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.

Not disappointed in this book!

While I found this book to be highly irreverent I also found it to be highly funny! It is well written and equally well narrated. It covers books from both the old and New Testament and quite ably if I'm allowed to say so.

I have a few quibbles with some of the stories and a bit of the language used to describe the overall themes of the books. As a minister I found a few inconsistencies with the biblical record in the storytelling but it is mostly accurate with only a few mistakes here and there. Since this is written as a satirical view of the Scriptures is not necessary for her to have an esoteric accuracy.

I recommend this book to those Who are interested in the Bible and are able to laugh at themselves and the foibles of ancient believers as well as modern Christians.

5 Stars

40 of 42 people found this review helpful

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!!

21 of 22 people found this review helpful

Funny as Sin

The story of God's dysfunctional relationship with his chosen people.

"Like most marriages, it was a non-sexual affair, but unlike most marriages, it was anything but snoozy and passionless. God's marriage to the Jews was a tempestuous, rancorous affair."
​
The deadpan, impeccable comedic timing of James Urbaniac had me literally laughing out loud as I listened.

After years of research and translation to pithy modern language,
​the authors point out that although so many people are saturated in Bible stories, few remember the absolute zaniness that goes on inside.

​If you love the Bible or you love a good Bible satire, it’s just as satisfying. ​

52 of 56 people found this review helpful

A New Bible

This is an highly inventive and enjoyable way to look at biblical literature. While humorous and irreverent it is also respectful and actually more informative than you would think. I'm recommending this one as both entertainment and a tutorial.

41 of 44 people found this review helpful

The Only Audio Book I Started Again Immediately

What made the experience of listening to God Is Disappointed in You the most enjoyable?

Funny, intellectually stimulating, irreverence on steroids.

What was one of the most memorable moments of God Is Disappointed in You?

When Mary and Joseph realized they had forgotten Jesus back at the Temple.

Have you listened to any of James Urbaniak’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I liked how he sounded very Jewish.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

God is Disappointed in You

Any additional comments?

The only audio book where upon completion I immediately started again and I bought 10 copies for friends and family. I still read it daily.

30 of 33 people found this review helpful

I have now read(heard) the Bible.

Reading from The Beginning, pun intended, I was never able to make it much further than Genesis. Thanks to the authors, and a great performance from the narrator, I was able to finish the Bible in less than six hours. I will be revisiting this one. The trip was enjoyable since the fluff had been meticulously wrung out and replaced with equal parts sarcasm and accuracy. If a reading of the Bible doesn't contain the phrase "tip slip", it's just not worth my time.

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

Very Fresh and Funny

This is an easy listen and incredibly enjoyable. Perhaps condensing so far steals a bit of nuance from the stories, but the essence is there and hilarious.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

Hilarious!

What did you love best about God Is Disappointed in You?

A hilarious retelling of the bible, updated for the 21rst century.

What did you like best about this story?

Perfect for those of us who have never read the bible, nor had any inclination to.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

I Would Go to This Church!

If sermons were written like this, churches would be filled to capacity on Sundays! This book reminds me of Lamb (by Christopher Moore) which is one of my all time favorites; I loved the way they condensed the books of the bible into hilarious little chunks that even a heathen like me can understand and appreciate. I can't say it gave me a lot of hope for humanity but my outlook was grim to start with so no harm done there. This should be required reading for non-believers just so they know what it is they are not believing in; I know it certainly educated and entertained me. The narration was perfection times 10 - a match made in heaven (pun totally intended). I give this one 5 stars for making me laugh and think at the same time without realizing it. I will be listening to it again the next time I need an attitude adjustment.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

IT'S BETTER TO BE A LIVING DOG, THAN A DEAD LION

AN IDIOT IS A BOMB AND HIS MOUTH IS THE FUSE
I very much enjoyed this. It is very funny, but also thoughtful. I have always had trouble with some of the things in the Old Testament and it is great to see I was not alone. The Gospels were actually very inspiring. Those who have a problem with swear words or who are up tight about how a bible should be treated will not like this at all. This was entertaining and I learned a lot. This should not be the only way to teach the bible, but it should be included.

Narrator was good, although it would have been funnier to have used a Jewish Brooklynn accent in some parts.

They did their homework and this was not written just for some laughs.

84 of 104 people found this review helpful

Mixed feelings about this audio book

What did you like best about God Is Disappointed in You? What did you like least?

It was funny and irreverant in the way I had hoped but it could have been sharper. I wanted it to be as brilliant as Old Harry's Game by Andy Hamilton but it was a much gentler less astute take on the genre.

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

I think the book would be better as it has pictures and a contents page.

Any additional comments?

The lack of chapter titles really annoys me with all audible books but none more so than this one. I had no idea where I was. I've read sections of the bible and was looking forward to hearing how they would be presented but most were completely missed out as far as I could tell. In fact some of the best material for humourous appraisal was shelved. However I do understand the whole point of the book was to cover it fast, still I did feel slightly disapointed. Overall I didn't not enjoy it.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Completely and totally awesome

Funny, thoughtful, funny, irreverent, funny, anarchic, funny, inspiring (no really it genuinely is) and very, very funny.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Divine

I loved this audiobook!

I had recently downloaded the actual bible in audiobook form so I could learn more than the odd passages taught at school and over dinner by my born-again Christian mother-in-law. Several hours into that, I came across God Is Disappointed In You as a recommendation in my Audible subscription and I couldn't resist the temptation to consume the stories in a more condensed format. I'm so glad I did! I felt the author was true to the bible (what I'd managed to get through) without the guff. I didn't feel at all like he was mocking the source material, but it was still really, really funny.

Unsurprisingly, it did nothing to stop me being atheist, or to help me understand why people believe in God, but I still highly recommend it.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Better as a book

The clever summarisation of the bible is fun, funny and informative. However this particular book is best enjoyed with the eyes not the ears. You miss out on the cartoons and honestly I found parts of it hard to follow. Was it author commentary or sections of the gospel. I might give the paper version a try but I wish I'd passed on this.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

lighthearted but informative, a great listen.

manages to breeze through a difficult topic with irreverence but a sincere desire to simply convey the ideas in a bloody inaccessible tome! well worth a listen. performer just a tad too american for my personal tastes, being a rather dry Brit, but otherwise superb.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

I knew it!!

I kinda like God, nice to know there is someone high up who is emotionally changeable similar to my good self. I loved this very cool book!!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A very good book

This doesn't attack the bible it simply lets the bible tell its own story, and show itself as flawed, inconsistent and FUNNY This reading had me laughing out loud so many times.
It's also an excellent summary - for anyone wanting a relatively quick understanding of the main stories and characters you can't go far wrong.
Stone pronunciation is a bit iffy but a good job still.
Will put a smile on your face. And a few thoughts in your head.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Entertaining

This book is well written, delivered and informative. The colloquial language had made the content easier to enjoy and even understand.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Incredible!

Would you consider the audio edition of God Is Disappointed in You to be better than the print version?

The narrator made the book so much fun, and was fantastic in audio format.

What did you like best about this story?

Witty and charming, a nice approach to breaking down the bible in a fun fashion.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

I have never laughed so hard at a book before

What made the experience of listening to God Is Disappointed in You the most enjoyable?

The humor is brilliant. I've never read the Bible and always relied on others telling me bits about the main stories and morals from it.
This book is just a short, sharp, to the point summary. There's no dancing around the point here. The honour is very much needed as without it, just based on the content alone it would send you to sleep. But the delivery style, the humor, the fact it doesn't take itself too seriously, this book is fantastic.

What was one of the most memorable moments of God Is Disappointed in You?

Too many too state here.

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

The rythem and pace the book is read is great. His comic timing is brilliant and he's got a very nice voice. I would struggle to read it and get the same enjoyment I think.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There's not much moving going on in here. But the thing that surprised me the most is how much killing, death and suffering God orders in the bible. He really is disappointed in us, all of the time. There's no pleasing this guy, like ever.

Any additional comments?

This book doesn't mock the bible in anyway. You don't need to be religious to read it, and if anything for me I've found it extremely eye opening and beneficial.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful