Love Wins – Rob Bell

A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived

While I like the book’s title, its subtitle is what actually caught my attention – along with the fact that the fundamental (and not so fundamental for that matter) “Christian” community has screamed out against it. Rob Bell lived up to the hype. His approach toward discussion of the plausibility of non-traditional biblical interpretations is worth the read. Be careful, though. If you have shallow roots, you just might be replanted in the fertile grounds of Unitarian Universalism – well not quite, but somewhere in a nearby field where the bible can still be found.

I actually loved the book. While my convictions don’t align with a great deal of what Rob presents, I actually hope he’s right. I am sure that God calls many to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ (a faith that is actually granted by God’s Spirit to begin with). I am not saddened, however, if I get to heaven and find that he had another set of plans for everyone else.

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of Painful Memories

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.

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Greg DePriest Quotes

Greg DePriest is my pastor, mentor and friend. I recently began taking note of the pieces of wisdom he has shared. Here’s what I have so far:

• Remember that during a test, the teacher is most always silent.
• Being right doesn’t always take care of what’s wrong.
• I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t walk with a limp.
• My life is a finished work, all I have to do is live it out.
• We are more wicked and sinful than we could ever believe and we are more loved and accepted than we could ever hope. That is the gospel.

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The Social Animal – David Brooks

“Most of what we think and believe is unavailable to conscious view. We are our own deepest mystery.”

Thoughts:

The Social Animal is the most intriguing book I have read in the past few years. This is true from the standpoints of both content and style.
Content: The basic premise of the book’s content is that the unconcious mind – evolved, genetically, and learned – has a greater effect on our lives than most people have been willing to acknowledge.

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A Scandalous Freedom – Steve Brown

Thoughts:

Most people who find freedom through a personal relationship with Jesus also find, shortly thereafter, a greatly restricting bondage of legalism and guilt imposed by those with whom they have just joined rank. Then, after a great deal of concentration camp like conditioning, they too are prepared lay hold on any newbies with whom they come into contact. Anyone who rejects this dictatorial reign of Christianity is obviously either not a member of the semi-secret society of believers at all or is dangerously close to the edge of God’s tremendous wrath for those who fall out of line. In the meantime, we will ostracize them as lepers…

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