Sex God 5

The fifth chapter of Sex God goes after the relationship between risk and love. It draws the two closely together showing how great risk potentializes great love. This is used as the descriptor of the incarnation - God's great risk because of his great love.

p.101 "As we read the Gospels, we find Jesus' message putting him more and more in conflict with the religious and political leaders of his day. He's threatening their power. This is what love does, it threatens the empires of power and control and wealth and manipulation."

Sex God 4

The fourth chapter in Rob Bell's book is on lust. It's a great centerpiece for this book as Bell disects what makes people sin - continually. It isn't the lust, either - it's the willingness to accept what one is told (by your mind, desire, the devil, etc.) as truth coupled by the inability to see that the chosen path does not lead to life - which means it works in opposition to God.

One of the things I love is the way Bell instructs the reader to redirect their (sexual) desire into something much much better. It's a very different approach than that of my "we-put-the-mental-in-fundamental" bible school, where the over-riding approach was duck and cover in the face of anything beautiful. Under that system some relationships and marriages were based solely on finding someone with the same calling as yourself to be a partner with - with little consideration of the beauty in the other person.

Great chapter, insightful and would be a great discussion starter!

Sex God 3

In chapter 3 Bell takes on the challenge of living in the tension of honsety in regards to sexuality. He talks about the 'animal' side, where people just give into anything or live in a sexual despair. He also talks about the 'angel' side, where people deny any attractive feelings and completely abandon intimacy.

Both of these extremes, according to Bell, take us out of our natural way - being human (not animal or angel). He does a great job at tying it all in together at the end and making it concise, clear and engaging. Probably the best chapter yet.

Sex God 2

In chapter 2 Bell talks about our desire to be connected to others being (at base) an expression of sexual desire. In a tragically trendy way he talks about some celibate single people being the most sexual people he knows. This is justified by their connectedness to so many different people in real and honest ways.

I appreciated this chapter's consideration of the distinction between intimacy and physical sexual activity. At the same time, Bell appeals to the postmodern mind by redefining sex to mean something new (non-traditional). This was not done in the most smooth way...

Sex God 1

I picked up Rob Bell's Sex God with a bunch of other textbooks for school this year. Becuase it's fun reading, I am going to post by chapters to milk it all the way out. Most of my textbook reading is done with speed in mind, so Sex God will be read with enjoyment.

The first chapter is called, God Wears Lipstick, in which Bell revolves a discussion of humanity's attitude towards itself impacting it's ultimate reality around a story from a Nazi concentration camp in which lipstick was given to the women who were being rescued. It also talks about lust and torture and how we treat others reflecting on our own health.

An interesting chapter.