As far as we have been able to discover, Pastor John Rose of Attleborough Baptist Church of Norfolk, England, has not made a public statement about its “hell sign,” and there is nothing about it on either of the church’s web sites when I checked on June 10. I wrote the church but didn't get a reply. I found a report that Rose is 69 years old and was ordained as the church’s pastor in February of this year. The matter has been reported widely in the British press (including The Times, The Mirror, The Express, and The Daily Mail) and beyond, and since the pastor has the world’s attention, it seems like a hugely missed opportunity to preach the gospel. But then again, I couldn't find the gospel anywhere on the church’s web site, and it appears that they are more into social work than gospel work. In fact, it appears that they are associated with the liberal Baptist Union of Great Britain. Even though Attleborough Baptist Church appears to be shaky in its position, this is still a major, major freedom of religion issue. Where are the Bible-believing churches of England? They could use the opportunity to preach the gospel as well as to push back against the growing persecution. Why not post similar signs all over the country, accompanied by the Good News that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took the sinner’s just punishment when He suffered so horribly and died on the cross, and the resurrected Christ offers eternal salvation to every individual who will receive it? The Creator with whom we have to do is most definitely a holy Judge, but what He loves most is to be a Saviour for those who repent. Of course, the sad reality is that there are so few true Bible-believing churches in England. Even the “evangelicals” have jelly for spiritual conviction and backbone. An example is Mark Fairweather Tall, pastor of Norwich Central Baptist Church. In an opinion piece published by Network Norfolk, Tall supported Attleborough Baptist Church’s freedom of speech, but he hurried on to state that he doesn't believe that preaching on hell is relevant and seemed to indicate that Rob Bell’s position that God doesn't send people to hell is viable. He wrote, “In recent years there has been renewed controversy (particularly through the book by Rob Bell, ‘Love Wins’) over the long-term debate about whether a loving God would actually send people to hell. Whatever side of the argument you might come down on, I believe we have to seriously question whether the message of hell is the message we should be sharing” (“What message do church notice boards send?” Network Norfolk, n.d.). By the way, there is a Christian baker in Colorado who is bolder and braver in the face of persecution than a whole host of modern pastors. (See the report “Christian Baker Refused to Be Bullied” in upcoming post this Tuesday.) (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143) Comments are closed.
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