God Is Disappointed in You

By: Mark Russell, Shannon Wheeler

Narrated by: James Urbaniak

Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

God Is Disappointed in You is for people who would like to read the Bible...if it would just cut to the chase. Stripped of its arcane language and interminable passages, every book of the Bible is condensed down to its core message, in no more than a few pages each.

Written by Mark Russell with cartoons by New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, God Is Disappointed in You is a frequently hilarious, often shocking, but always accurate retelling of the Bible, including the parts selectively left out by Sunday School teachers and church sermons.

Irreverent yet faithful, this book is a must-listen for anyone who wants to see past the fog of religious agendas and cultural debates to discover what the Bible really says.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Mark Russell and Shannon Wheeler (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Hilarious, irreverent, but on the money

I haven't laughed this hard at a book in my entire life. It sums up the Bible fairly well, with profanity and hilarity. I would (and have) recommend(ed) this book to anyone, with a small disclaimer -- you need to not be uptight about your religion. If you have no ability to find humor in it, you will not appreciate this book. For example, one of the lines reads: "The whole ancient world was a bag of dicks. Even God was a bit of a dick." If you can't handle that, this book is not for you.

My only critique is that I wish the chapters were just the teensiest bit longer. It wouldn't have detracted from the purpose of the book, in my opinion, which was to summarize/explain a hugely difficult book into something manageable and understandable. I also think that the author's note, which came at the end of the book, would have been great at the beginning because it explains his intent, his misgivings, and the positive reception of the book by nuns and priests. I would maybe even recommend that readers check that part out first. Either way, this book is fantastic!!

Comical and educational

Hilarious but not disrespectful. A good light listen. I listen in my car and I am sure fellow drivers thought that I was crazy as I was doing full belly laughs.

Brilliant interpretation and perspective

Narrator was perfect choice. A very well researched, entertaining and insightful perspective of the Bible.

It's funny, alright.

The old testament was really funny but the new testament was boring. Could have added more content to the old testament part of the book because I'm sure the authors just scratched the surface for comical material.

Outstanding and funny

Is a great overview of the bible. Go into the book with a sense of humor and you will enjoy the daylights out of it

I keep hitting "pause" to buy copies for friends

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

My friends like laughing out loud

What other book might you compare God Is Disappointed in You to and why?

Paul Beatty's The Sellout. Beatty's word play is untouchable and the writing styles are completely different but I think similar audiences would enjoy both.

What does James Urbaniak bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Spot-on deadpan delivery.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Great for housecleaning, working on bikes, anything you do where your mind is free.

Offensively Funny

I consider myself Christian considering I am episcopalian and I did not know much about the Bible but I didn't know a little bit. For the most part he captured the gist of every story (I would not write a research report on it). His goal that he states in the very end of the book was too simplify and make the Bible more enjoyable for the general audience. I felt like he met the goal and surpassed it.

Not A Religious Man

I am not, in any way, a religious man. The Bible has been a mystery to me for most of my life, and in the past year I've tried and tried to really get at it. So much contradiction, so much violence, so much esoteric detail. There's whole chapters of genealogy and rules on how to eat and build thing and when it's okay to sell your daughters.

This book doesn't solve the contradictions - but it sure gets to the heart of things.

This is something else. Religious or no, this is a fine crash course for the Bible.

I laughed and got a overview of the Bible. Thanks

I was really surprised that the author was able to do this with the whole Bible. Great book, witty approach, I learned a lot.

Funny

I really enjoyed the narrator!! I also loved that it was written in today's language, which is really what made it so funny. I WILL be listening to this AGAIN.