The Book and its Topic
Velvet Elvis is like a painting. See, Rob Bell says that he is repainting the Christian faith. It’s the book’s slogan. And Rob painted a beautiful painting. One worth looking at.
I enjoyed looking at Rob’s painting. At times he had me laughing so hard that my wife just had to know what it was all about. At other times I was close to tears. But most of all, Velvet Elvis had me thinking. Long and hard my friend.
Christians are prone to accepting everything offered to them, as long as it is “Christian”. Rob tells us that we should be careful to not just accept everything “Christian” because it is “Christian”. People have been pushed away from God and badly hurt, just because of “Christians” being “Christian”. He says “Christian” is a great noun, but not such a nice adjective.
I think this might be easier for Rob than for the rest of us. See, Velvet Elvis illustrates that this man has a marvelous gift to think creatively. I think he has a gift to take a subject that has been taken apart many times over in the history of the church and think and argue about it in a new and original way.
From contributing to the global conversation to jumping on trampolines to not trying to be super-‘me’ to bringing heaven down to earth and to good news for everyone – even those who do not believe. This guy just thinks differently (in a good way). And to ‘look at’ Velvet Elvis is interesting and enlightening (did I just type that word?) and just plain fun. It feels like Rob is in the painting and it is actually a plasma screen. He is speaking to you...
Rob also has a wonderful insight into Judaism and Rabbis and the way things were when Jesus lived and the gospels were written. He points out some interesting facts as he goes along with his paintbrush. I think it is important to know these things.
On the NOOMA website Rob gives a list of his recommended books and you will see that he likes reading about the time of Jesus. Velvet Elvis contains numerous facts about how things were in the first century.
Velvet Elvis is good interesting reading, challenging us to think and be more like Jesus meant for us to be.
Before we go on, let me just add that I am still thinking about some of the things written in Velvet Elvis. I guess I will be for a long time to come. And I am sure that is exactly what Rob was hoping for. He encourages you to take Velvet Elvis apart and think long and hard about what he is saying. Now, let’s see what he says...
BookDisciple Power Quote
Deciding on this was really difficult, and I wish I could give you three power quotes. But, I do not want to give you too much and take away some of the enjoyment you will experience when you read Velvet Elvis. You deserve to enjoy all of it while reading the book.
So I had to choose one! Here goes...
“We have to embrace the Bible as the wild, uncensored,
passionate account it is of people experiencing the
living God.
Doubting the one true God.
Wrestling with, arguing with, getting angry with, reconciling with,
loving, worshiping, thanking, following the one who gives
us everything.
We cannot tame it.
We cannot tone it down.
If we do, then we can’t say it is the life-giving Word of God.
We have made it something else.” - Velvet Elvis, p.63.
So, how does it read?
It is really like looking at a pretty pciture. You'll enjoy it, and I cannot exactly put my finger on the reason why. This little 177 page book is cool and fun and enjoyable.
Maybe it's the feeling that he is speaking to you. Maybe it's the interesting illustrations and facts. You know what? I don’t know why I enjoyed it. I just did. You have to see for yourself.
What did this book mean to me personally?
I think it's extremely dangerous to just accept things from other people. We have to have some discernment and figure things out for ourselves. We have to wrestle with certain things and get to a point where we are satisfied that our view on that specific point is comfortable and fits in with our other beliefs. Then, it still would not be set in stone.
I think Rob made me think about some of my viewpoints, some of the springs of this trampoline I am jumping on. And thinking about these things can make you take out a spring here or there, adjust a spring, add some new springs, but you will still be able to jump on your trampoline and enjoy it (this example is from Velvet Elves – Movement One).
I am still jumping, and still enjoying it. But some of my springs have been adjusted. In fact, I think I enjoy jumping slightly more now...
And hopefully I will talk about jumping a bit less, and invite people to just jump with me a bit more.
Conclusion
This book will challenge the boundaries of your faith. You will doubt some of the things Rob says. I doubted some of his statements while reading the book, and in fact I still doubt some of them. I think that is the beauty of it.
We don't have to agree on every point. Some of the things he wrote are extraordinary, and I wish I wrote them. I could not agree more. But when you get someone writing a book on the whole of the Christian faith, obviously you will not agree with everything. Or should I say “not yet”? We’ll see.
I think it is an extreme pity that we split churches over small disagreements. We have a dynamic faith and will never have everything figured out and, yes, we will never agree on everything. But we are all part of the body of Christ. Can we not see that, stop fighting and start changing the world? Please.
Velvet Elvis is an excellent painting, beautiful to look at. It is a marvelous conversation. But it will challenge you to think. Long and hard!
Enjoy it!
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