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kellyhager 's review for:
This book has caused quite a bit of controversy thanks to its trailer (which is a slew of questions and no answers). Many people took that to interpret that Rob Bell was a heretic or, in one blog post, a "servant of Satan." I wish I had bookmarked all those things so I could like to them, but it's probably just as well I didn't. All appearances to the contrary, I don't REALLY like being mad all the time.
The question behind this book centers around heaven and hell and, more specifically, who gets to go to either place. I'm not going to discuss the findings because it's an amazing book and either you're openminded enough (or interested enough, to be fair) to read it or you're not. And odds are, nothing I say here will convince you or change your mind.
But I will say that I completely loved it. I loved each chapter, even the ones that made me sad. For example, in the chapter on hell, he says that we often create our own hells and we do it in part by being deliberately cruel to others. He uses genocide and child molestation as examples and I'm not guilty of that. But then he mentions that we hurt people even with subtle eye-rolls. And that is me. I am snark and sarcasm and cynicism and eye-rolls. I am sequestered in my apartment because it's easier than going out and trying to make things better. And, as said in the Bible, I want to start to "live up to what [I] have already attained." And I don't feel the need to do it because otherwise I'm afraid God will be mad at me. I want to do it because it's the right thing to do.
I want to do it because I do believe that love is stronger than hate and stronger than fear. And if you believe that, you have to believe that love wins.
So if you're someone who feels unsettled by religion, ESPECIALLY by Christianity, please read this book. It shows that we're not all Fred Phelps and his kin, not all snake oil salesmen ranting about how everyone who isn't us will burn for all eternity. I think you'll like Rob Bell. He preaches love, not hate.
The question behind this book centers around heaven and hell and, more specifically, who gets to go to either place. I'm not going to discuss the findings because it's an amazing book and either you're openminded enough (or interested enough, to be fair) to read it or you're not. And odds are, nothing I say here will convince you or change your mind.
But I will say that I completely loved it. I loved each chapter, even the ones that made me sad. For example, in the chapter on hell, he says that we often create our own hells and we do it in part by being deliberately cruel to others. He uses genocide and child molestation as examples and I'm not guilty of that. But then he mentions that we hurt people even with subtle eye-rolls. And that is me. I am snark and sarcasm and cynicism and eye-rolls. I am sequestered in my apartment because it's easier than going out and trying to make things better. And, as said in the Bible, I want to start to "live up to what [I] have already attained." And I don't feel the need to do it because otherwise I'm afraid God will be mad at me. I want to do it because it's the right thing to do.
I want to do it because I do believe that love is stronger than hate and stronger than fear. And if you believe that, you have to believe that love wins.
So if you're someone who feels unsettled by religion, ESPECIALLY by Christianity, please read this book. It shows that we're not all Fred Phelps and his kin, not all snake oil salesmen ranting about how everyone who isn't us will burn for all eternity. I think you'll like Rob Bell. He preaches love, not hate.