Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Rob Bell: The God's Aren't Angry Tour

Last night I went to see Rob Bell at the Vic Theatre in Chicago. The line was around the block to the sold out show.

The stage was set up with a rather large alter in the middle. Rob Bell hopped out a few minutes after 8 looking a bit waffy with a shaved head. He started by telling a story of primitive people and how they might have related their internal feelings and external enviroment to a sense of god and then ritual. It was interesting. ]

The things I got out of the night that stuck with me where:
- Maybe Abraham sacrificing his son was about his faith but about God providing (in this case a ram to sacrifice).
- Abraham brought an incredible new religion because it was a god who cared and wasn't always pissed off.
- Jesus was even crazier because he said we don't need this alter. I am the alter and the sacrifice. The sacrifice is complete in me.
- God doesn't want inhuman sacrifice for the sake of just giving more but he wants life to be a celebration of God in everything we do (still working through some of this).

It was great stuff. Hopefully I can get some of his old tours on dvd and It seems that by searching the google I can.

If you haven't read them I would highly recommend:


   


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

www.everythingisspiritual.com

Wyatt said...

I think about Abraham often. God is preaching Jesus Christ to us far before we knew anything. Abraham is like the Father sacrificing Isaac like God does with Jesus. The ram is the propitiation of Jesus Christ. Jesus confirms this in Luke 24 that it was all about him.

Abraham had no idea what he was doing, he just walked in the steps God had for him, starting in the land of UR for hundreds of miles into Canaan. A mysterious character.

Rob Bell has doubts about the reliability of scripture and puts more emphasis on experience. He has some serious doubts about whether things happened the way they were recorded in scripture. Jesus is quoted in all three synoptics of saying: For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

So I have mixed feelings about Rob Bell, and although he may say valuable things to some people, ultimately I take him with a grain of salt. :)

Wyatt said...

havenofbliss.com

Justin said...

Rob Bell never says that he doubts the validity or reliability of scripture!?!?!?!?!! He did a study on the canonicity (or the law that was used to chose the books that went in to the Bible) of the Bible and is totally convinced that the Bible is the true word of God. I don't know where you got that but it's wrong. I know he puts forth a lot of things that are different from what we usually are used to saying, but that just means he is understanding the Bible in his own walk with God and teaching it to anyone who wants to hear. He fully believes in everything the Bible teaches and I press on you to try and find anything recorded that (in context) says he doesn't.