Rob Bell : The Gods Aren't Angry

Usually it makes more sense to blog about a book/cd/dvd after investigating said product! Usually is not how i ever do things and as i said to someone just the other day, 'I like to do things arse about face.' This morning the latest Rob Bell dvd came up in conversation and i am keen to get watching it sometime soon. I really enjoyed Everything is Spiritual despite not agreeing with every single thing Rob says in it. If you type the title of either of these dvd's or Rob's name into Google you will get enough search results to make your head spin. The net is rife with equal amounts of praise and criticism directed at Rob but one thing that is hard to deny is his amazing ability as a communicator. That is enough of a reason for me to want to watch this, whether i will agree with everything he says is another thing and frankly is not an issue.

Anyone see this? Thoughts?

Hugh Hewitt got me thinking part 2

After the last post i was thinking about this post and the vast diversity that the word 'evangelical' covers. Hugh Hewitt said "don't tell me or imply to the public that you speak for evangelicals" and rightly so. If you say this, then what section of the "evangelical group" do you speak for. Diversity is inevitable in the "church" but sometimes it really gets me uptight when i consider what we have become. The denominations within denominations and the splits and disagreements that have caused a word like 'evangelical' to no longer mean very much are just endless. So, when Rolling Stone Goes Undercover with the Christian Fringe i get upset!! Why? Well in this instance Rolling Stone went to John Hagee's Church! You can read their article here. I suggest reading it for a better explanation of why perhaps Hagee's Church wasn't a great choice, and that way i don't have to give my own opinion and get into trouble. I would hate him to "speak" my blog into obscurity!!
I came across the article on Jollyblogger but there are some other great posts about this here and here. When a journalist decides to do this they never end up at a regular or normal Church do they? Hang on, is that an oxymoron? I guess to the "unbeliever" it is but my point is that so often the reputation of all Christians is based on the extreme teaching or activity of a minority. That extreme may fall under a very large umbrella of "evangelical" practice just because they say "Jesus" or "repent" from time to time but as Hugh points out, you cannot "speak for evangelicals." Maybe you could 30 years ago but not now!

Questioning Spirituality................

A while ago i got this book! I am tempted to stop right there with this post! You can read more of the official info here. Hey, i even exchanged a couple of messages with Phyllis Tickle on Facebook, she wrote the foreword, which on my pre-release copy was missing! I am not sure what else to say, i admit to almost throwing it away a few times, that would have been silly. I will not get into a deep theological criticism of the book. For one, i am not intelligent enough to do so but also i got frustrated and have not yet completed it so it would be unfair to judge the whole book on a partial reading of it. Here's the thing, i got fed up with Questions! Questions, one after the other and very few answers. I am sure there are answers in the book somewhere, i just wasn't seeing them. As some of you who read 'supersimbo' regularly (2 of you) will know i am not exactly John MacArthur but neither am i Brian Mclaren, if you see what i am saying? I don't expect all the answers but id like some and when i read a book by a "senior pastor" it concerns me to find such an abundance of questions and compromising. I will repeat that these thoughts are based on reading just over half the book. I have a friend who was raised in "Church" and at 30 years old is full of doubt, questions and difficulties with God, Faith and his soul. I know the solution to his situation is not more questions, it may not be a "slap in the face" barrage of truth either but again, i hope you see where i am going? Questions CAN be good, they are not always good though, especially if its all we have.
I don't see this as a review of the above book, just an observation or first impression. I will most likely read the rest of it when i am less inclined to burn it or throw it across the room, stay tuned.

Famous Christians......

Its been a while since i mentioned Bono and for those of you who know me well you will know that i like to drop him into conversation from time to time, especially when i know it will get a negative reaction.I have one friend who will almost physically attack if you suggest that Bono is a christian, "But he smokes cigars, drinks and has said f*@k on live T.V." he will protest. Yes this is true and don't we all have our faults, perhaps we don't get an opportunity to display them so publicly and no doubt given the chance we would stay spotless and without blame right? Anyway i found a blog via Brian Seay just now and well i needed to share one of the posts on it. Here ya go;

"Although the jury is still out on Stephen Baldwin, one of our favorite things is Famous Christians. I have to admit, Scientology has kind of been kicking our butt for a few years. I mean they got Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Giovanni Ribisi. They even got Beck, dear sweet sounding Beck. But we're not that concerned, want to know why? Because we have Bono. He's worth like 18 other normal celebrities. Seriously, he is most of the most active, productive people on the planet. I almost wouldn't be surprised if at some point he admitted that he had been cloned in the late 90s. How else can you explain his work in Africa, his concert tours and his ability to regularly put out good albums? Thank God for Bono."

Original post here
The Stuff Christians like blog is here, it really is worth a look.

Jesus Brand Spirituality.....

I got an "advanced readers copy" of this book yesterday. I am looking forward to reading it but was disappointed to discover that the foreword by "facebook friend" Phyllis Tickle was absent from my copy. She is adamant she wrote it so it should show up in the final print run! She tells me its "one heck of a fine book." You can find out more about what the author is calling "Jesus Brand Spirituality" on the website of the Church he pastors here. I should also say that i am not advocating or affiliating myself with Emergent thinking, you will see references to it on the Church Website. Imagine a world where you read a book by a certain author and suddenly you are elevated to being a member of his "club" who shares all his or her beliefs without your knowledge? We live in that world! Oh, did i say that the main tagline of the book seems to be "He wants his Religion Back" in reference to Jesus. Its great that i am looking forward to the book and instantly i disagree with that statement. I guess its the way its worded, i understand the meaning behind it but i like to think that Jesus never had any intention of starting a "religion" in the sense that most people understand the word. This is hardly new thinking on my part so i won't wax lyrical on that but you get what i mean!? Anyway, more on this another time............