Theological Critique of McLaren, Pagitt, and Rob Bell

Mark Driscoll recently articulated the three streams of the Emerging/Missional Church movement (taken from Ed Stetzer), providing insightful, irenic but firm theological critique. Before leveling his critique Driscoll says:

“I don’t want to be the man known for what he is against or to be the man who is known for what he is angry about (though I do get angry), or to be unnecessarily unpleasant to men who have been pleasant to me.”

1. Relevants (Dan Kimball, Don Miller, John Burke) – Evangelicals who retain evangelical faith expressed in relevant ways

2. Revisionists (Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt) – Driscoll points out that these men, whom he loves and has relationships with, are advocating serious theological errors. McLaren questions the centrality Christ’s substitutionary atonement, calling it divine child abuse. Pagitt sees no contradiction between Christian faith and homosexuality. Pagitt states that the virgin birth is an unnecessary doctrine.

3. Reconstructionists/Reformers – Reformed, contextualizing churches.