by Caitlin Mulvihill

“Have you ever seen someone pull a photo out of their wallet and argue about the supremacy of this particular loved one? Of course not. They show you the picture and give you the opportunity to see what they see.” - Velvet Elvis.

I recently heard Rob Bell referred to as “a divine usher,” a person who sees life and meaning in an atypical way and invites others to the world that he sees. Bell’s Velvet Elvis goes to the heart of the gospel message and encourages the reader to hop on the rollercoaster train with him and enjoy the ride!

Bell kicks off his book with the story of his ‘Velvet Elvis’, an old painting illustrating the King of Rock stored neatly in the attic of his house. At the bottom corner of the painting, the artist discretely signed “R.” The initial precedent for this book is that art is ever evolving…just because Picasso became famous for creating masterpieces doesn’t mean art is over. Just because Martin Luther said some smart things about Christianity doesn’t mean that everyone from that point on should stop thinking about it. Life evolves, and with it, the meaning of faith and how it relates to the world also evolves. Thus explaining the subtitle of Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith.

Bell asks provocative questions about what life means, what different biblical ideas mean, and how they relate to life right now. He treads in dangerous territory by posing the dangerous inquiries about the significance and message of certain passages that the general Christian populace holds as true. “A Christian doesn’t avoid the questions; a Christian embraces them. In fact, to truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions.” After all, if your faith can’t stand up against questions, what kind of faith is it?

Rob Bell would like to take you for a walk through a very raw, authentic Christian faith and journey with you as you explore what you believe, why you believe it, and how a first century’s system of beliefs are somehow relevant to today’s post modern culture. Bottom Line: If you haven’t read Velvet Elvis, you are missing out!

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