Velvet Elvis
Repainting the Christian Faith
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4.2 • 44 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Velvet Elvis is the first book from Rob Bell, the New York Times bestselling author of Love Wins. Selected as one of 2011’s most influential people by Time Magazine, pastor Bell offers original and refreshingly personal perspectives on what Christianity is truly all about in Velvet Elvis. A vibrant voice for a new generation of Christians—the most recognizable Christian leader among young adults—Rob Bell inspires readers to take a fresh look at traditional questions of faith.
What if your faith wasn’t a rigid wall of bricks, but a dynamic trampoline built for questions?
Rethinking Christianity: Discover why faith is a dynamic, ongoing process of “reforming,” not a static painting to be copied.A New Take on Theology: Trade a rigid wall of religious bricks for the freedom of a faith-filled trampoline, where belief is about joy and movement, not fear of collapse.Faith and Doubt: Embrace the power of questions as a central part of the Christian experience, moving from the fear of not knowing to the freedom of honest inquiry.Interpreting the Bible: Learn to read scripture through the eyes of a first-century Jewish rabbi, understanding concepts like “binding and loosing” to see the Bible as a living, communal book.Holistic Salvation: Move beyond the idea of salvation as just a ticket to heaven and embrace the Jewish concept of shalom—a deep, restorative healing for every part of your life, right now.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., offers an innovative and intriguing, if uneven, first book. This introduction to the Christian faith is definitely outside the usual evangelical box. Bell wants to offer "a fresh take on Jesus" a riff that begins with the assertion that Jesus wanted to "call people to live in tune with reality" and that he "had no use for religion." Bell invites seekers into a Christianity that has room for doubts (his church recently hosted an evening where doubters were invited to ask their hardest, most challenging questions). He mocks literalists whose faith seems to depend on a six-day creation, and one of his favorite people is a woman who turned up repeatedly at his church, only to tell him that she totally disagreed with his teachings. He cites his church as a place of forgiveness, mystery, community and transformation. Bell is well-versed in Jewish teachings and draws from rabbinic wisdom and stories freely. His casual, hip tone can grate at times, and his footnotes, instructing readers to drop everything and read the books that have influenced him, grow old. Still, this is faithful, creative Christianity, and Gen-Xers especially will find Bell a welcome guide to the Christian faith.
Customer Reviews
Riveting
A riveting repainting of the Christian faith. It’s the age ole question of what is the gospel? Is it a way to heaven or is it heaven coming to earth? Rob gives the exegesis that gospel is a kingdom of change. He takes and weaves what was done in the Civil Rights movement and makes it applicable today! This Jewish Rabbi wants to bring tangible change. Follow the tassels. Christianity is about movement so let’s move as Christ did.
5/5
Refreshing
One of the Greatest Reads in My Life
Until this book, I had not found a work on spirituality that I had resonated with to such a strong degree. I've read and continue to read many authors, scholars and pastors, from schools of all sorts of thought (ranging from radically liberal to radically conservative), and while I have found valuable truths in all of them, this was the first work that manages to make me fall in love with it. It is a book that I would feel comfortable recommending to every Christian.