Williamsburg Regional Library

What is the Bible?, how an ancient library of poems, letters, and stories can transform the way you think and feel about everything, Rob Bell

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-318)

no index present

non fiction

What is the Bible?

bibliography

983796128

Rob Bell

how an ancient library of poems, letters, and stories can transform the way you think and feel about everything

In 'Love Wins, ' Rob Bell confronted the troubling questions that many people of faith were afraid to ask about heaven, hell, fate, and faith. Using the same inquisitive approach, he now turns to our most sacred book, providing insights and answers that make clear why the Bible is so revered and what makes it truly inspiring and essential to our lives. Rob takes us deep into actual passages to reveal the humanity behind the Scriptures. You cannot get to the holy without going through the human, Rob tells us. When considering a passage, we shouldn't ask "Why did God say ..." To get to the heart of the Bible's meaning, we should be asking: "What's the story that's unfolding here and why did people find it important to tell it? What was it that moved them to record these words? What was happening in the world at that time? What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God was at that time?" In asking these questions, Rob goes beyond the one-dimensional question of "is it true?" to reveal the Bible's authentic transformative power. Rob addresses the concerns of all those who see the Bible as God's Word but are troubled by the ethical dilemmas, errors, and inconsistencies in Scripture. With What Is the Bible?, he recaptures the Good Book's magic and reaffirms its power and inspiration to shape and inspire our lives today

Introduction: Twenty-five years in -- Part 1. There's Something More Going on Here. Moses and his moisture -- Somebody wrote something down -- Stoners and swingers -- Who paid Jesus's bills? -- "Anakephalaiossathai" -- The importance of altitude -- Smoking firepots -- And the fat closed in over the sword -- The thing about pearls and pigs -- Turning the gem -- Larry in the airport -- Part 2. The Nature of That Something. Flood -- Fish -- Son -- He had no idea what I was talking about -- All that violence -- Do what to our whats? -- Give it up for Sidon! -- He can't even say his name -- The whole Melchizedek thing and why you love it and know it's true -- So how did Jesus read the Bible? -- The sheeeeeeeet factor -- All things are yours -- The human and the divine -- Part 3. Where That Something Takes Us. Babel -- Two or three kinds of apocalypses -- The Book of Revelation, of course -- Why Americans often miss the major themes of the Bible -- Part 4. The Questions That Always Come Up. Why are there all those genealogies? -- Why is Leviticus in the Bible? -- What about all those people falling over dead? -- Did Jesus have to die? -- What about predestination? -- What about all that wrath? -- What about sin? -- It is the word of God? -- Is it authoritative? -- What about the contradictions? -- Is it inerrant? -- Is it inspired? -- What's the best question to ask when you're reading the Bible? -- What's the worst question to ask when you're reading the Bible? -- What's the other best question to ask when you're reading the Bible?

adult