How the Bible Actually Works

I liked the beginning but found the middle a bit hard to follow. This may be a “me” problem obviously but it felt a little muddled. I even went back to reread sections and still felt a bit lost at the connections made.

However, I will say I really enjoyed the writing style in general. I do agree that faith should always be evolving in us.

Peter Enns does a great job of adding a bit of sugar to make the medicine go down. That being said, there is plenty of medicine here. Some of the concepts here reflect thoughts and ideas I've had in my own wrestling matches with God to try to understand the godhead and the Bible. Even more I recall from reading Enns' book Because the Bible Tells Me So. I did not anticipate the depth (and this is likely a scratching of the surface from an academic perspective) that this book would go.

I started off finding some relief to questions and struggles I've had over the years. Somewhere in the second half of the book, I found myself asking, have we just eliminated the possibility of an everlasting, living deity through logic and the evolving perspectives of those who follow the god named Yahweh? There are some personal reasonings and perspectives that have led me to believe God is real, though unseen and unheard except through the Bible and the life of Jesus. But what if this is self-imposed delusion?

Fortunately, Enns brings it all back around to how he reconciles this with faith, which had me feeling better. What I like is that this book challenges me to think deeply and to continue to hold on to God in this spiritual wrestling match of faith in my life, looking for what is real and true. (Note: true is not the same as factual. A truth can be conveyed through a fiction or exaggerated storytelling.) 

For those who believe God is big enough and strong enough to be asked the hardest questions, for those who are willing to admit our faith is only as big as a mustard seed, and want to dig deeper into how to reconcile the parts of the Bible that don't seem to reflect the God we think we know and serve, I recommend this book.

A lifelong student of the Bible, I am always looking to read the Bible better.

Reading the Bible better. That is an interesting...odd thing to say about a book. Because of my background, training, and career, how I read the Bible was an issue of faith, integrity, intelligence, and success.

If you want to read the Bible better this is one of the books you should read to help you do that.

I wanted to give it four stars because Enns is snarky and it only works some of the time, but that didn't feel right -
Full review:https://thetempleblog.com/2022/03/21/book-review-how-the-bible-actually-works/

Short Thoughts: The subtitle matters, “In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That's Great News”

While I think that many will misread this, I do think that the larger point, that Christianity is to teach maturity and wisdom, not rule following, is right. But that point necessarily means that we will not end up with the same solutions because we have different thought processes once we start working through the issues. Many are not comfortable with that ambiguity. But I do think that part of maturity is living with ambiguity.

I think this is probably where I would suggest starting with Enns. How the bible actually works is very readable. It has lots of humor. And Enns narrates the audiobook and does a great job.

My longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/how-the-bible-actually-works/