Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Aaron Rodgers Rejects Eternal Conscious Torment

Aaron Rodgers Rejects Eternal Conscious Torment

February 11, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Aaron Rodgers and Theism, eternal conscious torment, Rob Bell and Aaron Rodgers

Famed Super Bowl winning and future Hall of Fame quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers, lit up the internet when he spoke about how he rejected the faith of his family, the faith he was raised in.

In an article entitled, “NFL Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Questions How Anyone Could Believe in God” (which you can see here), Amanda Casanova, a ChristianHeadlines.com contributor, says that Rodgers “has questioned the existence of God.” Yet in the quote she gives, he doesn’t quite say that: “I don’t know how you can believe in a God who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell.”

What Rodgers is expressing is a denial of ECT, eternal conscious torment.

Casanova goes on to confirm that she refers to a 2017 ESPN the Magazine story in which “Rodgers talked about his friendship with Rob Bell… a preacher and author who wrote a book that questioned the traditional teachings of hell.” She then quotes Rodgers from that article: “Listing all the ways in which Rob has positively impacted my life would take up too much space; so I’ll simply say that he has inspired me to live life with a deeper level of appreciation and to love people with a greater awareness of our connectivity.”

Rob Bell is not an atheist. If Rodgers considers Bell someone who has positively impacted his life, then it is unlikely that Rodgers is an atheist. He certainly did not say he was.

For more information on Pastor Rob Bell, see a 2012 blog post by me (here), my review of his book Love Wins (here), and this 2017 article by Collin Huber at the Gospel Coalition website (here).

Casanova goes on to report that Rodgers rejected the creation account and instead views it as a poem that “was never meant to be interpreted as I think some churches do.”

It sounds like Rodgers either rejects inerrancy, or like many Evangelicals today, he rejects those portions of Scripture he finds objectionable as never meant to be interpreted as many churches do today.

Aaron Rodgers in the ESPN piece reported involvement with Young Life, evidently in high school, and grew up “attending a nondenominational church with his parents.” Yahoo has an article about how Aaron’s family “feels he’s ‘turned his back on them’” (see here).

I don’t know if Rodgers ever believed the promise of everlasting life to the believer. He might well have. He may well have heard it in his church and at Young Life. While it sounds like he probably doesn’t believe that promise today, there was nothing in the article that ruled out his belief in the promise of life, either. I suppose the most telling point is that nowhere does he indicate that he believes in the promise of everlasting life for all who believe in Jesus (or anything about heaven, justification, salvation, a relationship with God, etc.).

If Rob Bell moved Aaron away from belief in the Bible and the promise of life, then he will have a lot to answer for. Of course, Rob Bell’s writings have likely had that impact on many people. But Aaron Rodgers has a big platform that reaches millions. Influencing him in the wrong way is very sad.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Bob_W

by Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society and co-host of Grace in Focus Radio. He lives in Highland Village, TX with his wife, Sharon. His latest books are Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses and Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

February 3, 2023

Romans–Part 05–The Solution

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates conclude this short series as they get to the good part of the...
February 3, 2023

Here’s Why Your February Partner’s Letter Will Be Late

We send a letter each month to those who financially support the ministry of GES. We call the newsletter Partners in Grace. We try to...
February 2, 2023

Romans–Part 04–The Problem

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Kathryn Wright continue this short series about Romans. Jumping to Chapter 3, they begin with...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Confident in Christ, 2nd Edition $22.00 $5.00
  • Grace in Eclipse: A Study in Eternal Rewards (Second Edition) $15.00 $8.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube