How the Bible Actually Works

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.