Saturday, March 24, 2007

Sex God

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am obsessed with anything Rob Bell. I was of course then the first to pick up his newest book Sex God when it came out at the beginning of March. It was a quick read, and I easily finished it that week over Spring Break, but it is definately worth the high $20 charged for it. The book's title is interesting enough and certainly had me wondering, and its subtitle, "Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Sprituality," made me even more curious. Nevertheless, Rob Bell crafts a wonderful commentary on a new (or he would probably say really old) view on sex, love, and lust. Following on the heels of his first release, Velvet Elvis, this book has the same cordial and conversational style and feel but is a little more focused. It has something for everybody: for the single, the dating, the married, the never to be married, the married for 20 years. It's really fantastic and I can't wait to read it again to catch all the things that I missed (it's loaded with new info and insights in every sentance). Perhaps my favorite part was...hm... you know what, it's kind of hard to find a favorite part. It's all good!!!

Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about it: "Bell raises the bar with this evocative follow-up to last year's bestseller Velvet Elvis. "Is sex a picture of heaven?" he wonders. It's all about God and sex and heaven, he says: "...they're connected. And they can't be separated. Where the one is you will always find the other." Bell's book isn't a sex manual, an exploration of the differences between men and women or a marriage how-to, though all of that is here. Instead, it's the story of God becoming human, of humans mirroring God and love made manifest in the chaos of our humanity. Sex God is about relationships revealed in a way that elevates the human condition and offers hope to those whose relationships are wounded. In Bell's spare, somewhat oblique style, he addresses lust, respect, denial, risk, acceptance and more. His love for God and the Bible is clear, as is his ability to ask probing questions and offer answers that make readers think deeply about their own lives. He does a fine job using the Bible and real life to show that our physical relationships are really about spiritual relationships. This book joyfully ties, and then tightens, the knot between God and humankind. "

So go out and buy it, read it, and pass it on! It'll be worth it.

1 comment:

Michael Krahn said...

Hey,

I've just posted the first of a multi-part series on Rob's book "Velvet Elvis".

Join me in conversation at:

http://ascenttotruth.blogspot.com/