The Bible tells me so Why defending scripture has made us unable to read it

Peter Enns, 1961-

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.

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Subjects
Published
New York, NY : HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2014]
Language
English
Main Author
Peter Enns, 1961- (-)
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 Choice Review

Enns (Eastern Univ.) offers a lively account of the nature of the Bible that faces head-on the image of God as a violent tribal warrior. Israel's slaughter of the ancient Canaanites, allegedly at God's command, highlights the portrait of God as warrior. Enns dissents from a literal reading of the Bible here, contending that, as storytellers, the biblical writers created the story of the slaughter of the Canaanites to enhance the political image of Israel. In this account, God did not command the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites, and there is no reason to think of God as a violent warrior. Enns applies his perspective to several parts of the Bible that manifest diversity of interpretation, including the New Testament stories of Jesus in the Gospels. He offers this lesson: "If we read the Bible today thinking that this God of creation, freedom and mystery is bound by a book as if it were a contract, with nothing left to say, no further moves or surprises, we will miss much." His perspective cost him his tenured position at a conservative American seminary. The book is remarkably accessible, engaging, and illuminating. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. --Paul K. Moser, Loyola University Chicago

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Enns (biblical studies, Eastern Univ., Inspiration and Incarnation) surveys the Bible with a premise that evangelicals have misinterpreted it by viewing scripture as a historically accurate rulebook. Instead the author encourages reading the Bible as a story with a human viewpoint designed to deliver religious and political messages of the time. He states "Israel's stories... were not written to 'talk about what happened back then.' They were written to explain what is. The past is shaped to speak to the present." Enns reviews additional passages contending that the Bible isn't necessarily an owner's manual that answers all of our questions about God but a "guide for the faithful-by being a story, not by giving us a list of directions disguised as a story." This is not an academic book, instead, it's a popular, short treatment designed to provoke a reset of how we read the Bible. Most evangelicals will disagree with the author's view, however, it may spur discussion. VERDICT This title will appeal to readers who enjoy works by N.T. Wright or John Dominic Crossan. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.-Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.