However, we can make some reasonable assumptions about Bell from this quote. If you ask any Christian, particularly a Baptist, of which Bell claims to be or at least have been, about how you get to heaven, they will almost inevitably quote John 14:6. I believe it is intellectually dishonest to assume that Bell doesn’t know this. That said, his adamant rejection of the traditional understanding of this verse (and really, do you think his understanding holds any water?) does more than just say what it says; it also throws a dart at the fundamental argument for Jesus being the only way. But why would Bell do that? One possible explanation would be that he rejects the exclusivity of Christianity and instead believes in a pluralistic gospel.

Another thing which points me in that direction is Bell’s insistence on the fact that the message of Christianity is not that Christ died for our sins so that we may be justified before God, but it is that there is something good inside of us that Jesus died for and we have gotten away from that and therefore we need to return to it in order to have heaven on earth. Thus, by saying Jesus is the best POSSIBLE way Bell is tacitly implying that there are other ways to do this, and de facto there are other ways to achieve the ends of “Christianity” outside of Christ.

So, if Bell is being painted in a corner it is of his own doing and his refusal to make a clear statement must be interpretted as a silent acceptance of something else.