Introduction: This Is Really about That Chapter One: God Wears Lipstick Chapter Two: Sexy on the Inside Chapter Three: Angels and Animals Chapter Four: Leather, Whips, and Fruit Chapter Five: She Ran into the Girls' Bathroom Chapter Six: Worth Dying For Chapter Seven: Under the Chuppah Chapter Eight: Johnny and June Chapter Nine: Whoopee Forever Epilogue: More Balloons, Please Endnotes/Resources/Discussion
Sex God
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Bell raises the bar with this evocative follow-up to last year's bestseller Velvet Elvis. "Is sex a picture of heaven?" he wonders. It's all about God and sex and heaven, he says: "...they're connected. And they can't be separated. Where the one is you will always find the other." Bell's book isn't a sex manual, an exploration of the differences between men and women or a marriage how-to, though all of that is here. Instead, it's the story of God becoming human, of humans mirroring God and love made manifest in the chaos of our humanity. Sex God is about relationships revealed in a way that elevates the human condition and offers hope to those whose relationships are wounded. In Bell's spare, somewhat oblique style, he addresses lust, respect, denial, risk, acceptance and more. His love for God and the Bible is clear, as is his ability to ask probing questions and offer answers that make readers think deeply about their own lives. He does a fine job using the Bible and real life to show that our physical relationships are really about spiritual relationships. This book joyfully ties, and then tightens, the knot between God and humankind. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Bell raises the bar with this evocative follow-up to last year's bestseller Velvet Elvis. 'Is sex a picture of heaven?' he wonders. It's all about God and sex and heaven, he says, '...they're connected. And they can't be separated. Where the one is you will always find the other.' Bell's book isn't a sex manual, an exploration of the differences between men and women or a marriage how-to, though all of that is here. Instead, it's the story of God becoming human, of humans mirroring God and love made manifest in the chaos of our humanity. Sex God is about relationships revealed in a way that elevates the human condition and offers hope to those whose relationships are wounded. In Bell's spare, somewhat oblique style, he addresses lust, respect, denial, risk, acceptance, and more. His love for God and the Bible is clear, as is his ability to ask probing questions and offer answers that make readers think deeply about their own lives. He does a fine job using the Bible and real life to show that our physical relationships are really about spiritual relationships. This book joyfully ties, and then tightens, the knot between God and humankind.' -- Publisher's Weekly <br><br> (Publisher's Weekly )
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Rob Bell is a bestselling author, international teacher, and highly sought after public speaker. His books include The New York Times bestseller Love Wins, along with Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Drops Like Stars. At age 28 he founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, and under his leadership it was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. In 2011 he was profi led inTime Magazine as one of the 100 most in uential people. Rob is also the featured speaker in a series of spiritual short lms called NOOMA. Currently, he is working with former LOST producer Carlton Cuse on a television series and will be releasing a new book in 2013. He and his wife Kristen have three children and live in Los Angeles.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By Kate
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Most of the reviews I read on this book pertained to the controversy of the subject matter. Being that I'm extremely open-minded and was just plain curious, I went ahead and ordered a copy. Thirty-five pages in, this book went into the trash bin, and I consider it a sin of the highest degree to destroy books. This never deserved to be published; I assume it was printed based on Rob Bell's reputation rather than its own merits. My tossing the book has absolutely nothing to do with offensive content. The lack of momentum in the logic is beyond frustrating. The anecdotes are filled with so much unnecessary fluff that when he finally gets around to making a point, you can't figure for the life of you how he got there. At first I questioned my own lucidity, being low on sleep when I began the book and having heard what a great author this guy is. But even now that I'm fully rested, half of the points this guy has tried to make so far have gone over my head, or I can JUST make the connection if I cock my head to the side and squint really hard. And then once he does get around to the point, he repeats it like a broken bloody record, like he's clinging onto that wee bit of logic for dear life. Let's see, he says this couple sat next to him at a concert, and had said that on the way there they'd both had the feeling they would sit next to someone of significance. Lo and behold, they sat next to a pastor. But the point here, people, is that the human race is violent and disconnected. Then, this woman told him she's a prostitute, wanted to kill herself, and wanted to know if she'd go to Heaven or Hell. The fact that she had a daughter named Faith is what made the author realize that HE could have been THAT prostitute. I'm sorry, but he sounds like one of those jerks who's gotten so bloody full of himself that he thinks everything out of his mouth is pure gold. I know it's judgmental as I've certainly never met Bell before, or heard one of his sermons, or even read any of his other books. But I feel like arrogance is just oozing out of the pages. I was determined to plunge on ahead, but he lost me at "As soon as Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden, they became disconnected from each other. From the earth. We're all born into this disconnection. Is that why the first thing newborns do is cry?" Adam and Eve were still LIVING IN THE WILDERNESS with ONLY EACH OTHER TO CLING TO and NEWBORNS CRY BECAUSE THEIR LUNGS NEED TO EXPAND. Seriously, every time I try to crack this book and read a few pages before turning in, I end up fuming at the stupidity and unable to sleep. I'm a very avid reader, and I rank the quality of this writing down there with Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series (which, if you haven't read, is akin to McDonald's dollar menu for your brain). Come to think of it, I do believe both authors are praised based on the shock factor of their books as opposed to the actual quality of writing.
95 of 118 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I agree with other reviewers that the title of the book is misleading (whether this is a reflection of crafty marketing or Rob Bell's uber-creative whimsy is debatable). This misnaming is unfortunate, because I think it confuses the reader (myself included) as to the overall goal of the book. However, a simple addition of a "/" renders the title more accurate: "Sex/God." As Bell emphasizes in his introduction, "This" (sexuality, intimacy, marriage,) is always about "That" (God and his loving relationship with humanity).
When read this way, I think the book becomes more coherent and compelling. In fact, I think it is one of the most inspiring theological statements on love, marriage, and intimacy that I have read. Rather than the typical, predictable, shallow Christian answers to defend traditional marriage and sexual purity, Bell provides a sweeping vision of how our intimate relationships reflect the self-giving love of our Creator. Not only that, but our self-giving love for one other person actually helps to manifest God's love to many other people. Even the pain of a failed relationship reflects the pain God feels and the risk God takes by loving us humans. Bell challenges us to think of sex, intimacy, and marriage in the most holy and reverent - yet also in the most realistic and practical - of ways.
Through all this, "Sex God" cleverly and somewhat subtly tells us as much about "God" as it does about "Sex." While we think we are reading about human relationships, we find ourselves learning about the Gospel - God's supreme love for us, manifest most explicitly in the sacrificial love of Jesus. "This" is really about "That."
"Sex God" is biblically grounded, yet never in predictable ways. I always enjoy Bell's trademark usage of vivid cultural context. His exegesis on the early chapters of Genesis and the latter verses of Revelation were particularly interesting, and he provides new insights to many well known passages.
I also appreciate Bell's concluding pages, which show sensitivity to people who are not married or dating without sounding patronizing. After spending an entire book extolling the Godly virtues of giving yourself wholly to another person, Bell reminds single people that, according to Jesus himself, they actually have a higher calling than the rest of us. And he also offers hope to people who have experienced failed and abusive relationships.
Much more could be said here, but suffice it to say that I am very eager to share this book with both my teen child and the college students with whom I work. And I immediately assigned the book to a couple for our premarital counseling sessions. "Sex God" is that good.
When read this way, I think the book becomes more coherent and compelling. In fact, I think it is one of the most inspiring theological statements on love, marriage, and intimacy that I have read. Rather than the typical, predictable, shallow Christian answers to defend traditional marriage and sexual purity, Bell provides a sweeping vision of how our intimate relationships reflect the self-giving love of our Creator. Not only that, but our self-giving love for one other person actually helps to manifest God's love to many other people. Even the pain of a failed relationship reflects the pain God feels and the risk God takes by loving us humans. Bell challenges us to think of sex, intimacy, and marriage in the most holy and reverent - yet also in the most realistic and practical - of ways.
Through all this, "Sex God" cleverly and somewhat subtly tells us as much about "God" as it does about "Sex." While we think we are reading about human relationships, we find ourselves learning about the Gospel - God's supreme love for us, manifest most explicitly in the sacrificial love of Jesus. "This" is really about "That."
"Sex God" is biblically grounded, yet never in predictable ways. I always enjoy Bell's trademark usage of vivid cultural context. His exegesis on the early chapters of Genesis and the latter verses of Revelation were particularly interesting, and he provides new insights to many well known passages.
I also appreciate Bell's concluding pages, which show sensitivity to people who are not married or dating without sounding patronizing. After spending an entire book extolling the Godly virtues of giving yourself wholly to another person, Bell reminds single people that, according to Jesus himself, they actually have a higher calling than the rest of us. And he also offers hope to people who have experienced failed and abusive relationships.
Much more could be said here, but suffice it to say that I am very eager to share this book with both my teen child and the college students with whom I work. And I immediately assigned the book to a couple for our premarital counseling sessions. "Sex God" is that good.
186 of 237 people found the following review helpful
By J. Miller
Format:Hardcover
First of all, this book is not so much about that, despite the title. The title almost immediately sets you up for an anti-climactic rest of the book. The title is good marketing, but not necessarily truth in advertising. This is ok. Buying this book is not about that.
Think about why you bought it first. You bought it because you really like Rob Bell, and in your mind you run through conversations that you'd like to have with him when you two are hanging out at Starbucks, which I'm sure he'll have time for. Given that that's what this is about, just realize that you're getting the next best thing. You're hanging out with him. He's talking about what's on his mind. You get to listen in. Even though it's a monologue, it kind of scratches that itch that all of his fans have been having.
So for that reason, it's a pretty good book.
In keeping with the postmodern, emergent ethos, which Bell leads while disavowing, the book is not linear. He starts out with a provocative introduction which broaches the sacramental without using that word, and then a powerful first chapter that reaches into our deepest longings for the dignity for which we were created. Immediately we are on board and want more. Particularly in hopes that he gets to the s-e-x.
The second chapter skirts around our "disconnection" from the created order, which makes me wonder if we're walking through a systematic theology of creation, sin, salvation (I was soon dissuaded). I'm also wondering if we've taken on a neo-Tillichian doctrine of sin-as-victimization, but I don't think the book's theology is quite so intentional.
The third chapter I like even better, as a modern discourse on the first three chapters of Genesis and the thoughtful suggestion that our sexuality is poised between our place as animal and angel, as physical and spiritual beings. Now I'm really into this book. Chapter four plays with the temptations and addictions that throw us off course from that dignity we wanted at first. Chapter five looks at our reaching out for love to fix the hurt, portrayed through the clever and playful illustration of a little girl running away from Rob Bell when he asked her to dance in Junior High. I think we're supposed to say, "Oh, good choice, girlie, look where you'd be now." The cross is God's act of making himself vulnerable to our rejection in the same way.
Now here's the break. From here on out, the structure is not too clear to me, and, from what I read, to other reviewers. Six is about couples needing to submit to each other rather than women to men. Seven is (subtly) about retaining the mystery of sex within marriage. Eight is about loyalty, nine is an implied analogy between heaven and marital intimacy, and ten is an offer of forgiveness for those who have failed.
Then I realized what I was reading. It's not systematic theology; it's the emergent "Why Wait?" program. Which is fine. I just wanted to hang out with Rob Bell, and when I got the chance, he had sex on his mind. Cool. I like listening to him, whatever he's talking about.
My only two suggestions for his third book are these. First, the endnotes are not cute, and it is not impressive to see how many books you can recommend. They perforate a book that already requires attention. Secondly, pensees do not need to be released in hardback at twice the cost of a paperback.
Those aside, it's a worthwhile recommendation for the religiously exposed who don't really understand Christian mores regarding physical intimacy.
Think about why you bought it first. You bought it because you really like Rob Bell, and in your mind you run through conversations that you'd like to have with him when you two are hanging out at Starbucks, which I'm sure he'll have time for. Given that that's what this is about, just realize that you're getting the next best thing. You're hanging out with him. He's talking about what's on his mind. You get to listen in. Even though it's a monologue, it kind of scratches that itch that all of his fans have been having.
So for that reason, it's a pretty good book.
In keeping with the postmodern, emergent ethos, which Bell leads while disavowing, the book is not linear. He starts out with a provocative introduction which broaches the sacramental without using that word, and then a powerful first chapter that reaches into our deepest longings for the dignity for which we were created. Immediately we are on board and want more. Particularly in hopes that he gets to the s-e-x.
The second chapter skirts around our "disconnection" from the created order, which makes me wonder if we're walking through a systematic theology of creation, sin, salvation (I was soon dissuaded). I'm also wondering if we've taken on a neo-Tillichian doctrine of sin-as-victimization, but I don't think the book's theology is quite so intentional.
The third chapter I like even better, as a modern discourse on the first three chapters of Genesis and the thoughtful suggestion that our sexuality is poised between our place as animal and angel, as physical and spiritual beings. Now I'm really into this book. Chapter four plays with the temptations and addictions that throw us off course from that dignity we wanted at first. Chapter five looks at our reaching out for love to fix the hurt, portrayed through the clever and playful illustration of a little girl running away from Rob Bell when he asked her to dance in Junior High. I think we're supposed to say, "Oh, good choice, girlie, look where you'd be now." The cross is God's act of making himself vulnerable to our rejection in the same way.
Now here's the break. From here on out, the structure is not too clear to me, and, from what I read, to other reviewers. Six is about couples needing to submit to each other rather than women to men. Seven is (subtly) about retaining the mystery of sex within marriage. Eight is about loyalty, nine is an implied analogy between heaven and marital intimacy, and ten is an offer of forgiveness for those who have failed.
Then I realized what I was reading. It's not systematic theology; it's the emergent "Why Wait?" program. Which is fine. I just wanted to hang out with Rob Bell, and when I got the chance, he had sex on his mind. Cool. I like listening to him, whatever he's talking about.
My only two suggestions for his third book are these. First, the endnotes are not cute, and it is not impressive to see how many books you can recommend. They perforate a book that already requires attention. Secondly, pensees do not need to be released in hardback at twice the cost of a paperback.
Those aside, it's a worthwhile recommendation for the religiously exposed who don't really understand Christian mores regarding physical intimacy.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
PROBABLE SHORT OF MY EXPECTATIONS"
I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE OF WHAT I WAS EXPECTING, BUT I DIDN'T SEEM TO LEARN VERY MUCH THAT I DIDN'T ALREADY
KNOW FROM OTHER SOURCES AND OTHER BOOKS, ETC.
KNOW FROM OTHER SOURCES AND OTHER BOOKS, ETC.
Published 16 days ago by James T. Mcqueen
1.0 out of 5 stars
Sex God
I thought it was might have been a deep and provocative discussion on human sexuality from a Christian perspective but it was a book written for agnostic post-modern teenagers,... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Brian Maher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life changing
I just finished this book, and I'm about to read it again. It has opened my eyes to how sex and marriage should really be, especially coming out of a failed marriage, where I was... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Beth
5.0 out of 5 stars
nice book
Its a book that you have to get, it is so intriguing and FUN to read! a must to get!
Published 1 month ago by Taupok
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wow
I think he should rethink this book and ideas, this felt like a godless self help book aim at people who want an excuse to not follow the bible, god, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jessie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Conversation every Daddy should have with daughter
Bells style of writing feels more like a conversation. Part of this book is a conversation every daddy should have with his daughter. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Pen Name
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening
Rob Bell has such a unique way of going back to the historical context of the Bible, pulling from the original Hebrew language and Jewish traditions to understand how God works -... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Riveroflivingwater
2.0 out of 5 stars
Meh, nothing ground-breaking here for Christians
Liked Love Wins?? Think that Rob Bell might revolutionize Christianity?! I think he started something with Love Wins, but I don't think this book follows in it's footsteps. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Timothy M Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars
A read for every person!
"Sex God" was an amazing journey into the heart of God. I was very moved by the author's concept of our relationship with God through His creation of sex. Read more
Published 2 months ago by bewoody
5.0 out of 5 stars
An understanding of God like you've never heard before
The author admits he should have titled this : Sex/ God. it is not a book about a god of sex! Rev Bell explains that God wants to be close to us, as a lover is close to us. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Linda Wawroski
