About this title: In order to find an authentic understanding of the Christian faith, Bell frees readers to consider God beyond the picture someone else painted.
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Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780310273080ISBN:0310273080
Description: Very Good. Christian Living. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Book is clean and tightly bound. Unmarked text. Moderate edgewear: extremities rubbed. No other notable flaws. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780310273080ISBN:0310273080
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Great shape! ! Great price! ! ! Enjoy for less. Looks LIKE NEW inside. CLEAN text. NO marks. Covers clean. Great buy. Compare & enjoy best value. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 194 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Fine. 0310273080 2006 Entire book is in pristine condition, apparently unread. Book was donated to Friends of the Omaha Public Library. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780310263456ISBN:031026345X
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. NEW-SHIPS QUICKLY. Glued binding. Paper over boards. 194 p. Audience: General/trade. NEW-SHIPS QUICKLY. nf-Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, Zondervan Publishing Company hardback, 2005. "In my basement, behind some bikes and suitcases and boxes, sits a Velvet Elvis...Christian; Christian Life; Christian Theology; Christianity and culture; Evangelical; Faith; General; Mainline; Non-Fiction; Religion; Spiritual Growth. Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.8 ... read more
Description: Very good. 2007 Zondervan Press Reprint Softcover(Trade PB) Edition. Slight wear to cover, text clean with strong binding. Ships Fast! read more
"This book really resonated with me as it explores what is means to be a Christian and what Christianity really is, giving context to our faith and interpretation of the Bible.
I definitely intend to reread this book. It is a quick read, but it still contains lots of interesting perspectives. It has given me opportunities to relate Bell's opinions to several aspects of my life and to encourage me to keep the faith, to keep searching, to keep interpreting.
A few key quotes that I still think about are: "The moment God is figured out with neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God. We are dealing with somebody we made up. And if we made him up, then we are in control"
"You rarely defend the things you love. You enjoy them and tell others about them and invite others to enjoy them with you."
"Something can be labelled "Christian" and not be true or good"
"No amount of success can heal a person's soul. In fact, success makes it worse."
Obviously, all of these quotes can fuel much debate, and for me, they incited various paragraphs worth of notes and thoughts. If you were either raised going to church but aren't really sure what it all means, or if you want to reaffirm, what do you believe and why, this book is fantastic."
""Somewhere in my basement sits a Velvet Elvis - a painting of the King himself, air-brushed onto black velvet in a wooden frame. What if the painter of my Velvet Elvis announced there was no more need to paint, that he had painted the ultimate painting? We would think he had lost his mind because of our instinctive understanding that art is never done - it's the endless process of learning, exploring, shaping and forming. And it's no different with faith. The Christian faith will never be complete. We will always be exploring and discovering what it means to live in harmony with God and each other. If we don't, our faith may end up in the basement. This book is about the endless need to keep painting. . .Rob Bell."
I began reading Velvet Elvis with the awareness that there was some controversy over it. People either seem to love it or hate it (someone even referred to it as "refreshing and frustrating"), so I was curious as to what all the fuss was about.
To be honest, I really enjoyed this book. There were some parts I struggled with, but in a way that made the book more enjoyable and impacting... it challenged me to think about what I believe and why. I think that's a good thing. Rob Bell shares some great insights and challenges in this book, especially when digging into the Jewish culture and relating it to certain scriptures in the Bible. He also shares very openly about his own personal life and struggles.
It took me a while to get used to the way Rob Bell writes, as he seems to move through various subjects as though going on a journey. Very easy reading though, as well as challenging. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone... as one reader said, "if you are looking for a strong systematic theology, you're looking in the wrong place. If you are looking for how theology lives itself out in every day life, you may have the right book."
If you are someone who has become a bit cynical or jaded with the Christian faith, this book is for you. A very refreshing and impacting read."
"Having a copy of Rob Bell's Sex God, I naturally wanted to red more of his most sensitive insight into man's attempts at discerning our Creator; I applaud him as one of our most current and forward men in Christianity."
"I read it/studied it 5 times (underlined, highlighted, scribbled 6 pages of interesting quotes) trying to understand what my friends find so intriguing about this disillusioned "post-Christian" and what he is trying to propagate. I finally came to the conclusion that he spends the pages playing devil's advocate, both discrediting and disproving the foundations of Christendom, (i.e. Virgin birth, resurrection of Christ, authority of Scripture, etc.) Fine by me...believe what you want...but after successfully disproving it, he says that he still believes it. What the freak? Either believe it or don't. That would be like Al Gore going around striving to DISPROVE Global Warming and then wrapping up the lecture by saying "However, I believe that it is happening".
One of the many memorable quotes of the book is when he is quoting "one of the great 'theologians' of our time", Sean Penn, when he said "The mystery is the truth". WTF?
I would best sum up Bell's literary (piece of)work with the quote "Choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep". Or how about my own quote "What have you been smoking?" or "Get a real job!" (I better stop there)"
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