How the Bible Actually Works
In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers―and Why That's Great News
Ratings13
Average rating3.9
15
In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers―and Why That's Great News
Ratings13
Average rating3.9
Controversial evangelical Bible scholar, popular blogger and podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, and author of The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty explains that the Bible is not an instruction manual or rule book but a powerful learning tool that nurtures our spiritual growth by refusing to provide us with easy answers but instead forces us to acquire wisdom. For many Christians, the Bible is a how-to manual filled with literal truths about belief that must be strictly followed. But the Bible is not static, Peter Enns argues. It does not hold easy answers to the perplexing questions and issues that confront us in our daily lives. Rather, the Bible is a dynamic instrument for study that not only offers an abundance of insights but provokes us to find our own answers to spiritual questions, cultivating God’s wisdom within us. “The Bible becomes a confusing mess when we expect it to function as a rulebook for faith. But when we allow the Bible to determine our expectations, we see that Wisdom, not answers, is the Bible’s true subject matter,” writes Enns. This distinction, he points out, is important because when we come to the Bible expecting it to be a textbook intended by God to give us unwavering certainty about our faith, we are actually creating problems for ourselves. The Bible, in other words, really isn’t the problem; having the wrong expectation is what interferes with our reading. Rather than considering the Bible as an ancient book weighed down with problems, flaws, and contradictions that must be defended by modern readers, Enns offers a vision of the holy scriptures as an inspired and empowering resource to help us better understand how to live as a person of faith today. How the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that “being right” is the most important measure of faith, Enns’s freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God—which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.
Featured Prompt
3,696 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Reviews with the most likes.
I liked the beginning but found the middle a bit hard to follow. This may be a “me” problem obviously but it felt a little muddled. I even went back to reread sections and still felt a bit lost at the connections made.
However, I will say I really enjoyed the writing style in general. I do agree that faith should always be evolving in us.
Peter Enns does a great job of adding a bit of sugar to make the medicine go down. That being said, there is plenty of medicine here. Some of the concepts here reflect thoughts and ideas I've had in my own wrestling matches with God to try to understand the godhead and the Bible. Even more I recall from reading Enns' book Because the Bible Tells Me So. I did not anticipate the depth (and this is likely a scratching of the surface from an academic perspective) that this book would go.
I started off finding some relief to questions and struggles I've had over the years. Somewhere in the second half of the book, I found myself asking, have we just eliminated the possibility of an everlasting, living deity through logic and the evolving perspectives of those who follow the god named Yahweh? There are some personal reasonings and perspectives that have led me to believe God is real, though unseen and unheard except through the Bible and the life of Jesus. But what if this is self-imposed delusion?
Fortunately, Enns brings it all back around to how he reconciles this with faith, which had me feeling better. What I like is that this book challenges me to think deeply and to continue to hold on to God in this spiritual wrestling match of faith in my life, looking for what is real and true. (Note: true is not the same as factual. A truth can be conveyed through a fiction or exaggerated storytelling.)
For those who believe God is big enough and strong enough to be asked the hardest questions, for those who are willing to admit our faith is only as big as a mustard seed, and want to dig deeper into how to reconcile the parts of the Bible that don't seem to reflect the God we think we know and serve, I recommend this book.
A lifelong student of the Bible, I am always looking to read the Bible better.
Reading the Bible better. That is an interesting...odd thing to say about a book. Because of my background, training, and career, how I read the Bible was an issue of faith, integrity, intelligence, and success.
If you want to read the Bible better this is one of the books you should read to help you do that.
I wanted to give it four stars because Enns is snarky and it only works some of the time, but that didn't feel right -
Full review:https://thetempleblog.com/2022/03/21/book-review-how-the-bible-actually-works/
