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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This book got a bad wrap by a lot of Christians. The first time through I had not read any of Bell's other books or blogs so it was easy to brush off his point of view. after studying Bell over the last few months, and then re-reading this book, I grew an entirely new appreciation for his point of view. I recommend this book, but not without a lot of Rob Bell context along with it.
I actually didn't finish this, I stopped reading. As a Christian, what he was saying didn't line up with Biblical truth. Of course, I just saw an interview he did where he stated that the Bible basically is useless so his book wouldn't line up with the Bible! Sorry, Rob! Not worth my time!
slow-paced
As soon as I began this audiobook I was done in only a few days. I couldn't wait to get back to it. I know, it's controversial among the more conservative-minded of my Christian compat's. But listening to his view on what the Bible MIGHT actually be saying about heaven and hell made so much more sense than the traditional "believe in Jesus or burn for eternity." It never made much sense, and Bell's line near the end that "Jesus didn't come to earth to save us from God" really resonated with me. And yes, I know, some of you think He DID do just that, but the total irreconconcilability (that's not a word sorry) of God from Hebrew scriptures and from New Testament isn't something to easily blow off like so many do. I listened to this prayerfully and without getting all emotional about what he was saying. But I will say, I've been a Christian my entire life, and listening to this book, I felt myself spiritually letting out by breath, as if I've been holding it in for 59 years. Is everything right or wrong in what he is saying - who the he** knows? None of us do. But this, I have to say, seems far closer to truth than a lot of other stuff we've been told to believe outside of scripture. Anyway, loved this little book. And remember, he's not too far off in dogma here than CS Lewis was or NT Wright in many ways (both of whom were inspirations for Bell). And I do know THIS points to a Gospel I'm excited about sharing with folks.
I had never heard of Rob Bell before I read this book (I was raised fundamentalist, if that helps) and was disappointed that this book read more like a sermon than an academic piece. Bell would have benefitted from footnotes, or at the very least some kind of bibliography, as he made historical claims with no evidence to back it up (Ex. contemporaries to Jesus using the word 'heaven' to refer to God).
Bell's point gets muddled quite often. I finished the book feeling like he didn't really say what he meant to say. I still don't quite understand his perspective on heaven and hell.
I was recommended this book as I am a deconstructing fudamentalist who genuinely thought she were going to hell if she so much as wore pants. A large portion of my prayers were spent begging God to forgive me for cursing while stuck in heavy traffic. I was obsessed with the black and white nature of my existence. I did not learn that God was a loving God in fundamentalist Christianity. I learned that God loved you despite your sin, in spite of all the bad things you did. It was conditional love. Love that said, you're a terrible person because you cursed once, and you're going to hell even though I love you. God was an angry, violent, wrathful, jealous God too. I struggled to reconcile these things- wrath, jealousy, anger, violence- which were described in the bible as unholy and which I sought forgiveness for from God, with the loving, generous, giving nature of God. How could God be angry, wrathful, and jealous while being loving and kind? How could God be that which I was counseled by the bible to not be, lest my soul suffer eternal damnation? How can God be perfect but jealous, perfect but wrathful, perfect but a destroyer? The bible is inconsistent. It is contradictory.
I decided ultimately for myself that God's love trumps all else. It trumps his wrath, his jealousy, his anger. Love conquers all, it never fails, it is the most supreme quality of God. If God was defined by his anger and not his love, why would Jesus have died for our sins? I choose to let God be defined by his anger. I chose to let God be love.
I understand that there are Christians who don't want to do that. Who can't. I understand and respect that. I have read the Bible in KJV once, in MSG once, and in NIV around 7 times. I have read the New Testament in its entirety in the NIV more times than I can count. God is a self-proclaimed mystery. We cannot presume to know God's entirety.
I have struggled many times with thoughts like, do children who aren't saved go to hell? What about indigenous people who have never even seen a missionary? What if it wasn't the "right" missionary? What about the millions of indigenous people who died in the 16th century from disease, famine, and slavery? What about the people in Muslim nations where Christianity is forbidden? What about those in countries where it is unsafe to read the Bible or practice the faith? And what if it's not the "right" faith? What about people of other religions and Christian faiths who are living pure, Godly lives? Those who have followed every commandment, sold all their possessions, etc? What about them? I don't know that this book answered these questions. But I do think it opened up a dialogue to begin answering them, or at least begin approaching them. I don't know if we will ever be able to answer these questions. For who can really know God?
All I know is that I look at all my beautiful, kind, loving, amazing friends and peers whom I love dearly, who are not "saved," and I think, 'none of you deserve Hell. All of you deserve God's love. Were I God, all of you would spent eternity in my love.' Are people in Hell now not in God's love? Does God still love them? I don't know, but I should believe so.
I am still confused. I am still unsure. I still do not have the answers to my questions. I still question God. I still question the bible, for all its inconsistencies and contradictions and confusing statements. But I do know one thing. The greatest of these is Love, and Love never fails.
Bell's point gets muddled quite often. I finished the book feeling like he didn't really say what he meant to say. I still don't quite understand his perspective on heaven and hell.
I was recommended this book as I am a deconstructing fudamentalist who genuinely thought she were going to hell if she so much as wore pants. A large portion of my prayers were spent begging God to forgive me for cursing while stuck in heavy traffic. I was obsessed with the black and white nature of my existence. I did not learn that God was a loving God in fundamentalist Christianity. I learned that God loved you despite your sin, in spite of all the bad things you did. It was conditional love. Love that said, you're a terrible person because you cursed once, and you're going to hell even though I love you. God was an angry, violent, wrathful, jealous God too. I struggled to reconcile these things- wrath, jealousy, anger, violence- which were described in the bible as unholy and which I sought forgiveness for from God, with the loving, generous, giving nature of God. How could God be angry, wrathful, and jealous while being loving and kind? How could God be that which I was counseled by the bible to not be, lest my soul suffer eternal damnation? How can God be perfect but jealous, perfect but wrathful, perfect but a destroyer? The bible is inconsistent. It is contradictory.
I decided ultimately for myself that God's love trumps all else. It trumps his wrath, his jealousy, his anger. Love conquers all, it never fails, it is the most supreme quality of God. If God was defined by his anger and not his love, why would Jesus have died for our sins? I choose to let God be defined by his anger. I chose to let God be love.
I understand that there are Christians who don't want to do that. Who can't. I understand and respect that. I have read the Bible in KJV once, in MSG once, and in NIV around 7 times. I have read the New Testament in its entirety in the NIV more times than I can count. God is a self-proclaimed mystery. We cannot presume to know God's entirety.
I have struggled many times with thoughts like, do children who aren't saved go to hell? What about indigenous people who have never even seen a missionary? What if it wasn't the "right" missionary? What about the millions of indigenous people who died in the 16th century from disease, famine, and slavery? What about the people in Muslim nations where Christianity is forbidden? What about those in countries where it is unsafe to read the Bible or practice the faith? And what if it's not the "right" faith? What about people of other religions and Christian faiths who are living pure, Godly lives? Those who have followed every commandment, sold all their possessions, etc? What about them? I don't know that this book answered these questions. But I do think it opened up a dialogue to begin answering them, or at least begin approaching them. I don't know if we will ever be able to answer these questions. For who can really know God?
All I know is that I look at all my beautiful, kind, loving, amazing friends and peers whom I love dearly, who are not "saved," and I think, 'none of you deserve Hell. All of you deserve God's love. Were I God, all of you would spent eternity in my love.' Are people in Hell now not in God's love? Does God still love them? I don't know, but I should believe so.
I am still confused. I am still unsure. I still do not have the answers to my questions. I still question God. I still question the bible, for all its inconsistencies and contradictions and confusing statements. But I do know one thing. The greatest of these is Love, and Love never fails.
a good start, but move next to Gregory MacDonald and Thomas Talbott.
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
A pastoral & practical introduction to ideas beyond the limits of tradition. Helpful if you’re interested in expanding your concepts & have a sense of deeper curiosity but find yourself in more rigid structures. Start your journey here but continue it with further depth & through relationships that invite your thoughtfulness & big questions. Good summaries of big ideas to keep exploring.
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced