What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything in Recommended Readings

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Jun 03, 2017 Matt LeFevers rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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I always like how Rob Bell's sub-titles really swing for the fences. This book's "...Can Transform The Way You Think And Feel About Everything" is an even bolder generalization than Love Wins' "...The Fate Of Every Person Who Ever Lived". From somebody else I might find that kind of thing annoying but I feel like the overexcited exclamations in the titles really capture the essence of Bell's energetic, infectious enthusiasm for topics.

That enthusiasm crackles through this book like electricity. I always like how Rob Bell's sub-titles really swing for the fences. This book's "...Can Transform The Way You Think And Feel About Everything" is an even bolder generalization than Love Wins' "...The Fate Of Every Person Who Ever Lived". From somebody else I might find that kind of thing annoying but I feel like the overexcited exclamations in the titles really capture the essence of Bell's energetic, infectious enthusiasm for topics.

That enthusiasm crackles through this book like electricity. There's no dry theology here, and the subject matter (deliberately, as explained in the introduction) flits from story to story in nothing like a linear fashion. If you want more of a sober, methodical outline of this way of reading scripture, you might want to start with something more like Peter Enns' The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It or Adam Hamilton's Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today. But this book, more than either of those, made me EXCITED to go read the Bible again. Enns' books are like taking a good college class at 11:00 AM from a likable instructor. Rob Bell's writing is more like your friend shaking you awake at midnight because he saw something amazing, and dragging you out of bed to check it out.

Because of the kinds of things I tend to read (accessible books on Bible context and interpretation are my jam), there was less here that was truly new information to me than might be the case for someone else, but the book's beating heart still spoke to me. Bell's ultimate assertion is that the Bible is *good* - both that it is worth reading, and full of interesting ideas and narratives, but also that it documents an arc towards justice and compassion, and that this arc is often visible even in its most unsettling moments. Rob Bell truly believes that love and justice and equality are God's endgame, and that even at our worst, God is still meeting us where we are and pulling us forward. On the days that I struggle to believe that myself, a book like this is a big, chocolatey mug of hope.

This book is much more substantial than some of Bell's others, which, while terrific, could sometimes be read in a couple of hours, making them feel a bit lightweight. I devoured this one in about three days and, upon finishing, immediately started making plans to re-read some scripture, excited to dig in with fresh eyes. It'd be hard to think of a better compliment to pay to a book with a title like this. ...more

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Apr 27, 2019 desertnomadicpianista rated it really liked it

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May 13, 2018 Travis rated it it was amazing

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