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bonitabeckita's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book. Peter Enns seemed to have two major points to make about the Bible. First, that it is a book of wisdom, not a book of rules. He gives lots of examples of how the Bible is ambiguous and contradictory, so if it were just a set of rules to govern our conduct we would have lots of loopholes to argue through at our divine judgement. Reading the Bible as a book of wisdom though, we realize the intent all along was for us to think about this sacred text and then apply it's wisdom to our time and place. As Enns says "...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." Enns' second point is what has caused me to think most. He suggests the Bible records constant re-imaginings of God, God's character, and God's relationship to Creation. For example, Enns explains how the exile of the Hebrew people forced them to re-imagine God, God's character, and God's relationship to the Hebrew people because this exile didn't fit with their understanding of God's original promise to Abraham and the nation of Israel. Jesus, and especially His crucifixion and resurrection, forced the Jewish-Christian disciples to re-imagine their understanding of God because this didn't seem to fit in the "plan" as they understood it. Enns suggests we are still re-imagining God for our time and place, using wisdom as we do that. What challenged me was to know what the boundaries are around re-imagining. How do I know something I re-imagine about God is true or is just me trying to make God more palatable? Enns doesn't offer any boundaries, and I greatly appreciated that. I believe Enns trusts his readers to pursue this mysterious life of faith without any arbitrary limits he might have set.
My only criticism is in the circular writing style. Enns circled back to repeat his points frequently. I know this makes it understandable and accessible to the read who is not a Bible-scholar. I found it redundant, but not to the point that I did not enjoy the book. In fact, I will likely read it again, slowly, with my Bible out to read closely the passages Enns references.
As with the other books I have read by Peter Enns, I am more excited about reading the Bible. I look forward to reading with this added filter on my lens to seek out the wisdom in this ancient text that can still guide and inspire us in our modern times.
I received an Advance Reader Copy as part of the launch team for this book.
My only criticism is in the circular writing style. Enns circled back to repeat his points frequently. I know this makes it understandable and accessible to the read who is not a Bible-scholar. I found it redundant, but not to the point that I did not enjoy the book. In fact, I will likely read it again, slowly, with my Bible out to read closely the passages Enns references.
As with the other books I have read by Peter Enns, I am more excited about reading the Bible. I look forward to reading with this added filter on my lens to seek out the wisdom in this ancient text that can still guide and inspire us in our modern times.
I received an Advance Reader Copy as part of the launch team for this book.
rmiciche's review against another edition
3.0
Was written in a way that was easy to read. However, I wish he shared how we could use this wisdom practically when we read scripture....
scoticus_maximus's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I have read from a non-literal, non-inerrancy view of the Bible and man is it challenging. You grow up in a certain tradition and your taught that “those people” who think differently are wrong, stupid, deceived, and maybe even evil. Pete is none of those things. He graciously, joyously, and wisely asked us to consider another possibility. That the Bible was never meant to be a hard and fast rule book for living your best life and making it to heaven but instead an invitation from God to engage God and allow God to speak through the writings of humans who were doing the best they could to understand and create awareness about a God is truly unfathomable (even to us highly intelligent 21st century Americans!?)
I’m grateful for another challenging view and grateful for the invitation from Pete and from God to press in.
I’m grateful for another challenging view and grateful for the invitation from Pete and from God to press in.
ginabyeg's review against another edition
4.0
Several years ago, I read Sarah Bessey's book Out of Sorts, and resonated with her statement, "taking the Bible seriously doesn't mean taking everything literally.” In this book, Peter Enns expands on this notion, challenging the belief many hold of the Bible as a rulebook, recipe book, or manual. It is refreshing to hear Enns' thoughts on the Bible as a collection of stories, poems, letters, and documented history from which we can glean wisdom as it applies to us in the 21st century. I enjoyed Enns' gentle sarcasm and sense of humour. As an academic, I did find he went a bit beyond my interest intellectually in Chapters 9 through 12, but outside of that, I found this book to be an engaging read--one that any critical-thinking Christian should consider.
chrisdepew's review against another edition
4.0
This book is accessible. You don’t need a theology degree in order to understand the material. So many of the “higher” thinking Biblical books read like graduate level textbooks that most people stay away from. This is a great exception to that rule.
I have read most of Pete’s other books before reading this one. He is known to have a snarky attitude in his less academic writing, so that didn’t come as a surprise when I read this one. However, if you don’t like snark or it affects the way you enjoy a book go into this one knowing there is a good bit of it.
With that being said, I love the snark. For too long those of us that felt, read, and interpreted scripture differently than mainstream evangelical Christianity were always dismissed. This book, along with providing you good theological information, allows you to feel like you are part of a group. A group of people that should have always been and, in the past, were the mainstream when it comes to interpreting scripture. So, if that comes with a bit of snark, I like it.
Lastly, if you are looking for God or Jesus or if you thought you knew God but lost who that is and the desire to seek God because of how others portray God, this is your book. God is bigger than we know and bigger than our ability to look at a very old book and declare, “I know God”. You don’t really know God. This book helps to open you up to the possibility that God is everything and everywhere and see how people groups from different times and places understood God in their context. Not a rule book that still applies today but this book helps show us that the Bible is telling us to find God today and use our experience, wisdom, and tradition along with it to understand who God is in our context.
I’m a Harper-one Partner. This book was provided to me by the publisher for review purposes
#wisebible #harperonepartner
I have read most of Pete’s other books before reading this one. He is known to have a snarky attitude in his less academic writing, so that didn’t come as a surprise when I read this one. However, if you don’t like snark or it affects the way you enjoy a book go into this one knowing there is a good bit of it.
With that being said, I love the snark. For too long those of us that felt, read, and interpreted scripture differently than mainstream evangelical Christianity were always dismissed. This book, along with providing you good theological information, allows you to feel like you are part of a group. A group of people that should have always been and, in the past, were the mainstream when it comes to interpreting scripture. So, if that comes with a bit of snark, I like it.
Lastly, if you are looking for God or Jesus or if you thought you knew God but lost who that is and the desire to seek God because of how others portray God, this is your book. God is bigger than we know and bigger than our ability to look at a very old book and declare, “I know God”. You don’t really know God. This book helps to open you up to the possibility that God is everything and everywhere and see how people groups from different times and places understood God in their context. Not a rule book that still applies today but this book helps show us that the Bible is telling us to find God today and use our experience, wisdom, and tradition along with it to understand who God is in our context.
I’m a Harper-one Partner. This book was provided to me by the publisher for review purposes
#wisebible #harperonepartner
mnstucki's review against another edition
4.0
A breath of fresh air! So much to think about, and a really helpful way of looking at all of the ways that the Bible contradicts itself.
dbswanson's review against another edition
3.0
I received an advance reader copy from HarperOne. #wisebible #harperonepartner Facebook: @PeterEnnsAuthor Twitter: @peteenns