Armed with one scathing review (any guesses which one?), MSNBC’s Martin Bashir entered into dialogue with Rob Bell like he was Jonathan Edwards and Bell was a spider. Martin dangled Bell over his theology as if to tease him with the flames of shock media.

Bell was obviously unprepared for this six-minute interrogation.

And Bashir is the reformed bloggers (among others) new hero!

But seriously, what was Bashir’s problem? I mean, was he being fed the questions by a producer? Is he really that passionate about hell? About Christianity? I don’t know Bashir’s religious background, but either way, he showcased poor journalism here in my opinion. And yes, I would say this even if it was Franklin Graham sitting across the table from him…

The real beef I have is with HarperOne setting up this sort of interview. A five-minute interview is no way to discuss a theological topic. I know they want to sell books, but this is pretty ridiculous. Nobody wins when discussing God and hell with an arrogant MSNBC journalist who just wants somebody to watch his show.

Well, at least for today, his viral ratings are predestined to be huge.