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violinknitter's review
5.0
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did (and I nearly docked a star for Enns' relentless colloquial tone), but I found it an enlightening & delightful read. Specifics I appreciated: Enns' discussion of how both Jesus & Paul read the Jewish scriptures in Jewish ways (well, duh!), *especially* their willingness to reinterpret the (now) OT in light of Jesus Himself. I've very rarely heard any preacher even refer to how the NT writers often take OT passages completely out of context to prove their point. I've also never completely understood why we evangelicals tend to handle the OT texts very differently from the ways the NT writers model for us.
Apologies for a rather scattershot review. I seriously doubt I would agree with Enns on everything (his blog posts sometimes leave me thinking "yeah, no, I don't think so") but the perspective in THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO is helpful to me, especially in the ways it intersects w/what I've been reading from Scot McKnight and NT Wright.
Apologies for a rather scattershot review. I seriously doubt I would agree with Enns on everything (his blog posts sometimes leave me thinking "yeah, no, I don't think so") but the perspective in THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO is helpful to me, especially in the ways it intersects w/what I've been reading from Scot McKnight and NT Wright.
kpauls2011's review
5.0
Relevant, entertaining, and deeply thought provoking! If you have ever wondered how to approach Scripture and to see the big picture of the Bible, this is a must read!!
adamrshields's review
4.0
Book Review: The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It by Peter Enns - Very good popular level book on biblical hermeneutics (how we read and interpret the bible.) It is well worth reading and at least today (March 24, 2015) it is on sale for $1.99 on kindle (blog link below has link to kindle).
The main point of the book is that the modern understanding of Scripture as rule book or guide-book or science book actually changes scripture to something that is different from what early Christians understood and how the writers seem to have intended. Some of the book is simply insight into biblical authors/reader's understanding and culture. Other parts are exploring difficult ideas (like Canaanite genocide) or New Testament author's use of the Old Testament.
Enns conclusion is that we need to allow the bible to be a collection of different voices and resist the impulse to harmonize and clean up scripture. God choose to give us a book written by many with a number of different voices and stories and attitudes and we need to deal with the bible we were given, not try to make it into something that is cleaner or more cohesive.
My full (nearly 1400 word) review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-bible-tells-me-so-why-defending-scripture-has-made-us-unable-to-read-it-by-peter-enns/
The main point of the book is that the modern understanding of Scripture as rule book or guide-book or science book actually changes scripture to something that is different from what early Christians understood and how the writers seem to have intended. Some of the book is simply insight into biblical authors/reader's understanding and culture. Other parts are exploring difficult ideas (like Canaanite genocide) or New Testament author's use of the Old Testament.
Enns conclusion is that we need to allow the bible to be a collection of different voices and resist the impulse to harmonize and clean up scripture. God choose to give us a book written by many with a number of different voices and stories and attitudes and we need to deal with the bible we were given, not try to make it into something that is cleaner or more cohesive.
My full (nearly 1400 word) review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-bible-tells-me-so-why-defending-scripture-has-made-us-unable-to-read-it-by-peter-enns/
kbozkurtian's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
The Bible Tells Me So Peter Enns vs. Knowing God J.I. Packer…FIGHT!
randib's review
5.0
Fantastic book. The content is rich and deep yet the author's tone is light and at times almost campy (to my slight irritation). The last chapter had me thinking "Yaass" every paragraph. This book makes an intelligent case for a loving God throughout the entire bible. A case that, frankly, is hard for me to see if I read the bible with a fundamentalist approach. I now have a deeper love and respect for the bible and the traditions of my faith.
barium_squirrel's review
5.0
This book put into words some thoughts I've been kicking around for a while. The main idea of this book is that the Bible is meant to tell us how to live: NOT to be a history or science textbook. Enns argues that it's fundamentally impossible to understand God through our flawed human minds, and that the Bible (written by flawed humans) reflects that. Enns draws from Jewish philosophy and from the Bible itself to show how trying to take Bible stories literally strips them of much of their meaning. The "contradictory" aspects of the Bible actually reflect the truth of God refracted through humanity's mindset, and guide us to the true relationship that God wants to have with us, his children.
andybdubs's review
5.0
Thought-provoking and definitely one of those books I'll want to revisit later. Enns effectively challenges the evangelical belief that the Bible is an inerrant guidebook for everyday living without ever denying that it still has potency and even authority. With great intelligence and humor, he invites readers into a more grounded, nuanced, and meaningful relationship with the Bible.
fisk42's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books on the Christian faith that I've read in the last few years. Enns did an amazing job of addressing things that I've struggled with for awhile. A lot of what he says I have heard in various ways before, but here it is focused into something that is coherent. I am already wanting to re-read this book as I listened to it and I'm sure I missed some of the finer points.
lordjabez's review
4.0
Really challenging ideas, but I'm not sure about the implications. Seems like a slippery slope to not being able to know anything.