On November 16, Rob Bell’s the gods aren’t angry tour passed through Dallas. The event was awesome to say the least. If the the tour is coming anywhere near where you live (and it isn’t sold out already) by a ticket now!

I was a little hesitant because I had no clue what he would be speaking on. It was the first time my wife heard him live and we had brought two teens from church with us. I have heard him a half dozen times and I was hoping that tonight’s message would connect with them. I was not disappointed.

Notes from “the gods aren’t angry”:

Bell started the evening by walking out on to the stage and diving right into the story. No announcements, no welcome, no intro.

At the dawn of time cave-woman and cave-husband recognized that the world was sustained through patterns of life and nature through some unseen force(s) and that they were some how connected and dependant upon this/these unseen force(s). They were dependant on plants and the plants were dependant on drops of water from the sky and the ball of fire. Cycles in the moon corespend with the cycles of cave-woman’s body. Stars, sun, moon, weather… men and women then began to put names to these forces and to worship them. These gods, while having the temperment of humans, where far removed from humans. They were above. We were below.

When things went right- new birth, large crop, healthy family- you made sacrifices of thanksgiving to the gods. To ensure that the gods would smile on you, you would sacrifice more to the god to receive more favor.

If things went poorly for you and your family- sickness, failed crops, death- then it was assumed that the gods were angry with you. You hadn’t sacrificed enough to the gods and were being punished.

The hitch is that you never knew where you stood with the gods- were you doing enough, should you do more?

“We are at the mercy of these forces. We need to get these forces on our side.” So a system began to take shape.

The Altar– higher, off the ground, offer up
The Priests– the experts, “Here are the steps you must follow to get the gods to smile upon you.”
The Offering– what is most sacred to you. Began with crops/animals but evolved as time went by

Over time man developed a primal anxiety towards these forces- “If this sacrifce isn’t working then I must do more to appease the gods!” Things quickly spirald out of control.

The fertity goddess Cybele required that men take on female characteristics and so men dressed as women and (as Bell said) “offered their maleness” upon the altar .

Capacocha– the sacrificing of children in order to find favor with the gods.

Molec- offer your first born to the fire

The gods demanded what was most sacred from you. They desired what was most precious to you. Year in and year out this cycle continues.

Then comes Abram. The stoy of Abram wasn’t written in a vaccum devoid of this cuture. It comes in the midst of this culture of god and goddesses that demand so much yet our standing before them is so unknown.

Genesis 12 tells of a new god who doesn’t demand from man. He blesses man. This revolutionary god has conversations with man. He is intimately involved in what they do. He invites Abram to follow him into a new destiny and to leave his “father’s household”- his father’s old system of gods and goddesses.

Then comes Genesis 22– At first glance this is yet another instance of a god requiring the blood of the first born-what Abraham holds most dear. Abraham doesn’t bat an eye when asked to sacrifice Isaac because this is nothing new to him- gods demand. Business as usual. Instead this new god provides a ram. This god doesn’t take. He provides.

This god is different. he says, “I AM not like these other gods. They demand. I bless. I provide.”

To be continued…