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A review by aediger2
What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel about Everything by Rob Bell
5.0
So far my favorite of Bell’s books, What Is The Bible? provides a fresh, intellectual, and grace-filled reading of the Bible.
Bell is the reason I first learned the word “heretic” when Love Wins came out, but I after reading this book, I realize that Bell is actually a radical. While heretics stray from or contradict the origin and orthodox, radicals return to the origin/orthodox. Bell demonstrates to readers that he is not straying from the root of Christianity, but rather is seeking it at the heart of the Bible as it was intended at its conception.
Reading this book was a breath of fresh air. After a transformative experience with God’s grace, I found I no longer fit in to the church context I had been a part of. Bell’s book reminded me that my encounter with God and the ways in which it has influenced how I read the Bible are not unfounded, but rather are connected deeply with the contexts and encounters the biblical authors had with God.
I particularly appreciated Bell’s Note on Growing and Changing at the end of the book. This note - and book overall - were simultaneously affirming and challenging.
I have my criticisms of the book and do not personally prefer Bell’s writing style (albeit the line breaks in the middle of sentences was toned down in comparison to his other books), but it was nonetheless worth the read.
Bell is the reason I first learned the word “heretic” when Love Wins came out, but I after reading this book, I realize that Bell is actually a radical. While heretics stray from or contradict the origin and orthodox, radicals return to the origin/orthodox. Bell demonstrates to readers that he is not straying from the root of Christianity, but rather is seeking it at the heart of the Bible as it was intended at its conception.
Reading this book was a breath of fresh air. After a transformative experience with God’s grace, I found I no longer fit in to the church context I had been a part of. Bell’s book reminded me that my encounter with God and the ways in which it has influenced how I read the Bible are not unfounded, but rather are connected deeply with the contexts and encounters the biblical authors had with God.
I particularly appreciated Bell’s Note on Growing and Changing at the end of the book. This note - and book overall - were simultaneously affirming and challenging.
I have my criticisms of the book and do not personally prefer Bell’s writing style (albeit the line breaks in the middle of sentences was toned down in comparison to his other books), but it was nonetheless worth the read.