A Rainy Monday night in a stuffy old Factory with Rob Bell…and there is no place I would rather Be!!

Monday night I got to enjoy Rob Bell’s “The Gods Aren’t Angry” talk/tour at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. I had the pleasure of hearing him before at the “Everything is Spiritual” tour and this talk was much different, however had me feeling refreshed and in wonder after it was over. The venue is literally an old Electric Factory that has been converted into a bar/lounge/concert hall. The last time I was there I was seeing The Chemical Brothers back in high school (not much had changed). On stage was a large stone altar. The place was sold out in the by-level factory with music playing over the constant talking of people. Rob comes to the stage dressed in all black but his white belt and brown/gray New Balance sneakers.

He begins with talking about cavemen and the recognizing of different forces of nature (sun, moon, stars, life, etc). Over time, humans began to develop names for the forces…and so “gods” come into play. When things would go bad, men assumed the gods were angry and knowing that these forces were behind the cycles, rituals were established and offerings and sacrifices were created to keep the gods happy. And then began the altar sacrifice. This became such a radical of a ritual that some gods could be appeased by a grain offering. Others needed blood. Other’s needed important male body parts (I’m not kidding) and some even needed children. The problem became that humanity could never really figure out how to appease the gods and ended up giving more and more and more.

Rob then begins to tell of the Hebrew story of Abraham (with stories from the Bible and even some from a Jewish sage). Abraham comes on the scene is spoken to by God. This was a radical new concept for a god to be speaking a man. Rob then begins to tell the story of Abraham and Isaac. Rob brings to light so interesting ideas as to why Abraham is so willing sacrifice Isaac. Reality is that Abraham lived in a culture where the gods expected sacrifices. This was considered to be normal during this time period. The point is that God was telling Abraham that it was not his son he wanted as a sacrifice. This was not “THAT” kind of movement…this was unheard of in that time.

Next, Rob begins to move into talk about sacrificial systems as a ritual of appeasing the mind of men. He shows many verses where God says that he doesn’t need our sacrifice and makes the point that the sacrifices are for our own conscience. Ritals were reminders of our own forgiveness and getting rid of the shame of sin. Later on, the Sadducee’s made a business out of riuals and people moved away from the purpose of having them. Jesus then comes on the scene and points to a better way and that there is no need for the sacrifices because the temple will be torn down and built up again “in 3 days”.

Rob flows into telling stories of a businessman who is a slave to his work to prove his worth to his in-laws, feeling he is not good enough and a story about a young girl who is cutting themselves as a way to escape pain, hurt and trauma of life. The question Rob then asks is “Do we have the same old gods, and we’ve just given them different names?”
Rob points out that in Hebrews, the author talks about the sacrifice of Jesus that was made by giving of His life, and that this life was the final sacrifice to reconcile God and mankind. This taking out of the old and bringing in the new is so that all could see God in a new way. God made peace through Jesus with all things on heaven and earth being brought back to Him. Everything is changed.

The question then becomes did we (or do we) bring offerings to the alter because we thing God needs something from us? Rob points out Psalm 50 and Micah were God isn’t pleased with sacrifices; the sacrifices were for us. It was a reminder that God would want to bless us. A quote from Rob: “There’s never been an effective religious deed in all of humanity”.
Within the idea of repentence: it is not “I repent and THEN God does THIS for me”; its acknowledging what God HAS done and living differently because of it!

A ritual should be what you do better to celebrate what God has done for you. There is not need for the altar; but the sacrifice is now just ourselves…living in the light of knowing that God loves us.

Rob then closes with 3 stories: One of a man who asked a woman who had been seeing visions of Jesus to ask him what sins he had committed…and the woman told him Jesus said, “I don’t remember”. Next he told of a woman who had been violently disfigured in an accident and her husband, when seeing her disformed face for the first time, kissed her and said “I Like it!” Finally, a story about his own life and a friend telling him “ You don’t have to live like this anymore”.

Then for the next 2 minutes Rob sits on the alter saying “I don’t remember”, then “he kissed her and said “I Like It!”, then “You don’t have to live like this anymore”. And over and over again repeated these phrases as music began to come into the speakers. You see this was to be the reminder as we left that God doesn’t remember and that He likes you…actually loves you. We don’t need to impress or perform…all he wants is for us to live the way he created us to live. We don’t have to live like this anymore…because he came and the sacrifice has been made. And in the end Jesus wins and God isn’t angry…God…Is…Love.

Rob is a great communicator. He has a way with story and an amazing study habit to and a great way to be able to translate his studies into a very engaging and practical way. As my friend put it, “Rob is very Bob Dylanish”. Besides all of that this was a very liberating experience in the sense of being reminded to not get in the habit of “pleasing” God but realize that his love is there and I should live my life as He created it for me to live.