I read this review of Rob Bell’s new book on marriage, The Zimzum of Love. Lots of people seemed to think it was funny. I thought it was a little snide and condescending.

I then read Rob Bell’s new book on marriage, The Zimzum of Love and it really helped me to understand the review!

You see, there’s no easy way to talk about this book. There’s just not really anything to say. It’s short, vague, content-lite, with an annoying he-said-she-said motif that helps pad out the page count (only as far as 160 pages!) with some self-indulgent ramblings about Rob’s favourite words (catty wompus, unpidgeonholeable, Engelbert Humperdinck).

So now I understand why a reviewer with a word count to fill would write this kind of piece.

Are there a few insights that I enjoyed and highlighted? Sure.

Did it help me understand the Biblical teaching on marriage any better? Not one iota.

Is that a problem? Should I only read books on marriage that are rooted in Christian Scripture? No, not really. The doctrine of Common Grace tells me that I can get good advice from a range of unexpected places. But I would have expected a bit more Christian foundation from a guy who markets himself as a Christian pastor.

Is it kabbalah in the guise of Christianity? Not really. There are some vague references to energy and sparks and stuff, but there’s really not enough substance to make it ‘anything’ in the guise of ‘anything else’. It’s ‘not a lot’ in the guise of ‘a book’! It is, in homage to Mr Bell, quite ‘unpidgeonholeable’.

Do I feel cheated even having only paid £1.99 for the kindle version? A little bit.