The Bible tells me so Why defending scripture has made us unable to read it
Book - 2014
Trained as an evangelical Bible scholar, Peter Enns loved the Scriptures and shared his devotion, teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary. But the further he studied the Bible, the more he found himself confronted by questions that could neither be answered within the rigid framework of his religious instruction or accepted among the conservative evangelical community. Rejecting the increasingly complicated intellectual games used by conservative Christians to "protect" the Bible, Enns was conflicted. Is this what God really requires? How could God;s plan for divine inspiration mean ignoring what is really written in the Bible? These questions eventually cost Enns his job -- but they also opened a new spiritual path for him t...o follow. The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns's spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God's word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider -- the essence of our spiritual study.
- Subjects
- Published
-
New York, NY :
HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
[2014]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- First edition
- Physical Description
- xiii, 267 pages : illustration, maps ; 24 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references.
- ISBN
- 9780062272027
9780062272034
- Author's Note
- Chapter 1. I'll Take Door Number Three
- When the Bible Doesn't Behave
- The Bible Isn't the Problem
- My Life, in Brief, and Such as It Is
- Concerning Camels' Backs and Beach Balls
- Door Number Three
- So What's My Point?
- Chapter 2. God Did What?!
- How Not to Treat Other People
- Those Wicked, Horrible Canaanites
- Marching Orders
- "If Jesus Sends People to Hell, What's So Bad About Killing Some Canaanites??"
- God's Nicer Side
- Worst, Sinners, Ever
- It's a Tribal Culture Thing
- Digging for Answers
- God Lets His Children Tell the Story
- Why This Chapter Is So Important and So Dreadfully Long
- Chapter 3. God Likes Stories
- What Happened?
- The Stories of Jesus
- Little Baby Jesuses
- Who Saw the Big Moment?
- The Stories of Israel
- The Past Serves the Present
- A Warm-Up for the Main Event
- A Sneak Peek at the Political Map
- Playing Favorites with Little Brother
- Adam, Who Art Thou?
- The Exodus Story
- When Gods Fight
- What's with All the Water?
- Stories Work
- Chapter 4. Why Doesn't God Make Up His Mind?
- Raising Kids by the Book (FYI, It Doesn't Work)
- "If I Wanted to Tell You What to Do, I Would Have"-God
- When Biblical Writers Get Cranky
- "Don't Quote the Bible at Me, Please. I'm God."-God, to Job and His Friends
- Is There More Than One God? (And, No, This Isn't a Trick Question)
- God Seems Like a Regular Joe
- God Lays Down the Law...Sort of
- Chapter 5. Jesus Is Bigger Than the Bible
- Jesus Gets a Big Fat "F" in Bible
- Jesus Was Actually Jewish (Go Figure)
- Jesus Messes with the Bible
- Jesus: Moses 2.0
- Jesus Picks Fights
- Jesus Was a Human Being
- Chapter 6. No One Saw This Coming
- I Could Tell You But You Wouldn't Understand
- Good News! Our Leader Was Executed by the Romans! Come Join Us!
- "It's All About Me."-Jesus (According to Luke and Matthew)
- Are We There Yet?
- Jesus, Savior of the World
- God's Answer to a Question No One Was Asking
- "Torah? Oh That. It Was Only Temporary."-God (As Told to Paul)
- "Why Don't You Just Go Castrate Yourself," and Other Spiritual Advice
- Chapter 7. The Bible, Just as It Is
- For Those on the Go, the Entire Book in Exactly 265 Words (With Brief Commentary)
- A Quick Thought About the Universe and God Laughing
- Not That I'm Trying to Tell You What to Do, But...
- Where in the Bible Were We? (In Order of Appearance)
- Some Dates I Keep Referring To (And a Few Others)
- In Case You Don't Believe Me and Want to Read More
- Acknowledgments
Review by Library Journal Review