jmercury's review against another edition
5.0
Russell's book has managed to be a remarkably funny summary of the Bible - irreverent, without descending into mockery. Believers and nonbelievers alike will find pleasure in the stripped-down, honest portrayal of the God of the Bible as well as all those human characters within it.
randomprogrammer's review against another edition
5.0
Hilarious and irreligious retelling of the old testament. Really focuses on all the great stuff that was too shocking for Sunday school.
morgs777's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone should read this. The Bible is actually insane. I’ve been reading it, cover to cover, since 2008 and still haven’t made it through. I can’t believe how much of society is based off of this weird ass book! Lol omg I cried laughing at some of it.
kaydkenn's review against another edition
3.0
Absolutely hilarious and couldn't resist reading some of it to my boyfriend out loud. The Old Testament is definitely funnier. Wouldn't say this is a book you could dive into or anything, but a funny book to have around on a coffee table or something.
caraway_and_rye's review against another edition
3.0
A decent, irreverent but not over the top, retelling of the Bible, funny especially in the first half. It would have been much better in tiny doses since it got boring after a while.
mschlat's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up because of Mark Russell's excellent DC series [b:Prez|26067594|Prez, Vol. 1 Corndog in Chief|Mark Russell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1453057305s/26067594.jpg|46003312] (although I have known of illustrator [a:Shannon Wheeler|345549|Shannon Wheeler|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1267210704p2/345549.jpg]'s work from way back in my Berkeley graduate days when Wheeler did comics for the Daily Californian). Note: I am a Christian (subgenus Lutheran) who does not believe in biblical literalism, but does believe that the living Word of God speaks through the Hebrew and early Christian scriptures. I'm also an amateur Bible scholar, having read some New Testament in the original Greek, taken classes on the gospels, and read the whole thing at least once and several books at least ten times by now. Mark Russell, on the other hand, grew up reading the Bible, but states that if he had a religion, "I suppose I would call it Irreverence." He's also insanely funny.
So, in approaching a humor book that summarizes every book of the Bible with the given title, I was a little skeptical. I was expecting a fair bit of "isn't this religion ridiculous?", and there is some of that. I wasn't surprised when Russell covered the story of Elisha sending bears to eat children. His overview of the Torah starts with God as a "first-time pet owner" who started small with just two: Adam and Eve. And he captures the misogyny of Paul perfectly. From his synopsis of Romans: "Last time I was in your church I saw a bunch of women praying without any kind of head covering whatsoever and it just looked, I don't know weird".
But Russell, especially when he covers the ethics of the Bible, does a stellar job. I think his summary of Isaiah (with its clear coverage of the geopolitical situation Israel is facing) is spot on, and I really enjoyed his synopses of Jeremiah, Micah, and Jonah. His gospels wonderfully point out Jesus's emphasis on forgiveness in contrast to the culture around him, and his Paul shines with personality. (From Russell's 1st Corinthians: "... I hate to break this to you, but we're not exactly converting people by the power of our intellectual arguments. I've won more converts than the rest of you combined, and I'm a homeless guy in a wool skirt.")
If you can handle some humor and profanity with your Christian faith, I would strongly recommend this. If you're not a Christian, are curious about the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, but want to enjoy yourself while reading, this is a good choice.
So, in approaching a humor book that summarizes every book of the Bible with the given title, I was a little skeptical. I was expecting a fair bit of "isn't this religion ridiculous?", and there is some of that. I wasn't surprised when Russell covered the story of Elisha sending bears to eat children. His overview of the Torah starts with God as a "first-time pet owner" who started small with just two: Adam and Eve. And he captures the misogyny of Paul perfectly. From his synopsis of Romans: "Last time I was in your church I saw a bunch of women praying without any kind of head covering whatsoever and it just looked, I don't know weird".
But Russell, especially when he covers the ethics of the Bible, does a stellar job. I think his summary of Isaiah (with its clear coverage of the geopolitical situation Israel is facing) is spot on, and I really enjoyed his synopses of Jeremiah, Micah, and Jonah. His gospels wonderfully point out Jesus's emphasis on forgiveness in contrast to the culture around him, and his Paul shines with personality. (From Russell's 1st Corinthians: "... I hate to break this to you, but we're not exactly converting people by the power of our intellectual arguments. I've won more converts than the rest of you combined, and I'm a homeless guy in a wool skirt.")
If you can handle some humor and profanity with your Christian faith, I would strongly recommend this. If you're not a Christian, are curious about the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, but want to enjoy yourself while reading, this is a good choice.
kristofor's review against another edition
4.0
There is no doubt that this book will be offensive to many readers. Russell takes the Bible and summarizes it in down-to-earth (no really, there is some, euphemism coming, "earthy" language) language that should be familiar to the average person on the street. While the language and the tone is a bit surprising, the outcome is really quite good. The book is funny at times, thoughtful at others, and down-right irreverent in some passages. What most surprised me where those times when I (and I have read the Bible a few times) thought, "it doesn't say that". Then when I went and looked, I found that it either did, or if I changed my perspective it could. Everyone reads the Bible with a particular viewpoint in mind. We interpret what it says based on our beliefs, assumptions and world experiences. I would guess that for most lifelong churchgoers, this will provide some eye opening insights.
The book is not a devotional book, but for a down-and-dirty modern-day perspective of the content of the Bible, it gave me a lot of insights about the Bible that I did not have before reading it.
The book is not a devotional book, but for a down-and-dirty modern-day perspective of the content of the Bible, it gave me a lot of insights about the Bible that I did not have before reading it.
vdarcangelo's review against another edition
4.0
God is Disappointed in You
By Mark Russell and Shannon Wheeler
Some jokes never get old, as evidenced in this irreverent abridging of The Bible. The humor is sharp, varying from silly to satirical, and the illustrations add to the humor. While it is funny, there is also an earnestness within the narrative, as Russell attempts to condense the entire text to its core concepts.
Ambitious idea, and one not to be taken too seriously, but I dispute the author’s claims of accuracy. For example, which version of The Bible? If biblical scholars have been unable to agree on the official canon, I won’t expect it to be decoded in a humor book.
But taken for what it is, God is Disappointed in You is good, clean fun, filled with soul-lightening humor. If the publisher is smart, they’re already compiling a 365-frame calendar version to market over the holidays.
If so, sign me up.
By Mark Russell and Shannon Wheeler
Some jokes never get old, as evidenced in this irreverent abridging of The Bible. The humor is sharp, varying from silly to satirical, and the illustrations add to the humor. While it is funny, there is also an earnestness within the narrative, as Russell attempts to condense the entire text to its core concepts.
Ambitious idea, and one not to be taken too seriously, but I dispute the author’s claims of accuracy. For example, which version of The Bible? If biblical scholars have been unable to agree on the official canon, I won’t expect it to be decoded in a humor book.
But taken for what it is, God is Disappointed in You is good, clean fun, filled with soul-lightening humor. If the publisher is smart, they’re already compiling a 365-frame calendar version to market over the holidays.
If so, sign me up.
silea's review against another edition
4.0
Invaluable resource for people in a ‘Christian’ society who weren’t raised in a Bible-intensive environment. A cliff’s note with the snark turned up to 11, it is funny but begins to get tiresome by the end (though maybe that’s Paul’s fault).
oohsarracuda's review against another edition
4.0
(Wherein I offend some people, surely.) The Bible is a fucked-up book of fucked-up stories about fucked-up people doing fucked-up things. Even the "good guys" are monsters; especially their God. I think that books are holy objects, but aside from that, that anyone considers the Bible holy is astounding to me. None of these people/deities are people I would look to for moral guidance, because whoa. This book, however, is funny and incisive and cleverly done.