Educational Media Reviews Online

The Heretic is an admiring look at Rob Bell, a former pastor most famous for his book Love Wins (2012), which casts aspersion on the traditional Christian view of Hell. In this documentary we see him speak about the Bible, Christianity, and the human condition at campus bookstores and various other venues. We also hear several of his friends speak about him and his views.

Near the end, the interviewer asked Bell why he remained a Christian, and didn’t just give up on the whole thing. More questions like this would have made a better documentary. Too much of it seemed like a commercial for Rob Bell. Nonetheless, the film succeeds in showing what makes Rob Bell tick. Those looking for a critical analysis, or a heresy trial, will be disappointed; there is more rhetoric than reasoning in this video. But we do hear of his upbringing, his complaints about certain doctrines, his approach to the Bible, and his animating ideas. The one time we see Bell get emotional is when he describes his severe decline in popularity after publishing Love Wins, and how, finally, once again he’s drawing big crowds. To quote a primitive document holding back the further evolution of mankind, it seems that for Bell, the Lord has restored what the locusts had eaten.