An irreverent, but faithful adaptation of the greatest selling book of all time, God Is Disappointed in You is the Bible, distilled for our Insta-Twit-Face-Tube times. Mark Russell summarizes each book from both the Old and New Testaments, dispelling with the arcane, unapproachable language, the repetitive genealogies, and getting right to the point. He tells the stories of the Bible with a modern voice, even tying in present day references to bring more meaning to the reader.
I’ve started reading the Bible before, but never managed to finish. It is a difficult read. But Russell’s version is a breeze, written in a page-turning way that makes the stories much more interesting and highly entertaining. If you are like me and have never read through the Bible in its entirety, some passages may surprise you. Surely that cannot be in the original! However, a quick reference to the internet or a hard copy shows that yes, King David did get a little wild during the parade celebrating the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, and yes, the prophet Ezekiel used extremely vivid metaphors to try to convince the Jews of Israel to change their ways.
God Is Disappointed in You , opens a new windowis more than just a Cliff’s Notes summary of the Bible. Mark Russell manages to bring humor and a healthy dose of self awareness to an area that can be overly serious, to the point of exclusion. For example, Jesus refers to His miracles as “magic tricks”, not to demean them, but rather to make it clear that His teachings about forgiveness and helping one another are really the point.
This a great, quick read for any who have never read the Bible, who have attended church but felt intimidated by the language, or those who are familiar with the Bible but want a simpler way to explain it to others.
