First of all I just want to say about the previous review...LOL!!! Ok I am done now...ok maybe a little bit more...tehehe.

Moving on...

I read 4/5 of this book on my flight from Atlanta to Portland. It was a good read filled with some amazing insights. There were times when it was a bit slow and I had to sorta convince myself I wanted to read on but it only took a few pages untill something really caught my attention again. He sets up the book by explaing the title, thats always something you can count on with a book about faith with an interesting title like this one. Then he breaks up the book into 7 chapters or as he puts it "movements". If you can get through the first movement without chucking the whole book out the window then it will be smooth sailing for you form there on out.

Pro's:
He addresses a lot of things that have been addressed before but he successfully does it in his own different way. For instance..."binding and loosing". Just when I think I have heard it all he brings you abck to the original Hebrew text and comppletly blows out of the water everything you could have thought it was....get this....it really has NOTHING to do with prayer and everything to do with doctrine and rabbi's. Go figure.

He keeps a healthy balance of humor and moral. You find your self laughing and feeling challenged all in the same moment. His realness and willingness to lay out himself for everyone to see is admirable. He tells you of his strengths and his weaknesses as a pastor of a church that from day ONE never had less than 1000 attendind...which he defineitly doesnt boast about...he actually prefaces himself when telling the numbers of his church in a whole paragraph stating he only tells us because it is part of his story. It is real.

A few of my favorite exceprts:

"A Christian doesnt avoid the questions: a Christian embraces them. In fact, to truley pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions. Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people dont have any."

"Central to the Christian experience is the art of questioning. Not belligerant, arrogant questions that have no respect for our Maker, but naked, honest, velnerable, raw questions, arrising out of awe that comes from enagaing the living God."

"Because God has spoken and everything else is commentary."

"Inspired words have a way of getting under our skin and taking on a life of their own. They work on us. We started out reading them but they end up reading us."

"Sabbath is taking a day a week to remind myself that I did not make the world and it will continue to exist without my efforts."

And last but not least...my favorite one....

"Whatever those things are that make you feel alive and like the universe is ultimitaly a good palce and that you are not alone, I need a faith that doesnt deny these moments but embraces them. I need a spiritual understanding that celebrates these kind of transcendant moments instead of avoiding them. These moments cant be tangents. They cant be experiences that distract from "real" faith. These moments cant exist on the edges, because they are apart of our faith. A spirituality that is real will have to make sense of them and show us how they fit. They are expressions of what it means to live in God's world."

I love how he words so much of his writing. Very easy to understand but doesnt rob you of the desire to just chew on it and deside for yourself if you agree or not. He also lays out the pages very well. Lots of random spaceing and short paragraphs. The book it 194 pages long but in all reality the actual reading of the book it probably closer to around 100 pages. Easy...beneficial read.

Con's:
Somthings he tends to hit on and then just elave you hangin. It would be nice for him to go in a little deeper on where he got his belief on certain things. Like I said before sometimes it was hard to stay interested, almost as if you felt him finding it hard to write. Like he was grabin for something and couldnt exactly get it. Also a few things I didnt agree with but I would question me and I am sure he would question me if I took it all as the perfect faith. Also it would show that I completly missed the point of the book if I agreed with everything he said.

Comparision to another book:

Blue Like Jazz
by Ronald Miller
I would first recommend reading Blue Like Jazz and if you have already read it know that Velvet Elvis is more of a "Chrsitian" read then that one.

What happens when you mix fact with fiction? God speaks about this in the Bible....The yeast (fiction) in this book pollutes the truth ultimately creating a fictional tale geared towards todays youth or those who are young in their faith. A little yeast can pollute allot of Truth.

DANGER! DANGER! This book has become main stream reading in cult based Church Youth Groups. Go to Google and type in "Rob Bell Cult" A mere 745,000 links.

I'm not a traditionalist pushing ritualistic spirituality. Jesus told the Jews they were missing the point with ritualism as well. And Bell is correct in that point, ceremony & ritualism can never replace Godly works.

Is Bell trying to portray himself as the new Mesiah? To todays's youth he is. "Many shall come in my name" says the Lord. Bell's motives I know not. Monetary compensation? The root of all evil. God shall judge Bell's motives.

I can state the TRUTH however. I found it in the Holy Bible also available at Amazon. REV:22:18 "I,John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book."

What does Bell say about this?

Evil has always known that our youth, those who are young or lost in their faith are the best targets. Look at the radical Muslims using children to kill themselves and others in God's name. Look at Hilter's Youth....The same scenario.

Bell speaks of too much judgement. A more current view of Christianity? Biblical prophecy is timeless. If you don't think so, you don't understand it. The Ten Commandments are now reduced to suggestions? Christ's book of life for which we will be judged has disappeared? Don't be deceived!

You are saved by your Faith. You will be Judged by your works.

As young or new Christians read this book, do not be tempted by it! As you have accepted Christ, Satan will now work harder to pull you away from the TRUTH. It was Satan's vanity that turned him against God. Don't let your vanity do the same to you. Those who are mature in their faith will immediately detect the catering to the flesh in this book...not the soul.

Remember Satan will portray himself in in the most tempting of ways. In this case..Velvet Elvis.

Entertaining reading for those who are mature in their faith, for others go back to the Bible. It is timeless and will never deceive you.

I am Christian, but yet a lot of other Christians really scare me to death, make me feel judged, get angry if I disagree with their political agenda, preach at me and claim to have all the answers. I find it completely bizarre and sometimes downright disturbing.

Rob Bell really hits the nail on the head in this book. He offers a liberal take on Christianity for those of us who believe fully in the teachings of Christ but just don't get the whole commercial Christian movement going on in the US today that sometimes seems more like a fascist cult than a community of love and support.

If more people read Velvet Elvis, and if more pastors and priests took the attitude in this book, there would be a heck of a lot more people following Christ. The tone of the book is open, welcoming, and non-judgmental. Isn't that exactly what Christianity is supposed to be?

This is the best book I have read in some time. Rob's work is relevant, deep thinking, God-honoring, and is bound to expand the horizons of your faith. He has truly offered this book up as part of the discussion and what a great discussion it is. After reading this book, I found a new hunger and thirst to know God for who He really is. It made me passionately seek to bring heaven to earth. I plan to recommend this book to everyone I know!