HOW THE BIBLE ACTUALLY WORKS

Bible scholar, author, podcast host, and blogger Peter Enns is beloved for his irreverent, progressive perspective on the Bible. In The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty, he debunked the common beliefs about the Bible which steer us in the wrong direction and, he argues, cause all sorts of spiritual problems. Now Enns explains how the Bible really works and why it speaks to us so powerfully even if it does not behave as we think it should. He argues that we should not read the Bible as merely a textbook providing statements of truth but as a dynamic engine that not only provides wisdom but helps form wisdom within us. ''The Bible becomes a confusing mess when we expect it to function as a rulebook for faith. But when we allow the Bible to determine our expectations, we see that Wisdom, not answers, is the Bible's true subject matter,'' writes Enns. This distinction, he points out, is important because when we come to the Bible expecting it to be a textbook intended by God to give us unwavering certainty about our faith, we are actually creating problems for ourselves. The Bible, in other words, really isn't the problem; having the wrong expectation is what interferes with our reading. Enns's restores the holy scriptures as an inspired and powerful resource instead of seeing it as an ancient book weighed down with problems and holes which we feel beholden to defend. With this new approach to reading the Bible, readers can let go of their anxiety to be right as the most important measure of their faith and instead focus on growing their faith and building their relationship with God, which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.