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Did I enjoy this book? Yes and no. Do I think this book makes a valuable contribution to Christian literature? Yes and no.

Firstly, there is nothing exorbitantly wrong in this book. I think there are ideas in it which are over emphasized and exalted maybe a little too much.

I like Rob Bell's vision of reaching out to people where they are and giving them the opportunity to experience a relationship with Christ ad then gradually come into a full knowledge of Christianity. It makes sense. That's how it goes. First milk, then solid food.

I like that he talks about the need of understanding the setting, the cultural values of the time, and so on to be able to understand the Bible better.

I like that he encourages people to think critically and discern what they take in. He even exhorts the reader to do this with his book!

I don't like that his idea of a fluid faith (the whole spring analogy) that is growing and adapting seems pretty flimsy. It's hard to get an idea of just how far he might "Repaint" the Christian faith.

I don't like that his writing seems to speak of an idea that the Bible is almost unreadable without the full context of history and a full knowledge of the bible. Yea, the Bible is a difficult book, and there is a lot of nuances, treasures in scripture to be gleaned, and even things to stumble over. But, the bible is also pretty straight forward in a lot of areas. On this note I do like that he does talk about studying the Bible in community. That's a good idea no matter the other things.

Lastly, I'm not sure I understand Rob Bell's eschatology (the stuff that happens at the end of the world). He talks a lot about either bringing heaven here now or bringing hell here now. It seems a bit... odd. It just doesn't sit right.

Rob Bell has enormous influence and this book enjoys enormous popularity. Unfortunately, I think the truths that are in this book to claim are surrounded by a lot of mis-truth or at the very least unclear truth.

Feel free to pass this one up.