Book description
Perhaps more relevant than ever before, Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis is his
original and bestselling classic. In Velvet Elvis, Bell invites readers
to wrestle with their faith, and offers a radical new perspective on
Jesus, the church, and Christianity today.
We know there's something more. We sense it, we feel it, and we want
it. But how do we find it - a spirituality that stands up to the
questions of an honest, searching mind? 'This book is for those who need
a fresh take on Jesus and what it means for us to live the kind of life
he teaches us to live,' writes Rob Bell.
This new edition of Velvet Elvis, along with the relaunch of Rob Bell's
three other classic works, offers what Rob does best: original and
refreshingly personal perspectives on what Christianity is really about.
'We have to test everything,' writes Bell. 'Do that to this book. Don't
swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it. Just because
I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview
doesn't mean I've got it nailed. I'm contributing to the discussion. God
has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?' 'Bell fights every
impulse in our culture to domesticate Jesus [and] challenges the reader
to be open to surprise, mystery and all of the unanswerables… Bell has
given theologically suspicious Christians new courage to bet their life
on Jesus Christ.' (Christian Century)
'Claiming that some versions of Jesus should be rejected, particularly
those used to intimidate and inspire fear or hatred, Bell persuasively
interprets the Bible as a message of love and redemption. . . . His
style is characteristically concise and oral, his tone passionate and
unabashedly positive.' (Publishers Weekly)
'One of the nation's rock-star-popular young pastors, Rob Bell, has
stuck a pitchfork in how Christians talk about damnation.' (USA Today)
'It isn't easy to develop a biblical imagination that takes in the
comprehensive and eternal work of Christ . . . Rob Bell goes a long way
in helping us acquire just such an imagination-without a trace of soft
sentimentality and without compromising an inch of evangelical
conviction.' (Eugene H. Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual
Theology, Regent College, and author of The Message and The Pastor Rob
Bell is the Founding Pastor of Mars Hill Holy Bible Church in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. He is the author of the bestselling Velvet Elvis, Sex
God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Drops Like Stars, speaks to
sold-out audiences across the world and pioneers a series of short films
called NOOMA. He and his wife Kristen have three children.
