imagine_stars's Full Review: Rob Bell - Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connecti...
Perhaps a more apt name would've been Sex. God. or Sex/God. But, no matter what it's called, Rob Bell's Sex God does just what it claims in its subtitle: explores the endless connections between sexuality and spirituality.
Let's start with Rob himself: he's the late-30s founder of Mars Hill Church in Michigan, a church with a huge focus on social justice, a church that steers away from the expected sermon-and-music time in hopes of reaching the people who just don't get into the traditional church scene. In his pre-Mars Hill days, Bell had a revelation: "If someone could speak to these people in their mother tongue, they'd be here in droves."
And that seems to be his philosophy in everything, including the popular NOOMA videos (10-minute teaching sessions) and his two books: speak to the people in their mother tongue. And that's what he does. At least, it's what he does if "the people" are typical Americans who like to own stuff, who enjoy stories, who want to learn but don't want to take the time to digest C.S. Lewis' apologetics. And if their mother tongue is a savvy discussion-type dialogue.
Sex God starts by laying out the connection between sex and God, and how we must understand some things about God before we'll ever make sense of sex. Bell explains that, since all people are created in the image of God, we've got to view them as such, not slap on the labels of "handicapped" or "different colored" or whatever, but firstly as just "human." And then, we'll stop treating them like sex objects (or anything else degrading) and treat them the way they're meant to be treated. No matter how they look. No matter what they do. No matter how they smell.
There's discussion about what sexuality means. There's the warning not to treat sex as just an animalistic, wild impulse--but also the interesting converse idea, to not shy away from the idea of sex as if it's ugly and wrong. And there are fascinating comparisons between God and a junior high boy asking a girl to a dance: extending love, risking self. There's explanation of that famous word "submit" as found in the Bible, and the admonition to keep our personal lives "under the chuppah," sharing certain secrets with only the one we love. He even throws in something for the perpetually single readers: the acknowledgment that being single is actually okay, that sex isn't everything.
Sex God includes some intelligent Bible interpretation, explaining significant words in their original languages to better help readers understand all the nuances. But this kind of brainfood doesn't make the book textbookish in anyway. Actually, Bell's writing style is very conversational and interesting, although he does like trying to sound hip with lots of sentence fragments and ideas broken up
into different lines
to emphasize certain points.
Which works perfectly as poetry in certain spots, is just okay in others, and can get downright annoying if you're not in the mood. Yet, I found myself easily excusing it, if only because his style is so easy to read and digest without being a complete insult to my intelligence. Then again, I learn best from stories, so if you're the kind who just wants an author to get to the point already or lay out a few simple steps to follow, you're not going to find it here.
However, for the true literary lover, Bell's not cranking out any jaw-dropping prose. His ideas are what make the impact, far more than his writing. Lovers of poignant reflection a la Donald Miller or Anne Lamott definitely won't find Bell as staggeringly eloquent, though he's funny and alert. He does include great illustrations, and sometimes he'll just let them linger so that we find the meaning for ourselves. At other times, he'll point out exactly what he's trying to say, often repeatedly, like when a kid tells a joke and then asks, "Do you get it? 'Cause the cat was speaking, and cats don't speak..."
Though I didn't find Sex God to be the definitive, revelatory work I expected, it was very thought-provoking and did a great job articulating many things I've heard before but never really understood. Even though the organization of chapter topics became slightly spastic near the end, it didn't get confusing or ridiculous. I don't agree with all of Bell's comments, though I found that overall, his insights were biblically sound. And, I loved that he blew apart several church niceties by keeping things real and taking issues straight-on, showing truth without starting an argument.
Bell's a smart man. I'm always a little leery of hipster preachers like himself. Sometimes they get so wrapped up in making the Bible "cool" and "relevant" that they focus on flashy, fluffy words that never make any real change. And there's a little of that emo-plastic-glasses/nerdy-sweaters vibe coming at me from this book, but even with some of the writing trying too hard to convince me it's urban and edgy, I found that the majority of it was simply...real. Sex God is not a how-to or what-not-to do book; instead, it's a challenge on paper, an urging to understand and ponder and become a better person based on what you now know. It was a quick read, but one I'd read again.
Just as the physical world is linked with deeper spiritual realities, sex and God are intimately connected. But how? With unusual beauty and insight, ...More at Christianbook.com
God and sex go together. You can t separate the two, says Rob Bell, because this physical world is intimately linked to deeper spiritual realities. An...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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