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

by Peter Enns

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062686756
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/11/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	105,193
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. David’s, Pennsylvania. He has also taught courses at Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the host of The Bible for Normal People podcast, a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and the author of several books, including The Sin of Certainty, The Bible Tells Me So, and Inspiration and Incarnation. He lives in northern New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Maps and Timeline

A Divided Promised Land ix

Pete's Pretty Close Timeline of Biblical History xi

Route of the Babylonian Exile xii

1 The Bible's True Purpose

Oh Good. Another Book on the Bible 3

Three Surprising Things That Make the Bible Worth Reading 5

God's Plan A: Wisdom 9

God Is Not a Helicopter Parent 13

You Are Not Alone 15

2 The Bible Doesn't Really Tell Us What to Do-and That's a Good Thing

Screwing Up Your Kids Biblically 23

Fools and Finances 28

My Big Point, and Then an Even Bigger Point 35

And an Even Bigger (and Final) Point 38

The Little and Hidden Things 44

3 God's Laws: Evasive and Fidgety Little Buggers

Some Details Would Be Nice, O Lord 51

Maybe You Didn't Hear Me: I Want Clarity 56

Don't Forget Your PIN 59

Laws Don't Stand Still for Very Long 63

Not to Beat a Dead Lamb, but … 65

Transposing the Past 69

4 Wisdom = Time + Diversity

Changing the Script 75

The Most Important Part of the Book Thus Far 78

This Part Is So Exciting! 82

You Were There 86

Peel Me a Sour Grape of Wrath 89

5 When Everything Changes

Rachel Is Weeping for Her Children 97

Don't Put God in a Box, Unless You Want to Be Swallowed by a Fish 102

Rewriting History 107

6 What is God Like?

The Universe Freaks Me Out 117

The God of the Bible 120

The Wisdom Question for All of Us 123

We're Stuck Being Human 126

7 Imagining and Reimagining God

You Mean to Tell Me That Actually Worked? 135

Banking Options 136

What Does God Have to Be Jealous About? 139

Tiptoeing Around the Touchy Almighty 144

8 Interlude: Jesus and All That

God Is_(Fill in the Blank) 153

It's What Christians Do 155

Does Your God Recycle? 157

9 Seriously Updating the Ancient Faith

Adapting to Survive 163

Standing on a Table Covered in Syrup with My Hair on Fire 166

We Need to Get This in Writing 169

Dealing with an Inconsistent (and Somewhat Ridiculous) God 173

God's Honor Is at Stake 179

Angels and Demons 183

Not Your Father's Judaism 186

10 Treasures Old and New

German Christmases and French Drains 193

Something About Jesus That Doesn't Get the Attention It Deserves 197

Jesus, Wisdom from God 202

Think About It: Four Gospels 205

11 Reimagining God the Jesus Way

Just Hear Me Out 215

Paul Reimagines the God of Moses 218

Going Off Script 222

1 Temple Avenue, Back Room, Jerusalem 225

This Land Is My Land 230

Children of Abraham 234

12 Dying and Rising for Others

What Is God Up To? 241

No, Seriously, What Is God Up To? 246

13 Figuring It Out

Reading Someone Else's Mail 253

Does God Influence Elections? Dear Lord, I Hope Not 256

Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals: No Big Deal, Nothing to See Here 260

14 Grace and Peace to You

The God of the Here and Now 271

The Challenge of Wisdom 275

Acknowledgments 278

Scripture Index 281

Subject Index 284

Editorial Reviews

Enns seeks to place us on the hard, but rewarding, path of wisdom.

Patheos

Using wisdom as his touchstone informs and enlivens Enns’ exploration. . . . Though his subject matter is serious, his writing is sprightly and cheerfully enlivened by his occasional snark and sarcasm. The book will find a general readership intrigued by the insight and, yes, the wisdom he offers.

Booklist

This book is an oasis of insight in a desert of deconstruction. I learned more from the introduction here than most books. Pete Enns shows us what to do after we give up on the Bible, and how this ancient, ambiguous, and diverse book remains uniquely useful to modern people.

Mike McHargue

Brilliant, wise, sarcastic, and disarmingly profound. If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated with the bible, wondering not only what it is but what it’s for and how to read it, let alone why bother, then allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite bible teachers.

Sarah Bessey

Using wisdom as his touchstone informs and enlivens Enns’ exploration. . . . Though his subject matter is serious, his writing is sprightly and cheerfully enlivened by his occasional snark and sarcasm. The book will find a general readership intrigued by the insight and, yes, the wisdom he offers.

Booklist

Enns seeks to place us on the hard, but rewarding, path of wisdom.

Patheos

Using wisdom as his touchstone informs and enlivens Enns’ exploration. . . . Though his subject matter is serious, his writing is sprightly and cheerfully enlivened by his occasional snark and sarcasm. The book will find a general readership intrigued by the insight and, yes, the wisdom he offers.

Booklist

A rare combination: sophisticated and accessible, serious and witty, provocative and precise. It’s also an honest book, giving voice to sincere questions and doubts. An important contribution to the conversation about how to faithfully interpret Scripture.

Peter Wehner

Inviting, accessible, lively, provocative and best of all, highly educational, Peter Enns new book will clear up many misunderstandings you have about the most important book in the world and, in the process, move you closer to the book’s ultimate focus: God.

James Martin

Seldom will you encounter such a fine combination of historical scholarship, interesting reading, and clever humor in one Biblical study. And then filled with faith and hope besides! Peter Enns does it again!

Fr.Richard Rohr

12/24/2018

Enns (The Bible Tells Me So), professor of biblical studies at Eastern University, challenges Christians to reconsider the true purpose of the Bible. He begins with three characteristics he asserts make the Bible worth reading: ancientness, ambiguity, and diversity. For Enns, the Bible does not actually tell readers what to do, as Old Testament laws leave much room for interpretation depending on context. Arguing that differences in tone between the various books of the Bible (such as differences between 1 and 2 Chronicles, which was written “perhaps as late as the Greek period,” and the other books of the Torah) result from the fact that they were written in different periods and cultures, Enns illustrates the fact that humankind’s reimagining of God is an ongoing process. He analyzes passages from the Old Testament and New Testament in terms of historical context to illustrate how the nature of God and the problem of evil changes along the way. Far from diminishing the value of the Bible, these variations make readers reflect on their own situations and reconsider connections between past and present. Enns writes with a conversational, self-effacing tone that cushions the sections of close textual reading. Approachable and well reasoned, Enns’s book will find an audience with Christians seeking a broader understanding of Scripture. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Seldom will you encounter such a fine combination of historical scholarship, interesting reading, and clever humor in one Biblical study. And then filled with faith and hope besides! Peter Enns does it again!” — Fr.Richard Rohr, author of Falling Upward

“This book is an oasis of insight in a desert of deconstruction. I learned more from the introduction here than most books. Pete Enns shows us what to do after we give up on the Bible, and how this ancient, ambiguous, and diverse book remains uniquely useful to modern people.” — Mike McHargue, co-founder of The Liturgists and host of Ask Science Mike

“Inviting, accessible, lively, provocative and best of all, highly educational, Peter Enns new book will clear up many misunderstandings you have about the most important book in the world and, in the process, move you closer to the book’s ultimate focus: God.” — James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and The Jesuit Guide

“Using wisdom as his touchstone informs and enlivens Enns’ exploration. . . . Though his subject matter is serious, his writing is sprightly and cheerfully enlivened by his occasional snark and sarcasm. The book will find a general readership intrigued by the insight and, yes, the wisdom he offers.” — Booklist

“Enns challenges Christians to reconsider the true purpose of the Bible. Far from diminishing the value of the Bible, these variations make readers reflect on their own situations and reconsider connections. Approachable and well-reasoned, Enns’s book will find an audience with Christians seeking a broader understanding of Scripture.” — Publishers Weekly

“A rare combination: sophisticated and accessible, serious and witty, provocative and precise. It’s also an honest book, giving voice to sincere questions and doubts. An important contribution to the conversation about how to faithfully interpret Scripture.” — Peter Wehner, Contributing Opinion Writer, New York Times; senior fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center; former senior White House adviser

“Brilliant, wise, sarcastic, and disarmingly profound. If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated with the bible, wondering not only what it is but what it’s for and how to read it, let alone why bother, then allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite bible teachers.” — Sarah Bessey, author of Out of Sorts and Jesus Feminist

“Enns seeks to place us on the hard, but rewarding, path of wisdom.” — Patheos

“With an entertaining mixture of ‘dad jokes’ and self-deprecation . . . Enns has offered a gift to the church. . . . Readers will find in these pages ideas that are at once challenging and life-giving, and scriptural interpretations that are at once faithful and dynamic—ancient and new.” — Anglican Theological Review

From the Publisher

With an entertaining mixture of ‘dad jokes’ and self-deprecation . . . Enns has offered a gift to the church. . . . Readers will find in these pages ideas that are at once challenging and life-giving, and scriptural interpretations that are at once faithful and dynamic—ancient and new.

Anglican Theological Review