According to a 2007 Pew survey, a full 57 percent of evangelicals believe that many religions can lead to eternal life, while only 24 percent of evangelicals agree that “my religion is the one, true faith leading to eternal life.” And more than half agree that “there is more than one way to interpret the teachings of my religion.”

What the Pew poll suggests is that pluralism (there are many paths to salvation) and universalism (everyone gets saved) have grown from outlier concepts into mainstream Christian thinking.

That’s why Bell’s “to hell with hell” message feels like a Rubicon to conservative evangelicals. Take away hell, the thinking goes, and you might as well take away God’s wrath and our inescapable need for His saving grace.