What God Is Like
Enns suggests we just need to realign our expectations of the Bible. He says these three characteristics of the Bibleancient, ambiguous, and diversedont have to be impediments. These traits can actually be useful to us, as long as we respect them for what they are.
Rather than providing us with information to be downloaded, the Bible holds out for us an invitation to join an ancient, well-traveled, and sacred quest to know God, the world we live in, and our place in it.
The Bible is important because it tells us what God is like. It points us to Jesus. It shows us how to seek wisdom and live by it.
Thats why we find hope in the Bible.
Because we find God there. Not because we regard the Bible as equal with God. Because there arent enough words to fully define God, the Word became flesh in Jesus, which we read about in the Bible. Jesus is wisdom personified.
Wisdom is about the lifelong process of being formed into mature disciples, who wander well along the unscripted pilgrimage of faith, in tune to the all-surrounding thick presence of the Spirit of God in us and in the creation around us.
~ * ~
And this wisdom is held out before us in the Bible as a gift of God, not a consolation prize, a Plan B we begrudgingly settle for when the Bible falls short of passing out an answer key, so we know beforehand which ovals to fill in on the standardized test. A life of pursuing wisdom is Plan A.
How The Bible Actually Works Book Review
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I have questions.
And no one has ever had answers before.
We have a sacred responsibility: a call to follow this biblical lead and reimagine God in our time and place.
Check out this great new book:
How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answersand Why Thats Great News by Peter Enns
There are discrepancies in the Bible. Sometimes, it doesnt make sense.
I first learned it as literature, and maybe that is still a good idea for some of the stories in the Bible.
Fundamentalists want us to take it all literally, but is that really wise?
We live in a new era and if we dont understand history, how can we understand the Bible and the writers and their times?
Ive spent most of my life looking for answers to Christian question.
I didnt grow up in church, but I grew up with a marginally Christian ideal in the Bible belt.
I sought truth and answers as a young mom in all the wrong places and learned first hand about church and spiritual abuse.
Most churches and church leaders dont like questions. They either dont have any answers or their answers arent satisfying.
One pastor even blurted out to me: Does it even really matter?
Maybe it doesnt.
Maybe it does.
So much about American church teachings is just plain wrong. Theyre all about numbers, money, separation, exclusion.
In Which I Explain How An Ancient Ambiguous And Diverse Book Leads Us To Wisdom Rather Than Answersand Why That’s Great News
2020, Published by HarperOne | 304 Pages
ISBN-9780062686756
Affiliate disclosure:
Publisher Description
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 Gods wisdom within us.
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.
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So How Does The Bible Work
This book wont be for everyone. Pete Enns challenges traditional ways of thinking. He doesnt accept status quo interpretations.
But he holds deep respect for the Bible. He finds Jesus there. And Jesus is the life-changer.
Jesus is not about teaching correct thinking, but realigning minds, hearts, and motivations to act well, to live in harmony with the kingdom of heaven.
But if outside-the-box thinking appeals to you, I recommend you read How the Bible Actually Works. Youll be encouraged to read the Bible in fresh ways, to find God in it, and to value the wisdom that God leads you to.
How does the Bible actually work? According to Enns,
How The Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient Ambiguous And Diverse Book Leads Us To Wisdom Rather Than Answersand Why Thats Great News
Peter Enns
In How the Bible Actually Works, Ennsprofessor of biblical studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvaniaargues that the mission of the Bible is to subvert much of what Bible-believing Christians through the centuries have thought about the Bible. If youre such a Christian, you may think the Bible has answers to your questions. No, it rather reshapes the questions you ask. You may think Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. No, New Testament writers just radically reimagined the Jews ancestral God and imputed beliefs about Jesus to him. You may think the Bible tells you what God is like. No, it just recounts what other people in other places and times thought about God.
God to us is who we imagine him to be. Thats all he can be, because were bound by our conceptual and cultural limitations, while God is beyond all human knowing.
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Review: How The Bible Actually Works By Pete Enns
Hey there folks! Before getting into it, I want to say thank you to the good folks at HarperOne for providing me with an advanced reader copy for this review. Its an amazing privilege that I got this opportunity, so big shout out to them for making this happen!
The Bible is an instruction manual for your life.
How many of you have heard some variation of those words?
That phrase was uttered countless times growing up in my church youth group, and it never really sat well with me. Like a robot made of cold steel, I felt that referring to the Bible as an instruction manual basically equates humans to an average household toaster. Press lever down wait for 30 seconds for your Pop Tart to finish cooking. Repeat until death in about 80 years.
Furthermore, actually reading the Bible doesnt exactly provide a lot of solid advice. I cant exactly glean insights into how to promote ethical business practices for my technology-based role without making some assumptions and drawing my own conclusions. And we all know that guy who can whip out any verse to suit his cause, regardless of how ridiculous it is.
Where those first two books break down our incorrect thinking about the Bible, How the Bible Actually Works teaches us, well, how the Bible actually works. You dont have to read those aforementioned books to jump into this new one , but they definitely help to pave the way for this new one.
Lets dig a little deeper into what makes up this book, shall we?
The Pursuit Of Wisdom
OK, so now onto how this has interesting interactions with Enns own interpretation of the Bible. One of the main points Enns makes is that the Bible wasnt mean to be a clear-cut rulebook. In fact, sometimes it out-right contradicts itself. Enns first demonstrates this with a fascinating selection from Proverbs where two verses right next to each other completely contradict each other:
Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself.
Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes.
Theres a clear-cut rule for you, right? Well, which is it? Enns answer is that the Bible isnt meant to give us one-size-fits-all answers, but rather is to teach us wisdom, which he defines roughly as the ability to read a situation, and apply the appropriate response in the moment. Perhaps what Latter-Day Saints would refer to as following the Spirit, but I like the emphasis on wisdom and re-centering the responsibility on us to work it out rather than an outside entity, something I think that is perhaps less emphasized in Latter-Day Saint circles.
I find Joseph Smiths attempt at making the Bible self-consistent a noble effort, and I think it adds a lot of new insights. It is a valuable document, but I tend to like to read other translations as well that I think add power and nuance.
Read Also: Historical Order Of The Bible
How Does The Bible Actually Work
- Dont answer a fool. Youll only look foolish yourself .
- Answer a fool. Otherwise hell think hes wise .
The Bible isnt as simple as wed like it to be. Nor is it as plain. As Peter Enns says in his new book, How the Bible Actually Works, the Bible is not a teachers edition textbook with the answers supplied in the back, as handy as that would be.
So if we cant use all of it, should we follow any of it?
Yes.
If This Is How The Bible Works The Bible Doesnt Work At All
Here is the subtitle to Peter Ennss new book: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answersand Why Thats Great News. That rambling, whimsical description fits with the hokey front dust jacket, which sports three little hands pointing to a Holy Bible. The back cover promises A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding the Mission of the Bible.
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The Quest For Living A Better Life
Humor and facts aside, the real meat of this book lies in its real applicability to our own lives. Enns shows us that the Bible isnt some dusty ol book that teaches nothing about ourselves in the modern era. Rather, How the Bible Actually Works reveals that the issues the biblical writers faced are none too different than what we experience today. Sure, they arent tit for tat on par with our modern circumstances, but Enns shows us the general swaths of solidarity we share with these ancient authors, particularly in how they were just as conflicted as we are in trying to tackle any given issue.
For me personally, How the Bible Actually Works makes me want to get back into the Bible more. I do a lot of writing on faith in this blog, but in this past year, Ive sort of side stepped the Bible in favor of analyzing faith at other angles. And thats mostly because I didnt know what to do with the Bible. Back to how I opened this review, one can theoretically make the Bible say whatever you want it to say, but thats if you intentionally choose to take things out of context and avoid a path of wisdom.
Granted, Ill likely need the assistance of commentaries and the like to really understand that context behind each biblical story, but I am grateful to this book for having reinvigorated that passion for the Bible within me. How the Bible Actually Works has shown me that I can find wisdom in the Bible so long as Im not imposing my own presuppositions into it.
Praise For Htbaw Book
You dont have to listen to us but you should listen to:
Kristi: With Pete’s usual intelligent, cohesive, & easily understood writing, he has hit another ball out of the park with his new book. Having read most of Pete’s writings, “How the Bible Actually Works” presents fresh ideas about how to read the Bible, a book he obviously loves & reveres. Coming from the view of reading the Bible as a book of wisdom, rather than a rule book, Pete digs deep into both the Old and New Testaments. Using numerous examples from the Bible , he illuminates how God has been reimagined throughout history, based on culture, circumstances, and especially the teachings of Jesus.
Leah: By understanding the Bible, is not a set-in-stone rule book, we let it shepherd us toward wisdom as we accept its ambiguity. By embracing the Bible as a book of wisdom, perhaps all of us who love it might come into a greater understanding of how it brings the faith story of the past into the present and helps us discern what God is doing here and now.
Christina: This is a book for the frustratedly Christian -who have seen that the Bible doesnt meet the expectations they have been taught to cling to and who are having trouble seeing a better way forward.
Jordan: Pete makes you think, he makes you laugh, and I bet youll learn something neweven if you dont want to.
Recommended Reading: Does The Bible Say Fear Not 365 Times
How The Bible Actually Works
Natychmiastowa wysyka z Polski !
- Dimensions 157.48 x 231.14 x 33.02mm | 453.59g
- Publication date 19 Feb 2019
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Publication City/Country New York, United States
- Language English
- Bestsellers rank 233,585
OPIS
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.
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.
Stan: Bardzo Dobry
Kod produktu: OL8663-M
Book Review: Peter Ennshow The Bible Actually Works
For the purpose of full disclosure, I received an advanced free copy of the book from HarperOne in exchange for an honest review.
I had the unique experience this past week of being a part of Peter Enns launch team for his latest book 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 Thats Great News. Whew, thats quite the sub-title. From my past encounters with Enns works , I found his approach to the Bible refreshing, honest, and vulnerable aspects that I think an up-and-coming Christian generation are yearning for. I didnt expect anything less from How the Bible Actually Works. As another disclaimer, per usual, this isnt a review per say , but more of a thoughtful reflection with insights in my own life. Take it as you will.
The book covers quite a bit of ground, but Enns crafts it into one cohesive narrative, often to the point of being repetitive but in a good way. Each point reinforces the other. He captures nearly everything inside the title itself. The three points he makes about the Bible are that it is
I was a little concerned by the title that Enns wasnt going to add a lot to what he already covered in The Bible Tells Me So. And its true that he does build on themes in that book. But if I were to try to capture the difference, it would be that How the Bible Actually Works gives us positives as opposed to negatives .
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