapter Six - There Are Rocks Everywhere
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: The Cosmic Christ
Group Exercise: Where Are the Rocks?
Discussion Questions
Reading: Playing With Rocks by Jack Heaslip
Reading: All Right. You Can Come In by Anne Lamott

Chapter Seven - The Good News Is Better Than That
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: Telling The Right Story
Discussion Questions
Reading: Trusting the Story God Is Telling by Cathleen Falsani

Chapter Eight - The End Is Here
Overview by Rob Bell
Going Deeper by David Vanderveen
Bible Study: Parables of Urgency
Discussion Questions
Reading: Do You Really Believe Anything Happens After You Die? by Frederick Buechner

The Wide Road Called Orthodoxy - Selections from Historic Christian Teachers on Last Things
Q&A with Rob Bell: An Interview by David Vanderveen
Contributors
Permissions
About the Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher

I’m looking forward to using this with some small groups at St George’s!

I have to say, I snickered pretty hard at David Vanderveen’s title for the Bible Study on Chapter Three.

(I gave Rob a lot of flack for his misleading statements about how many “hell” texts there are in the Bible.)

Thanks RevDrew! I take it that’s the contents of the Study Guide? Has anyone got the videos yet?

I read the LWCompanion and did a review on it at Amazon. Has anybody else read it yet? I would be interested to know what you thought.

I felt it added to the debate on a philosophical level while giving people encouragement and tools to study for themselves (a chapter on studying the Bible and another with a step by step guide on how to do word studies using a lexicon etc.,)

However I thought it was disappointing how the authors continually made claims that ultimate reconciliation is indeed what Scripture teaches and what God must to be up to, only to negate it throughout the book. This was done not by giving any evidence or explanation but simply by stating they weren’t “universalists” and that, “ultimately no one knows the answer” (pg 79).

But I think the discussion questions are excellent and I would love to explore them in community as they are intended. Now, to find a group among our traditionalist friends who would be willing to go through them, (ha!) Actually we are praying for the opportunity to go through it with some “unchurched” friends.

So bottom line is, anything that encourages thinking, studying and exploring around this issue is an important contribution.

“phillip”

amazon.com/Love-Wins-Companion-Study-Deeper/product-reviews/0062122800/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_pop_hist_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar