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Everything Is Spiritual: Finding Your Way in a Turbulent World
I’ve had a sense since I was young
that there’s more going on here, that
the world is not a cold, dead place,
that it’s alive in some compelling and
mysterious way.
This book is about that sense. I’ve tried
to listen to it, and follow it, and trust it.
It’s been devastating at times, intoxicating
at others, heartbreaking and maddening
and euphoric——how do you make sense
of this experience we’re having here on
this ball of rock hurtling through space
at 67,000 miles an hour?
There are big questions: Everything
is made of particles and atoms, and the
universe has been expanding for thirteen
billion years?
And then there are those other questions, about the people and places and
events that have shaped us.
HOWEVER MASSIVE AND
COSMIC IT ALL IS, IT’S ALSO
REALLY, REALLY PERSONAL.
AND SPIRITUAL.
THAT’S THE WORD FOR IT.
That’s the sense I’ve been following
for a while now——this awareness that
there’s something bigger happening in
the depth and complexity and struggle
of life, something that connects us all,
reminding us that it all matters and it’s
all headed somewhere.
Part memoir, part confession, part
extended riff on the endlessly evolving
nature of reality, Everything Is Spiritual
is an invitation to see what you’ve been
a part of this whole time.
that there’s more going on here, that
the world is not a cold, dead place,
that it’s alive in some compelling and
mysterious way.
This book is about that sense. I’ve tried
to listen to it, and follow it, and trust it.
It’s been devastating at times, intoxicating
at others, heartbreaking and maddening
and euphoric——how do you make sense
of this experience we’re having here on
this ball of rock hurtling through space
at 67,000 miles an hour?
There are big questions: Everything
is made of particles and atoms, and the
universe has been expanding for thirteen
billion years?
And then there are those other questions, about the people and places and
events that have shaped us.
HOWEVER MASSIVE AND
COSMIC IT ALL IS, IT’S ALSO
REALLY, REALLY PERSONAL.
AND SPIRITUAL.
THAT’S THE WORD FOR IT.
That’s the sense I’ve been following
for a while now——this awareness that
there’s something bigger happening in
the depth and complexity and struggle
of life, something that connects us all,
reminding us that it all matters and it’s
all headed somewhere.
Part memoir, part confession, part
extended riff on the endlessly evolving
nature of reality, Everything Is Spiritual
is an invitation to see what you’ve been
a part of this whole time.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2020
530 people are currently reading
6752 people want to read
About the author
Rob Bell
75 books1,646 followersRob Bell is a bestselling author, international teacher, and highly sought after public speaker. His books include The New York Times bestsellers What Is the Bible?, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, Love Wins, as well as The Zimzum of Love, Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Drops Like Stars.
At age 28, Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, and under his leadership it was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. In 2011, he was profiled in Time Magazine as one of their 100 most influential people. Rob was featured on Oprah's 2014 Life You Want Tour and will be speaking at venues around the world in 2015 on the Everything is Spiritual Tour. He and his wife Kristen have three children and live in Los Angeles.
At age 28, Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, and under his leadership it was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. In 2011, he was profiled in Time Magazine as one of their 100 most influential people. Rob was featured on Oprah's 2014 Life You Want Tour and will be speaking at venues around the world in 2015 on the Everything is Spiritual Tour. He and his wife Kristen have three children and live in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 415 reviews
October 12, 2020
Anyone familiar with Rob Bell knows that he is somewhat of a gadfly among evangelicals. And “gadfly” is a massive understatement. But there is something endearing about Bell. Some point to his skill. Others are impressed with his intellect. For me, I’ve always been drawn to Bell’s ability to communicate what he’s truly feeling - including insecurity, childhood pain, or unfulfilled expectations. He identifies a “generational lack of grace,” a trait that is found too often in the church. His transparency is refreshing and his candor is something that is greatly needed in our day.
While I applaud Bell’s transparency, I have expressed deep concern with some of the theological and philosophical assertions that he has proposed. His most recent book, Everything Is Spiritual is no exception. Michael Eric Dyson’s endorsement of the book provides a revealing summary:
I will argue in this review that while Michael Eric Dyson truly does capture the essence of Bell’s intentions in Everything Is Spiritual, the end result is unhelpful and spiritually dangerous. Instead of illumination, readers will be left in a quagmire - with more questions than answers. And they will wander aimlessly in a spiritual wasteland, armed with an inaccurate portrait of God that leaves them hopeless without the biblical gospel.
No Final Answer
One of the common themes in Bell’s writing is ambiguity. He extinguishes certitude and exalts mystery (both of which are fundamental tenets of postmodernism). Careful readers will notice that the author is quick to pay lip service to Christian theology but swiftly degenerates into a subtle (or not so subtle man-made philosophy). The Bible warns, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4, ESV).
Tragically, many have been deceived by Bell’s “spirit myths” over the years. For instance, in Bell’s book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, he argues that God is “with us, for us, and ahead of us – all of us.” The notion that God is “with us,” “for us,” and “ahead of us (every single one of us) may sound good initially but falls short of the biblical model. It is true that God is “with” his people. We see this especially in the incarnation of Jesus, the One who is named Immanuel – or God with us (Matt. 1:23). Yet God is not “with” the man who has rejected the revelation of God in Christ. God is not “with” the one who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel. “… Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
It is true that God is “for us” – that is to say, he is for his people. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39, ESV). Yet, God is not “for” the man who repudiates the promises and purposes of God. The holy God opposes the proud (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5).
I referred to Paul’s warning in 2 Tim. 4:3-4 again and again as I read Everything is Spiritual. Indeed, doctrine is downplayed and orthodoxy is questioned. But not everything is ambiguous. As he did in Love Wins, Bell dogmatically casts aside the doctrine of hell:
In a magical twist, certitude suddenly reappears! Alas, the painful reality is obvious here: Anyone who bemoans doctrine is in fact, dogmatic themselves! It appears, then, that the dogmatic bark is worse than the bite.
No Final Authority
To make matters worse, no final authority is offered in Everything Is Spiritual. It is difficult to determine if Bell embraces pantheism, panentheism or some other theological construct. Whatever the case, the book makes much of God’s immanence and downplays his transcendence.
But what is missing here is a distinction between the Creator and the creature. Missing is a Creator who is sovereign over creation and rules over all. Bell’s account of God is noted in the biblical exchange with Moses who refers to himself as I AM. So far so good. But notice how Bell’s understanding of God undermines the Creator/creature distinction:
Later, Bell refers once again to “Being Itself. I AM.” He writes, “You ground yourself in that, and you’re all of it. You root yourself in the source and Spirit beyond all these forms and categories and labels, you listen to that and follow that and you keep going.” Bell refers to this as the “collective unity of humanity,” or “the body of Christ.” He adds, “All of us humans ever, across time, all together, adding up to something. The body of Christ.”
Not only does this line of reasoning militate against the Creator/creature distinction; it misleads readers into believing that they are members of Christ’s body, when the unbelieving world is described as enemies of God and under his holy wrath.
Scripture speaks of the creature who was created by God (Gen. 2:7). The creatures (Adam and Eve) were originally free from sin but fell and as a result became sinners by nature and by choice (Gen. 3:1-7). As such, these sinful creatures have no inherent righteousness, no desire for God (Rom. 3:10-11). Subsequently, all creatures are born with a hatred in their hearts for God (Rom. 8:7-8). They are dead in sin (Eph. 2:1-3), and they are enslaved in sin; totally unable to come to Christ apart from God’s empowerment (John 6:44). These creatures are dependent upon God for everything. While they have the ability to make free choices, these choices are determined in eternity past (Acts 17:26; Prov. 19:21; 21:1). And these creatures are accountable to a righteous and sovereign Judge (Rom. 2:5-11).
As such, there is no final authority in Everything is Spiritual,/i>. Bell writes, “God is not detached from the world, up there, or above, or somewhere else, that would make God a form like everything else.” So, we are left with the strange and unbiblical blending of the Creator and the creature.
No Exclusive Path
One of the reasons that people are drawn to Bell is because he refuses to be boxed in by a religious system or creed. He is quick to jettison the traditional path and proudly promotes another route:
“Spinal fortitude,” is to be commended. The problem is that Scripture points to one path - the path that Jesus describes as “narrow.” Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13-14).
One of the primary arguments in Bell’s book is that “everything is spiritual.” He refers to Christ, who holds all things together: “All of it. All of us. Everybody, everywhere, in Christ.” He rightly notes how every person is created with dignity and honor and possesses “infinite worth and value.” But things take a tragic turn for the worse. For the one who pursues his own path, according to Bell, is something of a radical. In a stunning admission, Bell acknowledges:
The radical is not the person who wandered off the path into the deep weeds. The radical is the one who went back to the origins, to the roots, to how it all began. Sometimes the tribe has lost its way, sometimes the ones claiming to be orthodox, correct, pure ones have gone off the rails, sometimes it’s the mother ship that has lost its bearing, and it’s the radical who’s actually rediscovering the true path.
Radicals like Jan Hus and Martin Luther rediscovered the true path when they embraced biblical authority and the gospel of Jesus. But Bell is not referring to these stalwarts of the faith. Rather, he is referring to those who dare to break free from the chains of orthodoxy. After all, writes Bell, “You aren’t an object, you aren’t a pawn … you possess Spirit. Personal, intimate, infinite, knowing, Spirit. You reflect the divine, present in each of us. You’re in Christ.”
No exclusive path is necessary since we are “in Christ,” according to Bell. This theme emerged clearly in Love Wins as Bell undercut sovereign grace by arguing that God draws all people to himself. He writes, “ … We see that Jesus himself, again and again, demonstrates how seriously he takes his role in saving and rescuing and redeeming not just everything, but everybody.”
But Scripture stands in opposition to this theme. The Bible never declares that all people are “in Christ” as Bell supposes. Rather, each person is born in Adam and experiences death as a result (Rom. 5:12-21). Jesus never promises to rescue and redeem all people. Rather, people are assured that they will receive eternal life and forgiveness if they turn from their sin and trust the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:15-16; 6:37, 47; 7:38; 8:12; Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:9-13, 17). When a person trusts in Christ alone for their salvation, then and only then, are they truly “in Christ.”
Bell’s “gospel” is described as “the divine announcement that you are loved and accepted exactly as you are, that everything has been taken care of, that everything you’ve been striving to earn has been yours the entire time, that you belong, in exactly this condition that you are currently in, nothing additional required or needed.” Readers are left, then, with more ambiguity. Whose “gospel” is Bell describing? And does this “gospel” tolerate sin? Does this “gospel” lay down demands? Is surrender required? Belief? Repentance? Is this “gospel” inclusive or is it exclusive? Is this “gospel light?” Or is this the “gospel” that Scripture refers to as a “different gospel” (Gal. 1:6)?
The matter of the gospel has eternal implications. The apostle Paul warns the Christians in Galatia to beware of those who “distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:7). He continues, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9, ESV).
The biblical gospel or the “good news” of God begins with God. It declares that God is sovereign and holy. It tells us that God created people for his glory (Isa. 43:7). It tells us that people are sinners by nature and by choice (Rom. 3:23; 5:12). The gospel warns us that God is just and that he has the right to punish sin and that unrepentant people will endure the wrath of God for eternity (Rom. 6:23; John 3:36). The gospel tells us about a Savior who will destroy death and rescue his creatures from the power of sin and the penalty of sin. And one day this gospel will rescue followers of Jesus from sin’s very presence.
The gospel distinguishes between the Creator and the creature. Peter Jones adds, "The Bible warns us not to worship the creation but to worship and serve only the Creator. The starting point of gospel truth is that God the Creator, in the three persons of the divine Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - is the one and only God and that all which is not God was created by him … The Christian faith maintains a separateness between God and His creation.” The gospel makes provision for sin, exalts the crucified and risen Savior, and reconciles sinners to a holy God.
Tragically, the biblical gospel is jettisoned in Everything is Spiritual. The gospel is reduced to a “divine announcement” of acceptance. This soft, inclusive “gospel” is a different gospel that Scripture condemns (Gal. 1:6, 9).
Summary
“Everything is spiritual.” The very idea sounds so very, well … spiritual. And people who flock to read the musings of Bell continue in a trancelike state like they’ve been doing for years. But the author makes a very revealing statement near the end of the book. He writes, “I want to help people rediscover the wonder and awe of their existence.” Yet, no final answer is given. No final authority is offered. And no exclusive path is revealed. Instead of rediscovering “the wonder and awe of their existence,” readers are left wandering in an existential fog, unaware of the Creator God who made all things for his glory; the transcendent God who sovereignly rules and reigns; the God who sent his Son to rescue sinners, redeem them, and bless them with eternal life.
Michael Eric Dyson refers to Bell’s book as “a perfect spiritual antidote to the plague of an evangelical worldview that is captive to imperial dreams and a literalism that kills the spirit of Christianity.” Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. The message that Rob Bell presents in this book is anything but spiritual. Instead, it offers a syncretistic concoction of worldly philosophy that leads the unsuspecting on a path to divine judgment. That’s a far cry from an antidote. Poison doesn’t cure disease. Poison kills the unsuspecting.
While I applaud Bell’s transparency, I have expressed deep concern with some of the theological and philosophical assertions that he has proposed. His most recent book, Everything Is Spiritual is no exception. Michael Eric Dyson’s endorsement of the book provides a revealing summary:
In Everything Is Spiritual, Rob Bell updates Teilhard de Chardin’s Catholic mysticism, makes sexier Werner Heisenberg’s quantum physics, and baptizes Jewish Kabbalah in an exciting vision of the future of human evolution. Bell challenges the notion that science and belief are at war, with his sublime fusion of Christian faith and modern evolutionary science. Bell’s book is the perfect antidote to the plague of an evangelical worldview that is captive to imperial dreams and a literalism that kills the spirit of Christianity …
I will argue in this review that while Michael Eric Dyson truly does capture the essence of Bell’s intentions in Everything Is Spiritual, the end result is unhelpful and spiritually dangerous. Instead of illumination, readers will be left in a quagmire - with more questions than answers. And they will wander aimlessly in a spiritual wasteland, armed with an inaccurate portrait of God that leaves them hopeless without the biblical gospel.
No Final Answer
One of the common themes in Bell’s writing is ambiguity. He extinguishes certitude and exalts mystery (both of which are fundamental tenets of postmodernism). Careful readers will notice that the author is quick to pay lip service to Christian theology but swiftly degenerates into a subtle (or not so subtle man-made philosophy). The Bible warns, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4, ESV).
Tragically, many have been deceived by Bell’s “spirit myths” over the years. For instance, in Bell’s book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, he argues that God is “with us, for us, and ahead of us – all of us.” The notion that God is “with us,” “for us,” and “ahead of us (every single one of us) may sound good initially but falls short of the biblical model. It is true that God is “with” his people. We see this especially in the incarnation of Jesus, the One who is named Immanuel – or God with us (Matt. 1:23). Yet God is not “with” the man who has rejected the revelation of God in Christ. God is not “with” the one who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel. “… Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
It is true that God is “for us” – that is to say, he is for his people. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39, ESV). Yet, God is not “for” the man who repudiates the promises and purposes of God. The holy God opposes the proud (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5).
I referred to Paul’s warning in 2 Tim. 4:3-4 again and again as I read Everything is Spiritual. Indeed, doctrine is downplayed and orthodoxy is questioned. But not everything is ambiguous. As he did in Love Wins, Bell dogmatically casts aside the doctrine of hell:
Because some stories are better than others. Stories about a God who tortures people forever in hell shouldn’t be told. They’re terrible stories. They make people miserable. They make people want to kill themselves. Stories that insist that a few human beings are going to be okay and every other human being ever is doomed for eternity are horrible stories.
In a magical twist, certitude suddenly reappears! Alas, the painful reality is obvious here: Anyone who bemoans doctrine is in fact, dogmatic themselves! It appears, then, that the dogmatic bark is worse than the bite.
No Final Authority
To make matters worse, no final authority is offered in Everything Is Spiritual. It is difficult to determine if Bell embraces pantheism, panentheism or some other theological construct. Whatever the case, the book makes much of God’s immanence and downplays his transcendence.
But what is missing here is a distinction between the Creator and the creature. Missing is a Creator who is sovereign over creation and rules over all. Bell’s account of God is noted in the biblical exchange with Moses who refers to himself as I AM. So far so good. But notice how Bell’s understanding of God undermines the Creator/creature distinction:
Moses wants to locate God, and what Moses gets is Everywhere. Moses wants something to wrap his mind around, and what he gets is All of it.
What an answer. Another way you could say I AM is Being Itself.
That’s past, that’s present, that’s future. All of it. Being Itself, the formless beyond any one form, animating all forms. The electricity the entire thing is plugged into. The water it’s all swimming in.
That’s every you that ever was and ever will be. All your yous.
Later, Bell refers once again to “Being Itself. I AM.” He writes, “You ground yourself in that, and you’re all of it. You root yourself in the source and Spirit beyond all these forms and categories and labels, you listen to that and follow that and you keep going.” Bell refers to this as the “collective unity of humanity,” or “the body of Christ.” He adds, “All of us humans ever, across time, all together, adding up to something. The body of Christ.”
Not only does this line of reasoning militate against the Creator/creature distinction; it misleads readers into believing that they are members of Christ’s body, when the unbelieving world is described as enemies of God and under his holy wrath.
Scripture speaks of the creature who was created by God (Gen. 2:7). The creatures (Adam and Eve) were originally free from sin but fell and as a result became sinners by nature and by choice (Gen. 3:1-7). As such, these sinful creatures have no inherent righteousness, no desire for God (Rom. 3:10-11). Subsequently, all creatures are born with a hatred in their hearts for God (Rom. 8:7-8). They are dead in sin (Eph. 2:1-3), and they are enslaved in sin; totally unable to come to Christ apart from God’s empowerment (John 6:44). These creatures are dependent upon God for everything. While they have the ability to make free choices, these choices are determined in eternity past (Acts 17:26; Prov. 19:21; 21:1). And these creatures are accountable to a righteous and sovereign Judge (Rom. 2:5-11).
As such, there is no final authority in Everything is Spiritual,/i>. Bell writes, “God is not detached from the world, up there, or above, or somewhere else, that would make God a form like everything else.” So, we are left with the strange and unbiblical blending of the Creator and the creature.
No Exclusive Path
One of the reasons that people are drawn to Bell is because he refuses to be boxed in by a religious system or creed. He is quick to jettison the traditional path and proudly promotes another route:
And then there was soul. This deeper voice within me telling me another truth, coaxing me to rethink what success even is. I had my own path, and it wasn’t this, and what you do with a path is you walk it … But walking your path, when you’re surrounded by multiple voices with strong opinions about what you should be doing, that takes tremendous spinal fortitude.
“Spinal fortitude,” is to be commended. The problem is that Scripture points to one path - the path that Jesus describes as “narrow.” Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13-14).
One of the primary arguments in Bell’s book is that “everything is spiritual.” He refers to Christ, who holds all things together: “All of it. All of us. Everybody, everywhere, in Christ.” He rightly notes how every person is created with dignity and honor and possesses “infinite worth and value.” But things take a tragic turn for the worse. For the one who pursues his own path, according to Bell, is something of a radical. In a stunning admission, Bell acknowledges:
The radical is not the person who wandered off the path into the deep weeds. The radical is the one who went back to the origins, to the roots, to how it all began. Sometimes the tribe has lost its way, sometimes the ones claiming to be orthodox, correct, pure ones have gone off the rails, sometimes it’s the mother ship that has lost its bearing, and it’s the radical who’s actually rediscovering the true path.
Radicals like Jan Hus and Martin Luther rediscovered the true path when they embraced biblical authority and the gospel of Jesus. But Bell is not referring to these stalwarts of the faith. Rather, he is referring to those who dare to break free from the chains of orthodoxy. After all, writes Bell, “You aren’t an object, you aren’t a pawn … you possess Spirit. Personal, intimate, infinite, knowing, Spirit. You reflect the divine, present in each of us. You’re in Christ.”
No exclusive path is necessary since we are “in Christ,” according to Bell. This theme emerged clearly in Love Wins as Bell undercut sovereign grace by arguing that God draws all people to himself. He writes, “ … We see that Jesus himself, again and again, demonstrates how seriously he takes his role in saving and rescuing and redeeming not just everything, but everybody.”
But Scripture stands in opposition to this theme. The Bible never declares that all people are “in Christ” as Bell supposes. Rather, each person is born in Adam and experiences death as a result (Rom. 5:12-21). Jesus never promises to rescue and redeem all people. Rather, people are assured that they will receive eternal life and forgiveness if they turn from their sin and trust the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:15-16; 6:37, 47; 7:38; 8:12; Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:9-13, 17). When a person trusts in Christ alone for their salvation, then and only then, are they truly “in Christ.”
Bell’s “gospel” is described as “the divine announcement that you are loved and accepted exactly as you are, that everything has been taken care of, that everything you’ve been striving to earn has been yours the entire time, that you belong, in exactly this condition that you are currently in, nothing additional required or needed.” Readers are left, then, with more ambiguity. Whose “gospel” is Bell describing? And does this “gospel” tolerate sin? Does this “gospel” lay down demands? Is surrender required? Belief? Repentance? Is this “gospel” inclusive or is it exclusive? Is this “gospel light?” Or is this the “gospel” that Scripture refers to as a “different gospel” (Gal. 1:6)?
The matter of the gospel has eternal implications. The apostle Paul warns the Christians in Galatia to beware of those who “distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:7). He continues, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9, ESV).
The biblical gospel or the “good news” of God begins with God. It declares that God is sovereign and holy. It tells us that God created people for his glory (Isa. 43:7). It tells us that people are sinners by nature and by choice (Rom. 3:23; 5:12). The gospel warns us that God is just and that he has the right to punish sin and that unrepentant people will endure the wrath of God for eternity (Rom. 6:23; John 3:36). The gospel tells us about a Savior who will destroy death and rescue his creatures from the power of sin and the penalty of sin. And one day this gospel will rescue followers of Jesus from sin’s very presence.
The gospel distinguishes between the Creator and the creature. Peter Jones adds, "The Bible warns us not to worship the creation but to worship and serve only the Creator. The starting point of gospel truth is that God the Creator, in the three persons of the divine Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - is the one and only God and that all which is not God was created by him … The Christian faith maintains a separateness between God and His creation.” The gospel makes provision for sin, exalts the crucified and risen Savior, and reconciles sinners to a holy God.
Tragically, the biblical gospel is jettisoned in Everything is Spiritual. The gospel is reduced to a “divine announcement” of acceptance. This soft, inclusive “gospel” is a different gospel that Scripture condemns (Gal. 1:6, 9).
Summary
“Everything is spiritual.” The very idea sounds so very, well … spiritual. And people who flock to read the musings of Bell continue in a trancelike state like they’ve been doing for years. But the author makes a very revealing statement near the end of the book. He writes, “I want to help people rediscover the wonder and awe of their existence.” Yet, no final answer is given. No final authority is offered. And no exclusive path is revealed. Instead of rediscovering “the wonder and awe of their existence,” readers are left wandering in an existential fog, unaware of the Creator God who made all things for his glory; the transcendent God who sovereignly rules and reigns; the God who sent his Son to rescue sinners, redeem them, and bless them with eternal life.
Michael Eric Dyson refers to Bell’s book as “a perfect spiritual antidote to the plague of an evangelical worldview that is captive to imperial dreams and a literalism that kills the spirit of Christianity.” Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. The message that Rob Bell presents in this book is anything but spiritual. Instead, it offers a syncretistic concoction of worldly philosophy that leads the unsuspecting on a path to divine judgment. That’s a far cry from an antidote. Poison doesn’t cure disease. Poison kills the unsuspecting.
September 16, 2020
Rob has been a little quieter lately. And honestly, I think it's just what all of us need. To take a little time to step back from the striving and remember again how miraculous this world is and how mysterious our lives are.
That's what this book is about. It's about sitting with the mystery and letting yourself be swept along by it. Swept into the unknown and uncertainty of it all. And all the while while being in on the joke and realizing that you're already in. Already part of the dance.
It was light and encouraging, and well in line with Rob's unconventional thinking and his constantly evolving faith. It's a good journey.
That's what this book is about. It's about sitting with the mystery and letting yourself be swept along by it. Swept into the unknown and uncertainty of it all. And all the while while being in on the joke and realizing that you're already in. Already part of the dance.
It was light and encouraging, and well in line with Rob's unconventional thinking and his constantly evolving faith. It's a good journey.
September 15, 2020
I woke up early on the release date and started reading right away with great expectation because well, it’s Rob Bell and his work is “riveting.” I’ve seen Bell’s “Everything is Spiritual” tour and I was ready for a “Part 2.” And then my excitement started to die down, “Did I just spent $15 to read an autobiography of a person who doesn’t come close to Steve Jobs or Henrietta Lacks or Michelle Obama…”
I think $15 autobiographies are meant for “famous people” or “world changers.” Not quiet Rob Bell, whose “biggest fame” is that one moment Christians in American became a lynch mob to “get that unorthodox heretical outta here!”
But. But...BUT!
…as I read about 20% in…a grin started to form on my face. You know that feeling when that dopamine rush hits you when something amazing and brewing…and then I read on and ate it all up like a fat giddy child at a candy store...
Unlike $15 autobiographies that leave you feeling both inadequate & inspired…Bell’s story leaves you with wonder & awe...and then, even more wonder and more awe... Because his story is actually your story. His experiences are different than yours, but in a way you completely relate to it because he is talking about that inner voice behind the actions. The why behind the why. The you behind the you behind the you behind the you say, “YA WHAT HE SAID! EXACTLY THAT. I TOLD YOU SO.” That story is my story is your story because we are all connected.
Bell gives words to everything that is stirring within you that is also stirring with everything everywhere at all times.
Also, let me make this clear: This isn’t an autobiography. It is about how “Everything is Spiritual. You’ve always belonged, the whole thing is an endless invitation.” (Bell, page 210)
Buy the book. Well worth it.
I think $15 autobiographies are meant for “famous people” or “world changers.” Not quiet Rob Bell, whose “biggest fame” is that one moment Christians in American became a lynch mob to “get that unorthodox heretical outta here!”
But. But...BUT!
…as I read about 20% in…a grin started to form on my face. You know that feeling when that dopamine rush hits you when something amazing and brewing…and then I read on and ate it all up like a fat giddy child at a candy store...
Unlike $15 autobiographies that leave you feeling both inadequate & inspired…Bell’s story leaves you with wonder & awe...and then, even more wonder and more awe... Because his story is actually your story. His experiences are different than yours, but in a way you completely relate to it because he is talking about that inner voice behind the actions. The why behind the why. The you behind the you behind the you behind the you say, “YA WHAT HE SAID! EXACTLY THAT. I TOLD YOU SO.” That story is my story is your story because we are all connected.
Bell gives words to everything that is stirring within you that is also stirring with everything everywhere at all times.
Also, let me make this clear: This isn’t an autobiography. It is about how “Everything is Spiritual. You’ve always belonged, the whole thing is an endless invitation.” (Bell, page 210)
Buy the book. Well worth it.
September 25, 2020
This book was a song to my soul that I never want to stop listening to.
September 17, 2020
I never thought I'd see the day where I DNF a Rob Bell book, but here we are. It's part memoir, part internal ramblings. I get that he's trying to meld it together to send a message, but to me in comes off as incoherent.
May 27, 2021
This book didn’t speak to me as much as Bell’s other books. I agreed with his ideas, but the writing style just didn’t work for me. I do admire his way of viewing the world and how he is able to see the entire world as spiritual instead of separating his spiritual life into a box away from the rest of his life.
I ended up skimming most of this book and reading for parts that stuck out to me.
I ended up skimming most of this book and reading for parts that stuck out to me.
September 25, 2020
This is the best book I've read in months. For ME, Rob Bell either resonates like a bomb or misses me altogether. This was definitely the former. Timely, not only for my own personal life circumstances, but for what we're currently going through as a collective. Highly recommend. If it starts slow for you or has slow parts, don't quit, it's so worth it. I already want to read it again.
February 26, 2021
If you've never heard Rob Bell speak, he is a master. Charismatic, artistic, gifted with words and drama. And he comes with an edge, often pushing against his church background and the worst of the American right-wing establishment.
This book is a quick read, at times rambling, and very autobiographical, much like his other books. I remain appreciative of his "emerging church" angle, and just his way of opening us to wonder, to creativity, and to prophetic Christian action.
Someday I might finish this book.
What I'm becoming more disillusioned with is his immensely romantic approach to life, couched in a life of tremendous privilege. Spirituality is about feelings, experience, a sort of mystical encounter and church, institutions, and theology are tainted as a life-draining and static world that confines and controls. This sort of sentimentality is clear in his analogy of the butterfly: spirituality is a free floating butterfly; academic theology is pinning the butterfly into a glass case and analyzing it literally to death.
This was energizing for me when I was 20 but now it seems like a disservice to readers--the common false dichotomy between spirituality and religion. Sorry, but the two are inseparably intertwined! The polarized binary is unhelpful and especially with the added simplistic good/bad evaluation attached to it. David Dark's book _Life is Too Short to Pretend You're Not Religious_ (or any of James K. A. Smith's books) would be a helpful antidote. Life is not just an aesthetic with prophetic edges. Habits, rituals, institutions form us more than isolated romantic moments of epiphany, and both shape our faith lives.
C. S. Lewis was told a day at the ocean was much more spiritual and enlivening than all his philosophical theology (_Mere Christianity_). He agreed. But he said that if you want to dive in the ocean, go to the beach. But if you want to understand the ocean, travel across it, or be rescued from a storm, then having a map, a book written by experts, and the help of navigators will be of much more use to you. Both/and.
Institutions, academic research, and older mentors also give and preserve life, and do so for many, many people. Calvin Seerveld said they can be God's hugs to those looking for shelter, a calling, and a vision for life. Especially the underprivileged, as their resources are poor and they need the help of large organizational efforts to empower them. Institutions. Churches. Charities. Government. Markets.
Let's not oppose spirituality and religion, as if one part of our creaturely life were free of threats and the other was only oppression. Spirituality can be twisted with narcissism and other pet demons. The line between good and evil is much more subtle, and it even runs through the human heart, with all its feelings, experiences and awe-inspiring artistic creativity. Feelings come and go, are up and down, upbuilding and demoralizing.
I hope someday Rob matures beyond this old romanticism. He is so gifted and incisive and has such a wide public platform. The deconstructive approach wears thin after the initial sense of liberation wears off, and you see in the empty landscape that its time to build a house that others can live inside. You can deconstruct the bad even while preserving and reconstructing something good. Reactionary Rob Bell needs a rest. Its time to restore faithfulness in the ordinary moments, which is where most of us live.
This book is a quick read, at times rambling, and very autobiographical, much like his other books. I remain appreciative of his "emerging church" angle, and just his way of opening us to wonder, to creativity, and to prophetic Christian action.
Someday I might finish this book.
What I'm becoming more disillusioned with is his immensely romantic approach to life, couched in a life of tremendous privilege. Spirituality is about feelings, experience, a sort of mystical encounter and church, institutions, and theology are tainted as a life-draining and static world that confines and controls. This sort of sentimentality is clear in his analogy of the butterfly: spirituality is a free floating butterfly; academic theology is pinning the butterfly into a glass case and analyzing it literally to death.
This was energizing for me when I was 20 but now it seems like a disservice to readers--the common false dichotomy between spirituality and religion. Sorry, but the two are inseparably intertwined! The polarized binary is unhelpful and especially with the added simplistic good/bad evaluation attached to it. David Dark's book _Life is Too Short to Pretend You're Not Religious_ (or any of James K. A. Smith's books) would be a helpful antidote. Life is not just an aesthetic with prophetic edges. Habits, rituals, institutions form us more than isolated romantic moments of epiphany, and both shape our faith lives.
C. S. Lewis was told a day at the ocean was much more spiritual and enlivening than all his philosophical theology (_Mere Christianity_). He agreed. But he said that if you want to dive in the ocean, go to the beach. But if you want to understand the ocean, travel across it, or be rescued from a storm, then having a map, a book written by experts, and the help of navigators will be of much more use to you. Both/and.
Institutions, academic research, and older mentors also give and preserve life, and do so for many, many people. Calvin Seerveld said they can be God's hugs to those looking for shelter, a calling, and a vision for life. Especially the underprivileged, as their resources are poor and they need the help of large organizational efforts to empower them. Institutions. Churches. Charities. Government. Markets.
Let's not oppose spirituality and religion, as if one part of our creaturely life were free of threats and the other was only oppression. Spirituality can be twisted with narcissism and other pet demons. The line between good and evil is much more subtle, and it even runs through the human heart, with all its feelings, experiences and awe-inspiring artistic creativity. Feelings come and go, are up and down, upbuilding and demoralizing.
I hope someday Rob matures beyond this old romanticism. He is so gifted and incisive and has such a wide public platform. The deconstructive approach wears thin after the initial sense of liberation wears off, and you see in the empty landscape that its time to build a house that others can live inside. You can deconstruct the bad even while preserving and reconstructing something good. Reactionary Rob Bell needs a rest. Its time to restore faithfulness in the ordinary moments, which is where most of us live.
September 20, 2020
So good! Thank you for giving us permission to think deeply! I'm so tired of the evangelical rhetoric. I miss the mystics of my Catholic roots who taught me that God is always on the move. You reminded me to keep leaning into the freedom Christ offers in this life. Less constraints. More grace.
Read
January 24, 2021Add this to the list of refreshing books for people recovering from religion and finding something better. Rob Bell's signature style of four-word paragraphs is actually a perfect fit for this blend of memoir and rediscovery; it reads a little bit like Universal Christ Lite. I especially appreciate the space carved out for broadening of perspective, leaning into the awe of the universe and the ways in which everything connects, and the reminder of how beautiful it is to choose mystery over explaining things to death. I also appreciated the calling out of how the wrong kind of over-explaining has caused a lot of damage, namely in the arena of faith, which should be a place of full acceptance rather than exclusion. The end of this book did feel a little lackluster to me, but all the rest of it is fresh air, an energizing spark, and like the kind of poem you love and even mostly understand.
October 7, 2020
I absolutely loved reading Everything Is Spiritual, yet it is a book that is hard to review. I'm not exactly sure why, although I suspect it is because the book is written in typical Rob Bell-style: it meanders, it covers what you expect it to, and covers things you didn't see coming. In other words, Bell sets out to tell a story the way stories are told: windy, jumping back and forth, drawing on ideas from this and that.
It is a mess, in the best of ways, in the way that life is a mess.
But that also makes it hard to sum up or explain. I suppose the easiest summary would be to say that the book works to show how the divide we pretend exists between activities that we think of as spiritual and those that are not is a construct that isn't serving us. Everything is spiritual; we are all spirit.
Highly, highly recommend, especially if the idea of being spiritual or into religion isn't really your thing.
It is a mess, in the best of ways, in the way that life is a mess.
But that also makes it hard to sum up or explain. I suppose the easiest summary would be to say that the book works to show how the divide we pretend exists between activities that we think of as spiritual and those that are not is a construct that isn't serving us. Everything is spiritual; we are all spirit.
Highly, highly recommend, especially if the idea of being spiritual or into religion isn't really your thing.
January 13, 2021
This autobiographical read was great and, yet again, something totally different than any of Bell's other books. This book is one chapterless stream of consciousness that has Bell reflecting on different key moments of his experience as a youth, a pastor, an author/speaker and everything in between.
There were moments that I particularly enjoyed in this book, like when Bell pulls back the curtain of the vocational ministry experience and this "thing" that happens in the world of consumer church. Or when he talks about the things that we feel drawn to do. Or maybe my favorite part was when he reflected on the need for all of us to be drawn into a shared human experience rather than just seek and give answers.
I believe Bell intended for this book to be an inspirational read and invites people into more freedom. This was not my favorite of his books; but it was a great read.
There were moments that I particularly enjoyed in this book, like when Bell pulls back the curtain of the vocational ministry experience and this "thing" that happens in the world of consumer church. Or when he talks about the things that we feel drawn to do. Or maybe my favorite part was when he reflected on the need for all of us to be drawn into a shared human experience rather than just seek and give answers.
I believe Bell intended for this book to be an inspirational read and invites people into more freedom. This was not my favorite of his books; but it was a great read.
July 26, 2020
I received an electronic ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.
Bell always makes me think. Though I don't always agree with all of his points, he challenges me to decide what I do believe and how I want to grow.
This book belabors several of his sub-points and stretches analogies to the breaking point. It also affirms readers along their journeys. While I appreciate his sharing of his personal journey and understand why he did so, it takes far too long to get to his points in the final chapters.
Bell always makes me think. Though I don't always agree with all of his points, he challenges me to decide what I do believe and how I want to grow.
This book belabors several of his sub-points and stretches analogies to the breaking point. It also affirms readers along their journeys. While I appreciate his sharing of his personal journey and understand why he did so, it takes far too long to get to his points in the final chapters.
April 9, 2021
This was a “read in one sitting” book for me, and I took several pages of notes as I read the classic Rob Bell stream of consciousness pages. It’s not my favorite style of writing, but the good stuff was GOOD and I can’t stop thinking about some of the questions he asked and thoughts he shared. I really appreciate the way Bell thinks and lives and questions and explores and believes. I find his work thought-provoking and Spirit-filled, and I’m grateful for it.
September 17, 2020
I realized that I've read more Rob Bell books than any other other. This one is the most ROB BELL'iest you can get. Everything is Spiritual is a constant theme through Bell's work but this one really focuses on it's importance. Loved this book.
September 27, 2020
There is no going backwards. There is only going forward.
October 5, 2020
What the heck was this? He rambles on and on, throwing in science occasionally. I read it, and I still don't know what it was about. I think I am over reading Rob Bell books.
July 16, 2023
I just love books that fundamentally change the way I think about something and this book rings that bell 🔔
July 1, 2025
The heart of the matter
This is not my favorite Rob Bell book, but it peels back important layers of His thought. I must say that no other contemporary author captures so well my own thinking.
This is not my favorite Rob Bell book, but it peels back important layers of His thought. I must say that no other contemporary author captures so well my own thinking.
December 6, 2020
There was so much in this I need to read it again, but the nuggets that stood out to me were astonishing.
October 21, 2020
I have reached a point in my life where I have decided that spirituality can exist without religion, and that to not find my version of it might be a disservice to myself. I started here, with this book. Unfortunately, I can’t connect with the authors words because we simply don’t see eye to eye. We’re on different playing fields. He has always been spiritual, according to him. I never have, according to me so it really felt like I was taking advanced trig having skipped all the previous classes.
The writing is smooth and I liked that it reads like poetry. But this book, outside of having some quotable sections, didn’t do much for my journey. Perhaps later when I’m in a different place I’ll receive it better, and perhaps I won’t.
The writing is smooth and I liked that it reads like poetry. But this book, outside of having some quotable sections, didn’t do much for my journey. Perhaps later when I’m in a different place I’ll receive it better, and perhaps I won’t.
February 3, 2023
I like rob bell books. But this one was very dry for me. Even though there were interesting things in this book, I found it to really lead to nowhere. Rob usually awes me with his ability to communicate, but this book felt like he was just talking about the weather. I am confused about what was to be seen in these pages.
November 18, 2022
Mixed feelings. I want to like it, I want to root for him, but the other part of me sees his work as kinda devolving into a flimsy, vague everything-is-connected romanticism, without cruciform realism as its animating heart. I love poetic exploration and I am actually fond of his rhetorical style. But for a book about spirit, I leave it wishing for more such Spirit...
June 5, 2022
Really makes ya think
January 12, 2021
This is the first Rob Bell I have read since Velvet Elvis. No real reason for reading it other than curiosity - it caught my attention and I thought I'd give it a try. I don't really follow Bell or know all that much about him, other than he has managed to garner quite a bit of attention among some contingent of the Evangelical crowd. In full transparency, I'm not even sure what for.
If you are not a believer that Jesus is God, then you might enjoy the book. It has some insightful musings on the human condition. However, to get to them, you have to wade through some storytelling that is about as narcissistic and self-centered as I have encountered in quite some time. I might expect this from a teenager or a Millennial experiencing some delayed adolescence, but this guy is 50. Fifty! I didn't count how many times he said "I" or "me", but the ratio is HIGH! I find it fascinating how Bell can condemn others for being judgmental and narrow-minded while clearly believing himself to be more enlightened and saddled or gifted (he tends to volley back and forth) with the ability to help them become more so. If being a Christian is pointing others to Christ and giving God the glory, then there's very little evidence of a Christian worldview here.
If you are a believer, I'd recommend turning your attention elsewhere. Based on this book, Jesus is not at the core of Bell's life. I wouldn't say Bell is a Universalist, but I think if Bell had to choose between the audience of One and the audience of many, this book clearly indicates where his loyalties would lie (at least at the moment). Case in point. Spirit is NEVER referred to as Holy Spirit, unless I missed it. Rob Bell appears to be at the center of Rob Bell's universe, not Christ, nor the desire to introduce others to Christ. If you disagree with me, then I simply ask you: Would the apostle Paul have written this book? Why not? Because Paul always pointed everyone and everything toward Jesus AND away from himself. Jesus, not Paul or even Paul's message, was as the center of Paul's life. Contrast that with Bell and Bell's message in this book. Bell might rather die than turn people's attention away from himself.
All this being said, there is something here. The book does make you think occasionally. To me, that justified reading it. Hence, my two star rating. But, this is not a Christian book, nor is it a book by a Christian for Christians or people looking to become Christians. This is "spiritual" purely in the new age sense of the word. It is a book about someone wrestling with his own desire to embrace a new age, pluralistic view of the spiritual, one that comports with Oprah, California, and much of our current popular culture without having to give up his claim to believing in Jesus while simultaneously not bearing the cultural cross that believing entails - i.e., acknowledging Christ's own claim that he is the only way to the Father. Was that just a metaphor and poetry when Christ said that? Well, Mr. Bell, was it? I often wish it was, but alas, I know it wasn't, as does Mr. Bell if he really knows Jesus at all and has ever accepted the Holy Spirit into his Heart. Anyone who knows the Bible knows that the tension between the worldly and the spiritual is as much about polytheism or putting anyone or anything other than God at the center of your world as it ever was about environmentalism, sexism, or whatever "ism" one would like to seek meaning from instead of Christ. Based on this book, however, I'm highly skeptical Rob Bell has ever experienced God in a direct and personal way. He knows of God and he knows God is real and true likely through proximity to many true believers, but I don't think he has had a personal relationship with Jesus in the way that most Evangelicals understand it. That's ironic given the conclusion about the all-important realization that relationship is at the core of this world.
I don't say any of this to condemn Bell. He seems like a reflective and nice guy, but he tries to speak with an authority that he does not have based on my reading of this book. I hope that he some day experiences the Holy Spirit and develops a personal relationship with Jesus as he sincerely seems to desire such a thing, but when he does, I'm afraid that he's going to regret implying that his message is a Christian message of hope, because it's not. It can't be. Why? Because Christ does not appear to be at the center of Bell's teaching, hope, faith, or love. Please seek the Spirit Mr. Bell, not just the spiritual, only then will you really understand the conclusion of your own book.
If you are not a believer that Jesus is God, then you might enjoy the book. It has some insightful musings on the human condition. However, to get to them, you have to wade through some storytelling that is about as narcissistic and self-centered as I have encountered in quite some time. I might expect this from a teenager or a Millennial experiencing some delayed adolescence, but this guy is 50. Fifty! I didn't count how many times he said "I" or "me", but the ratio is HIGH! I find it fascinating how Bell can condemn others for being judgmental and narrow-minded while clearly believing himself to be more enlightened and saddled or gifted (he tends to volley back and forth) with the ability to help them become more so. If being a Christian is pointing others to Christ and giving God the glory, then there's very little evidence of a Christian worldview here.
If you are a believer, I'd recommend turning your attention elsewhere. Based on this book, Jesus is not at the core of Bell's life. I wouldn't say Bell is a Universalist, but I think if Bell had to choose between the audience of One and the audience of many, this book clearly indicates where his loyalties would lie (at least at the moment). Case in point. Spirit is NEVER referred to as Holy Spirit, unless I missed it. Rob Bell appears to be at the center of Rob Bell's universe, not Christ, nor the desire to introduce others to Christ. If you disagree with me, then I simply ask you: Would the apostle Paul have written this book? Why not? Because Paul always pointed everyone and everything toward Jesus AND away from himself. Jesus, not Paul or even Paul's message, was as the center of Paul's life. Contrast that with Bell and Bell's message in this book. Bell might rather die than turn people's attention away from himself.
All this being said, there is something here. The book does make you think occasionally. To me, that justified reading it. Hence, my two star rating. But, this is not a Christian book, nor is it a book by a Christian for Christians or people looking to become Christians. This is "spiritual" purely in the new age sense of the word. It is a book about someone wrestling with his own desire to embrace a new age, pluralistic view of the spiritual, one that comports with Oprah, California, and much of our current popular culture without having to give up his claim to believing in Jesus while simultaneously not bearing the cultural cross that believing entails - i.e., acknowledging Christ's own claim that he is the only way to the Father. Was that just a metaphor and poetry when Christ said that? Well, Mr. Bell, was it? I often wish it was, but alas, I know it wasn't, as does Mr. Bell if he really knows Jesus at all and has ever accepted the Holy Spirit into his Heart. Anyone who knows the Bible knows that the tension between the worldly and the spiritual is as much about polytheism or putting anyone or anything other than God at the center of your world as it ever was about environmentalism, sexism, or whatever "ism" one would like to seek meaning from instead of Christ. Based on this book, however, I'm highly skeptical Rob Bell has ever experienced God in a direct and personal way. He knows of God and he knows God is real and true likely through proximity to many true believers, but I don't think he has had a personal relationship with Jesus in the way that most Evangelicals understand it. That's ironic given the conclusion about the all-important realization that relationship is at the core of this world.
I don't say any of this to condemn Bell. He seems like a reflective and nice guy, but he tries to speak with an authority that he does not have based on my reading of this book. I hope that he some day experiences the Holy Spirit and develops a personal relationship with Jesus as he sincerely seems to desire such a thing, but when he does, I'm afraid that he's going to regret implying that his message is a Christian message of hope, because it's not. It can't be. Why? Because Christ does not appear to be at the center of Bell's teaching, hope, faith, or love. Please seek the Spirit Mr. Bell, not just the spiritual, only then will you really understand the conclusion of your own book.
Read
November 4, 2022Thought provoking book that gives a refreshing view of spirituality, the world and religion.
January 23, 2021
This one is about as "Rob Bell" as it gets, which means I am at times moved and at times asking "what?" But, also with Bell, I'm challenged to continue asking questions about, as he calls it, this "Thingness" we're all experiencing. With no chapters, the book is essentially just one long stream of thought. Below are a few of my favorites...
"Those Jesus stories, they did something to me. What struck me in those stories was how the biggest mysteries are found in the smallest things. A woman kneads some dough, a party needs more wine, a man buries a seed, rocks cry out, something infinite happening in all of that dirt and sweat and stuff of life. Blood and crowds and roads and friends - in those Jesus stories that's where the life, the action, the divine is found."
__
"Nothing exists in isolation, it's all connected. Business, politics, education, art, science, caring for the earth, looking out for the poor, what you eat, where you go, sex, music - it's all spiritual. I saw how in the story of Moses and the burning bush, Moses doesn't take his sandals off because suddenly the ground becomes holy. The ground had been holy the whole time. The story is about Moses becoming aware of it."
__
"I saw how the Bible isn't a book about how to get into heaven, it's a library of poems and letters and stories about bringing heaven to earth now, about this world becoming more and more the place it should be. There is very, very little in the Bible about what happens when you die. That's not what the writers were focused on. Their interest, again and again, is on how this world is arranged. Does everyone have enough? Are the power structures tilted in favor of the vulnerable? Has violence been renounced, or is it being kept in circulation?"
__
"No wonder so many Americans misread the Bible. If you're a citizen of the most dominant global military superpower the world has ever seen, what do you do with a book that is relentlessly critical of dominant military superpowers? You either ignore it, or you take it seriously, or you turn it into nice parables about the human heart, or you make it about what happens when we die or the world ends in some other time, in some other place."
__
"To insist that this is just how it is is to fail to see that the great invitation of being human is to change how it is. To keep declaring that this is how the world works is to miss out on the joy that comes from believing that things change when people decide that the world can work in other ways."
__
"All of it it. All of us. Everybody, everywhere, IN Christ. This is one of the reasons why the early Jesus movement grew with such passion and intensity. In a brutally hierarchal ancient world where massive empires oppressed and dominated the vulnerable and marginalized - where everybody knew their place - to announce that there's a dignity and honor in being human, that every one of us has infinite worth and value - that was a radical idea. That was good news. Still is."
"Those Jesus stories, they did something to me. What struck me in those stories was how the biggest mysteries are found in the smallest things. A woman kneads some dough, a party needs more wine, a man buries a seed, rocks cry out, something infinite happening in all of that dirt and sweat and stuff of life. Blood and crowds and roads and friends - in those Jesus stories that's where the life, the action, the divine is found."
__
"Nothing exists in isolation, it's all connected. Business, politics, education, art, science, caring for the earth, looking out for the poor, what you eat, where you go, sex, music - it's all spiritual. I saw how in the story of Moses and the burning bush, Moses doesn't take his sandals off because suddenly the ground becomes holy. The ground had been holy the whole time. The story is about Moses becoming aware of it."
__
"I saw how the Bible isn't a book about how to get into heaven, it's a library of poems and letters and stories about bringing heaven to earth now, about this world becoming more and more the place it should be. There is very, very little in the Bible about what happens when you die. That's not what the writers were focused on. Their interest, again and again, is on how this world is arranged. Does everyone have enough? Are the power structures tilted in favor of the vulnerable? Has violence been renounced, or is it being kept in circulation?"
__
"No wonder so many Americans misread the Bible. If you're a citizen of the most dominant global military superpower the world has ever seen, what do you do with a book that is relentlessly critical of dominant military superpowers? You either ignore it, or you take it seriously, or you turn it into nice parables about the human heart, or you make it about what happens when we die or the world ends in some other time, in some other place."
__
"To insist that this is just how it is is to fail to see that the great invitation of being human is to change how it is. To keep declaring that this is how the world works is to miss out on the joy that comes from believing that things change when people decide that the world can work in other ways."
__
"All of it it. All of us. Everybody, everywhere, IN Christ. This is one of the reasons why the early Jesus movement grew with such passion and intensity. In a brutally hierarchal ancient world where massive empires oppressed and dominated the vulnerable and marginalized - where everybody knew their place - to announce that there's a dignity and honor in being human, that every one of us has infinite worth and value - that was a radical idea. That was good news. Still is."
November 5, 2020
I had originally planned on giving this book 3 stars, but by the end I had to reduce it.
Rob Bell has a cult following and I read this book at the recommendation of a friend who really likes him. She had recommended some of Rob Bell's YouTube talks and I just couldn't get over his dramatic way of talking. I thought maybe reading something by him would be better.
There are some good ideas in this book, but it is so clear that Rob Bell is trying desperately to sound profound.
His choppy way of writing is also bizarre. He essentially writes like he speaks, and i get the impression this book is probably a written version of (and a way to monetize) a talk he has already given.
He tells the reader how they should be thinking. When referencing a bizarre story that he told a few pages earlier he says,
"It's absurd and strange and yet it resonates somewhere within you - you find yourself thinking, 'Keep going, I want to see how this one ends...'"
No, no I don't.
The kicker for me was at the end with his strangely personified explanation of how life is created. For several pages, he referred to a sperm as "little fella" as he described the life process as if it was a tale of bravery. He also again and again referenced the reader's mother's body trying to chop off the heads of the father's sperm. I am comfortable talking about sex but it was a little much to bring the reader's parents into it for a visual.
I won't read Rob Bell again.
Rob Bell has a cult following and I read this book at the recommendation of a friend who really likes him. She had recommended some of Rob Bell's YouTube talks and I just couldn't get over his dramatic way of talking. I thought maybe reading something by him would be better.
There are some good ideas in this book, but it is so clear that Rob Bell is trying desperately to sound profound.
His choppy way of writing is also bizarre. He essentially writes like he speaks, and i get the impression this book is probably a written version of (and a way to monetize) a talk he has already given.
He tells the reader how they should be thinking. When referencing a bizarre story that he told a few pages earlier he says,
"It's absurd and strange and yet it resonates somewhere within you - you find yourself thinking, 'Keep going, I want to see how this one ends...'"
No, no I don't.
The kicker for me was at the end with his strangely personified explanation of how life is created. For several pages, he referred to a sperm as "little fella" as he described the life process as if it was a tale of bravery. He also again and again referenced the reader's mother's body trying to chop off the heads of the father's sperm. I am comfortable talking about sex but it was a little much to bring the reader's parents into it for a visual.
I won't read Rob Bell again.
June 30, 2020
I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the publisher.
Rob Bell's writing is thoughtful and engaging. He explores his personal spiritual journey in this book more than in past books. I love the way he talks passionately about science and spirituality and weaves seemingly disconnected topics into a cohesive narrative.
I will definitely be recommending this one to friends and family!
Rob Bell's writing is thoughtful and engaging. He explores his personal spiritual journey in this book more than in past books. I love the way he talks passionately about science and spirituality and weaves seemingly disconnected topics into a cohesive narrative.
I will definitely be recommending this one to friends and family!
June 24, 2021
a walking poem.
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