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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This book calls out for a long and thoughtful review. But really, what's the point? It's short enough and pithy enough and accessible enough that you really should just read it for yourself and form your own opinion.
I will say, it's worth cracking open just to get Rob Bell's take on the painting reproduced at the beginning of Ch. 2, Here is the New There: "It's as if Thomas Kinkaid and Dante were at a party, and one turned to the other sometime after midnight and uttered that classic line 'You know, we really should work together sometime...'" (p. 22). Priceless.
I will say, it's worth cracking open just to get Rob Bell's take on the painting reproduced at the beginning of Ch. 2, Here is the New There: "It's as if Thomas Kinkaid and Dante were at a party, and one turned to the other sometime after midnight and uttered that classic line 'You know, we really should work together sometime...'" (p. 22). Priceless.
Breath of fresh air from close-minded religious teachings. I love Rob Bell!
A very good argument against traditional teachings on heaven and hell and who goes where.
A fun book written for the public covering mainstream and historic theology. The "controversy" involves not only the differences between modern evangelical and mainline/Roman Catholic, but more importantly, the non-historical, public, common-place mis-representation of traditional theology that is more influenced by Dante and South Park than by Scripture itself.
Perhaps a better renunciation can be found at the beginning of McLaren's -A New Kind of Christianity-, in which most of what many take as a given is institutionally created and not representative of the Jesus portrayed in the gospels, but the Jesus filtered through theologians, particularly Luther and Calvin.
In a nut shell, Bell is only shocking to Evangelicals and the crowd that goes to church only on Christmas and Easter; for the rest of us, -Love Wins- is an enjoyable exercise exploring the implications of each decision -we- make when we attempt to understand the nature of the cosmos.
Perhaps a better renunciation can be found at the beginning of McLaren's -A New Kind of Christianity-, in which most of what many take as a given is institutionally created and not representative of the Jesus portrayed in the gospels, but the Jesus filtered through theologians, particularly Luther and Calvin.
In a nut shell, Bell is only shocking to Evangelicals and the crowd that goes to church only on Christmas and Easter; for the rest of us, -Love Wins- is an enjoyable exercise exploring the implications of each decision -we- make when we attempt to understand the nature of the cosmos.
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
My Bible study group decided to read this together. We had previously watched some of Pastor Bell's Nooma videos and really enjoyed the unique perspectives he has on faith and the Bible, so we figured it would make an interesting discussion. Hoo boy. This was a short book, but a very intense read. Bell discusses the Christian vision of "heaven" and "hell," and argues that we've got it all wrong when it comes to judging God's character and the way He operates when it comes to life and death. He argues that God doesn't have a massive personality switch the second we die in which he stops loving us and determines if we should be punished for eternity, the way we have made Him out to appear. In a book chock full of hypothetical questions, he has some excellent points, but our group was not in 100% agreement with every point Bell makes (I'm not sure I even completely understand all of his arguments). However, it was an interesting read on how Christians perceive this life vs. "eternity," as well as why we need to be bringing heaven closer to earth.
Finally, someone who thinks writes a book about religion. Amazing. There were a few things that I might not entirely agree with, but even if you don't agree with him, I think it's worth reading this book. Very thoroughly researched and interesting. I could go on for pages and pages about everything that I felt when I read this book, but I'll refrain. Just read it. One of the most powerful books I've ever read.
Though I don't agree with all the concepts, Rob Bell does a terrific job at getting people to think outside the box--and the mistranslations--about heaven, hell, and the God who rules over them both. I enjoyed reading this book and accepting the challenge to think about these biblical concepts in a different way. Totally changed my view on some things!
I mostly enjoyed this book. Bell’s writing style here is meandering and at times it works beautifully but at other times it’s almost incomprehensible which is why I only gave it 3 stars.
challenging
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Easily one of the best nonfiction religious books I’ve ever read