Shop top categories that ship internationally
Buy new:
-27% EUR11.27
EUR 7.99 delivery Thursday, April 2
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
EUR 11.27 with 27 percent savings
List Price: EUR 15.53
No Import Charges & EUR 7.99 Shipping to Germany Details

Shipping & Fee Details

Price EUR 11.27
AmazonGlobal Shipping EUR 7.99
Estimated Import Charges EUR 0.00
Total EUR 19.25

EUR 7.99 delivery Thursday, April 2
Or fastest delivery Friday, March 27
In Stock
EUR EUR 11.27 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
EUR EUR 11.27
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Shipper / Seller
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Shipper / Seller
Amazon.com
Returns
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
EUR 10.14
FREE International Returns
ORDERS SHIPPED DAILY! No marking underlining highlighting in text block. Very minor shelf wear corner wear. ORDERS SHIPPED DAILY! No marking underlining highlighting in text block. Very minor shelf wear corner wear. See less
EUR 7.99 delivery April 13 - 27
Or fastest delivery April 13 - 16
EUR EUR 11.27 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
EUR EUR 11.27
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

  • The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It

Follow the author

Get new release updates & improved recommendations
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It Paperback – September 15, 2015

4.6 out of 5 stars (1,798)

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"EUR 11.27","priceAmount":11.27,"currencySymbol":"EUR","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"27","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":true,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"G8QMw9DZbFD64ixIPsbgrmEFmH8K1tS1L%2FFxJGhUyWFDIBcQIJO4k8SVpzAzlM9ydDHRE28YfQfR4pCkk61VCDQS23EyhwqyLM7wauda5xmzJ3gDAo72KjIj%2B28FROi7LE5GBxY2cTmx%2F%2FWQka165Q%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"EUR 10.14","priceAmount":10.14,"currencySymbol":"EUR","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"14","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":true,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"G8QMw9DZbFD64ixIPsbgrmEFmH8K1tS1cKigo79l3dAb92yu4dDJ86rLMEqh6fgVIS8iBV9X9HE54lEzJnUpUWSOvSmh3VSvvXSYsBNApBTcPwgXaze21M7BKqNvUDdcJSY9bYVbIulPEoxQpkgf%2FRowAnb%2BQaObpaOBB8F0PPv5x3vWBhUkcAxBrL2eJd%2BD","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The controversial Bible scholar and author of The Evolution of Adam recounts his transformative spiritual journey in which he discovered a new, more honest way to love and appreciate God’s Word.

Trained as an evangelical Bible scholar, Peter Enns loved the Scriptures and shared his devotion, teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary. But the further he studied the Bible, the more he found himself confronted by questions that could neither be answered within the rigid framework of his religious instruction or accepted among the conservative evangelical community.

Rejecting the increasingly complicated intellectual games used by conservative Christians to “protect” the Bible, Enns was conflicted. Is this what God really requires? How could God’s plan for divine inspiration mean ignoring what is really written in the Bible? These questions eventually cost Enns his job—but they also opened a new spiritual path for him to follow.

The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns’s spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God’s Word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider—the essence of our spiritual study.

Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Frequently bought together

This item: The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It
EUR11.27
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
EUR11.79
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

Customers also bought or read

Loading...

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The central thesis of this book is unassailable― our preoccupation with defending the Bible has blinded us from seeing what it actually says. With clarity, insight, wisdom, and humor, Pete Enns helps restore our sight, enabling us to encounter the Word of God afresh in our time. In so doing, he has offered a faithful witness not only to the words of scripture, but also to the God revealed in its pages.” - John R. Franke, executive director and professor of missional theology, Yellowstone Theological Institute

“Peter Enns has written a great book about The Book. If you’ve ever struggled with the violent or contradictory or just plain strange passages in the Bible, this book is for you . . . And he’s funny.” - Rob Bell, author of Love Wins

“Stop what you’re doing and read this book! Challenging, compelling, and delightfully readable, The Bible Tells Me So is a game-changer for anyone who longs to read the Bible without compromising either intellectual integrity or devotion. With the humor and humility of a favorite professor, Peter Enns releases Scripture from the cage we’ve built for it and then teaches us to love it for what it is, not what we try to make it. Every Christian should read this book, but especially those who fear they are alone in their questions about the Bible. They will find not only relief, but also companionship, within its pages.” - Rachel Held Evans, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood

“Enns [argues] that evangelicals have misinterpreted scripture. . . . The Bible isn’t necessarily an owner’s manual that answers all of our questions about God but a ‘guide for the faithful by being a story, not by giving us a list of directions disguised as a story.’ . . . A popular treatment designed to provoke a reset of how we read the Bible.” - Library Journal

“The question of how to read, inwardly digest, and eventually ‘live’ the Bible is probably the most divisive one among Christians today. The shock of Enns’ The Bible Tells Me So, then, is either the simplicity and clarity of its answer to that question or else the humor and confessional belief with which the answer is offered. I can’t decide which it is, but I do know one thing: This is a book that every Christian will be the better and richer for having read.” - Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence

“The question of how to read, inwardly digest, and eventually ‘live’ the Bible is probably the most divisive one among Christians today. This is a book that every Christian will be the better and richer for having read.” - Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence

“Cross a stand-up comic, a robust theological mind, a college professor, and a decent normal guy who likes baseball and has both cats and dogs, and what do you get? Peter Enns. And what does he write? A super-enjoyable, highly informative, disarmingly honest, and downright liberating book called The Bible Tells Me So. The message of this book needs to get out. Fast.” - Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity

“Cross a stand-up comic, a robust theological mind, a college professor, and a decent normal guy, and what do you get? Peter Enns. And what does he write? A super-enjoyable, highly informative, disarmingly honest, and downright liberating book. The message of this book needs to get out. Fast.” - Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity

“Peter Enns has emerged as one of the stars of biblical interpretation for thinking Christians, and with The Bible Tells Me So, he steps into the spotlight. With writing that is winsome, readable, and non-intimidating, he cuts a path between wooden literalism and faithless liberalism, giving those of us who want it a way to read the Bible that is both faithful and intellectually credible. If you want the Bible to make sense, read this book.” - Tony Jones, theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch and the author of Did God Kill Jesus?

“Peter Enns has emerged as one of the stars of biblical interpretation for thinking Christians. With writing that is winsome, readable, and non-intimidating, he cuts a path between wooden literalism and faithless liberalism, giving us a way to read the Bible that is both faithful and intellectually credible.” - Tony Jones, theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch and the author of Did God Kill Jesus?

“As an author I wish I could write in as lively and as interesting a manner as Peter Enns. And while I, as an old fashioned evangelical, have some problems with what he has written, I think that many other readers will find answers to some of the most perplexing questions that they have about the Bible.” - Tony Campolo, professor of sociology, Eastern University

“In The Bible Tells Me So, Peter Enns addresses the problems of scripture form the position of an evangelical Christian who observes with candor and fresh humor that too often faithful readers approach the Bible with expectations it is not set up to meet.” - Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover

What Do You Do When the Bible Doesn't Behave?

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 15, 2015
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062272039
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062272034
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.9 x 5.3 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #64,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars (1,798)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Peter Enns
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, PA. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and is the author of several books, including, The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It (HarperOne), The Bible and the Believer: How to Read the Bible Critically and Religiously (with Marc Brettler and Daniel Harrington, Oxford University Press), Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and The Problem of the Old Testament (Baker), and The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins (Baker).

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,798 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find this book thought-provoking, particularly praising its discussion of the Old Testament, and consider it essential reading for Christ-followers. The writing style is easy to understand, and the narrative is sprinkled with humor, making it both entertaining and engaging. Customers appreciate how it helps the Bible make sense and provides helpful interpretations, while maintaining an honest approach to scripture.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

126 customers mention thought provoking, 121 positive, 5 negative
Customers find the book thought-provoking, noting it provides a new perspective on Scripture that deepens their faith.
"The Bible Tells Me So" was recommended to me as a thought-provoking, thinking person's guide toward understanding Scripture better....Read more
...easily understood- explains many questions Ive had over the years- intelligent - witty- and a well thought out book- Im on my second read through it...Read more
Thought provoking and timely. Answers the questions that have always been at the back of my mind but I was too afraid to confront....Read more
...behave as many of us have been taught should find this refreshing, enlightening, and a great relief to know you can still be assured your faith is...Read more
119 customers mention readability, 112 positive, 7 negative
Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a compelling and joyous read that is essential for every Christ-follower.
...It's also very funny and very powerful... a great read in addition to very moving.Read more
...you want a summary of recent research on the scriptures, this is a good read....Read more
...It was a wonderful experience to go through this with others. It's very readable and with great humor and gave us a fresh way to view Scripture....Read more
...It is clear and concise, providing sound historical background and a fresh human element missing in a number of books dealing with this same material.Read more
110 customers mention insight, 109 positive, 1 negative
Customers find the book enlightening and helpful, providing vital scriptural knowledge and many great insights, with one customer noting how it guides readers through puzzling territories.
Funny, informative, encouraging.... it's ok to question. I was ready to quit the bible. Now, I don't need to. 😊...Read more
Very informative! Cuts thru the BS of the Church and the Clergies Lies and manipulations on the sheeple parishionersRead more
A different, helpful, thought-provoking, and refreshing perspective on what the Bible is and how Christians should interact with it.Read more
...This book is insightful, challenging, funny and engaging. You may not agree with all of it. You may not even agree with most of it....Read more
79 customers mention humor, 75 positive, 4 negative
Customers enjoy the book's humor, noting frequent belly laughs throughout the narrative.
Funny, generous, honest, and simultaneously academically accurate - this is a perfect first step for somebody curious about biblical criticism and...Read more
...Thank you, Peter Enns, for your clear, concise, humorous, and most knowledgeable treatment of these important questions!!!!Read more
...any of his other books or his blog then you'll know he has a great sense of humor and he certainly doesn't hold it back in "The Bible Tells Me...Read more
Although he’s charming, clever and witty, there is so much to disagree with in this book. He’s leading people away from truth, not into it.Read more
55 customers mention writing style, 49 positive, 6 negative
Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, finding it excellently and fun to read with easy-to-understand language.
Well written, argued and articulated treatise on reading the Bible within its own context....Read more
...I enjoyed the writing style and wit very much up until he said....oh, forget the whole Old Testament...it's just a myth. Then I put the book down....Read more
Peter Enns is a talented writer. Unfortunately he takes half truths and uses them to prop up his own world view....Read more
Very accessible and well written book by a brilliant man with a big heart. Thank you for this labor of love Peter. God bless you and your work!Read more
39 customers mention entertainment value, 37 positive, 2 negative
Customers find the book entertaining and engaging.
...On the way, he juxtaposes a lot of lesser known scriptures in an interesting and informative way....Read more
...is formidable, but his tone and spirit is completely accessible and engaging to those of us without Biblical studies/theological academic backgrounds...Read more
This is a fun read and should be read by every Christian, especially fundamentalists, to get a different perspective on what the Bible is and what...Read more
...And he does it throughout in his fun, earthy and humble manner. Yet it is compelling and more than reasonable to take seriously....Read more
36 customers mention understanding, 34 positive, 2 negative
Customers find the book helpful in interpreting scripture and making it understandable, with one customer noting its straightforward approach to hermeneutics.
This book presents the clearest explanation on how to genuinely and honestly approach the Bible as it is that I have ever read, while also helping...Read more
i love this book. great for trying to better understand all the violence in the old testament....Read more
...Thanks, Peter Enns, for providing a well-reasoned and historically and theologically sound explanation for why the Bible is not and was never meant...Read more
Love this book! See the Bible through new eyes with greater understandingRead more
33 customers mention honesty, 28 positive, 5 negative
Customers appreciate the book's honest approach to scripture.
Funny, generous, honest, and simultaneously academically accurate - this is a perfect first step for somebody curious about biblical criticism and...Read more
...me and stretched me and has me thinking more deeply and more honestly about the Bible than I ever have....Read more
...The Holy Bible is, in fact, a supernatural book. It did have several writers, but he failed to mention that it only had ONE Author....Read more
...or perhaps, not much at all, but it will help you to understand the very real and credible evidence in support of a different and much more...Read more
A Must Read for Christians Seeking Deeper Understanding of the Formation of Scripture!
5 out of 5 stars
A Must Read for Christians Seeking Deeper Understanding of the Formation of Scripture!
There are very few contemporary books on scriptural understanding that I would recommend more strongly than Peter Enns' "The Bible Tells Me So." The spiritual journey that Peter Enns describes for himself within the book is parallel to those that numerous other Christians, such as myself, have also travelled or will eventually travel. The evangelical community needs to become much more knowledgeable regarding the evolution of oral traditions, and the cultural and sociological influences on, and development of the writing of the texts comprising the Bible. Unfortunately, the truths about scriptural formation are so often either intentionally evaded or avoided by pastoral leadership so as not to raise controversy within congregations, or are directly denied by them. Enns' books present a vital supply of scriptural knowledge absent in many congregations.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2014
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Peter Enns begins his new book with the following observation: “Many Christians have been taught that the Bible is Truth downloaded from heaven, God’s rulebook, a heavenly instructional manual—follow the directions and out pops a true believer, deviate from the script and God will come crashing down on you with full force.” If it were up to me, and we all know that it isn’t, I would insist that this book be required reading for anyone who takes the Bible seriously enough to read. This is no doubt Bible 101 at its best.

    Written in a casual and humorous style, Enns tackles one of the most important issues of our day: How to read and understand the Christian Bible (Old and New Testaments). Fortunately The Bible Tells Me So is not written for Biblical scholars but for everyday Christians who often wonder why the Bible misbehaves the way it does. By misbehaving Enns means that there are things in the Bible that would make a Prostitute blush or a hardened soldier cringe.

    Beginning with the conquest of Canaan and the extermination of the Canaanites, a military campaign ordered by God, Enns addresses one of the most embarrassing episodes in the Bible for many peace-loving Christians. Why would God order the extermination of men, women, and children (not to mention all their animals) just so the Israelites can take possession of the land promised to them? Does God bless genocide of this magnitude—the extermination of an entire race? This, according to Enns, is the Bible misbehaving at its best (or worse).

    What are post-modern Western Christians to make of such carnage as a worldwide flood that kills every human being and living creature on earth save eight human souls and a boatload of animals? Is this the kind of Bible story we want to read to our children and then tell them God is love? Is this really the God Jesus spent a brief lifetime revealing? Is it enough to just say, “Well the Bible says it happened that way so it must be true”? Really? Might there be a better way to understand these ancient stories of carnage and violence? According the Enns the answer is “Yes!”

    Yet aside from all the violence and death in the early parts of the Bible (Old Testament) how are thoughtful Christians to reconcile some of the major inconsistencies in the Bible’s storytelling? For example, there are two obviously different histories of Israel in the Bible, one in the books of Samuel/Kings and the other in Chronicles. Each account deviates from the other. How might one reconcile these glaring discrepancies of historical reporting? Or were the authors up to something else other than simply reporting history? Enns believes they were indeed up to something else.

    Then there are the four different accounts of Jesus’ life recorded in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Within each of those four Gospels there are four different accounts of what happened on that first Easter morning—the central event of Christianity: The resurrection of Jesus. How does one reconcile the differences?

    Peter Enns is a noted Biblical scholar with a PhD from Harvard. He provides a brief testimony of his own Christian journey as a backdrop to this wonderful, thought provoking book. My sense is that The Bible Tells Me So . . . is going to raise some hackles among some Christian while at the same time it’s going to cause others to ask why it took so long for such a book to be written.

    In fact here is another excellent review of The Bible Tells Me So: [...]

    From my own personal point of view, Enns’s book has answered some of the most difficult questions about the Bible that I have harbored for a long time. Questions I would have been afraid to ask a mere decade ago.

    For Peter Enns the Bible is not the central focus of the Christian life, but rather Jesus is! For a fuller explanation one must read The Bible Tells Me So.
    16 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    "The Bible Tells Me So" is an excellent book that I would recommend to most people who identify as Christian or are seeking to know more about Christianity. At the same time I feel compelled to warn you, to quote Rachel Held Evans in her review, "it is not for the faint of heart."

    Peter Enns has written a book for Christians who are struggling with the contradictions and distasteful stuff (Canaanite genocide, anyone?) in the Bible and who, for some reason, do not have an advanced degree in textual criticism. He offers them a way forward: you can continue to believe in God and ask legitimate questions about all the weird stuff in scripture that doesn't make sense.

    All too often there has been a deep divide between people who study the Bible: good Bible-believing Christians on one side, godless academics on the other. Peter Enns wants to bridge that divide. He shows that textual criticism allows us to look at the Bible as it really is rather than trying to impose our own vision of what the Word of God should be on it. The Bible that he presents is messy, self-contradictory and challenging. It offers conflicting portraits of who God is and what He wants from His children. And, Enns suggests, that is okay!

    Of course such a radical shift in perspective on the Bible might be a pretty earth-shaking experience for some people. Thus, my disclaimer at the top of this review.

    But the fact is that if you read your Bible with open eyes, you will run head-long into things that don't make sense, seem glaringly self-contradictory or just don't match up with the God that Christians believe in. At times, scripture almost seems daring the reader to challenge it, like for instance in Proverbs 26:4 where it says "Answer not a fool according to his folly" and then the following verse says "Answer a fool according to his folly..."!

    The way to deal with these contradictions, Enns argues, is to accept that the Bible is a compilation of different writers at different times who are telling stories about God in their own way. And, yes, through the lens of their own times and cultures.

    Modern scholars, for example, believe that the books of the Torah were compiled from several different writings or oral traditions, which is why there are stories and even laws that flatly contradict each other. Interestingly, Enns shows that this is not a new way of looking at scripture: the Jews of Jesus' time accepted that there were at least two different 'legal traditions' in the Torah and were not afraid of 'creatively interpreting' them.

    Nor were the Church Fathers of the New Testament afraid of creative interpretations of scripture - including the Apostle Paul and even Jesus! Enns spends a great deal of time at the end of the book showing how both of them put creative spins on established scripture that would give a modern Bible teacher a heart attack. Yet today we accept their radical reinterpretations without question.

    In the New Testament, Paul points out that God's relationship with the Israelites predates the writing of the Torah. Likewise, Peter Enns points out that Christians' relationship with God and with Jesus predates the writing of the New Testament. Christians don't believe in the Bible - they believe in Christ. God, to quote what of Enns' chapter titles, is bigger than the Bible.

    Peter Enns' argues that in the Bible God lets his children tell the stories about him. And when they tell it in their own way, like when the early Israelites made God out to be a vengeful tribal deity, God is okay with that. Yet God is also bigger than those stories. The story of who God is doesn't end with the impatient deity who wiped out almost everything on earth with a flood just six chapters into Genesis. God had more to say about himself and still has more today. After all, he is the vast, incomprehensible creator of the universe. Is anyone surprised when our knowledge of him turns out to be a little incomplete?

    Peter Enns argues convincingly that the Bible was never supposed to be a rulebook. We have put the Bible and ourselves into a straight-jacket trying to make it into one, editing out the parts that we don't like and doing logical back flips to try and tidy up all the little 'problems'. The trouble is, these efforts convince nobody but ourselves.

    Enns writes that Christians are supposed to wrestle with scripture, like the Psalmists and the writers of Ecclesiastes and Job. But fear about being 'wrong' about the Bible has driven us to make indefensible arguments about it, and to deny serious attempts to study it as it is.

    The idea that the Bible isn't 'perfect' can be a deeply unsettling one for evangelical Christians. But Peter Enns tackles it with humor, wit and serious scholarship. And he shows that accepting the Bible for what it is is also deeply liberating.

    I could write a great deal more about this book: I have given mere lip service to only a handful of the ideas Peter Enns' presents in The Bible Tells Me So. This book is insightful, challenging, funny and engaging. You may not agree with all of it. You may not even agree with most of it. But if you are a Christian that wants to dig deeper into your faith you should definitely read it.
    22 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Client Kindle
    5.0 out of 5 stars I would recommend it
    Reviewed in France on December 25, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Very intersting and in depth. Also reachable. I love how it's not dogmatic pleasing but truth seeking. Also very funny titles!
  • Marcelo Rigo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and delightful book
    Reviewed in Brazil on June 15, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Pete has a remarkable ability to gather information and weave it into a coherent vision of Holy Scripture. Rather than viewing it through the lens of our 21st-century evangelical culture, it is far better to let Scripture speak for itself — and then seek to understand it, always bearing in mind that final conclusions will likely remain elusive, especially after two thousand years of Christianity and who knows how much more of Judaism. Jesus was fully human. The Bible is inspired, yes, but also shaped by human hands. It is time we gratefully acknowledge that it did not fall from the sky, but was written by people — people very much like us.
  • Nightreader
    4.0 out of 5 stars Die alternativen Fakten der Bibel
    Reviewed in Germany on November 14, 2022
    Zuerst einmal das Positive. Peter Enns ist fachlich kompetent, hat einen guten Stil, aufgelockert durch lieben und niemals bösartigen Humor und greift ein Thema auf, an dem sich schon viele Christen die Zähne ausgebissen haben: Die "Problemzonen" der Bibel. Als da wären, um nur ein paar zu nennen, die sprechende Schlange, die Übertragung der Erbsünde quasi als Geschlechtskrankheit, die doch sehr skurrilen Gebote , die flache Erde, der grausige "Blitzkrieg" Joshuas, der in Dschengis-Khan-Manier den halben Nahen Osten ausrottet und zerstört, und und und. Fragt man Pfarrer, Pastor oder fortgeschrittene Christen, bekommt man meistens nur ein gequältes Lächeln zu Antwort. "Äh, stimmt doch alles nicht. Was nicht heißt dass es nicht stimmt, wohlgemerkt! Die Bibel ist schließlich Gottes Wort. Und überhaupt wollen wir jetzt lieber über das sonntägliche Kaffeekränzchen reden."
    Für mich war es eine ehrliche, große Erleichterung zu lesen, dass Peter Enns alle diese Problemstellen kennt und auch gleich die dummen Antworten zitiert, die man bekommt ("die Kanaaniter waren eben ur-böse Ungläubige, da musste Gott einmal ordentlich reinhauen ... nein, das ist kein Dschihad und auch nicht dasselbe wie der Holocaust und die Plünderung jüdischen Vermögens!" Ich hatte schon gedacht, ich bin die einzige Idiotin auf der Welt, die mit mit solchen Bibelstellen echte Probleme hat.
    Also - vom Problem weiter zu einer möglichen Lösung. Und die ist bei Peter Enns auf jeden Fall originell. Er weist sehr schlüssig nach, dass bestimmte "historische Berichte" einander grob widersprechen, nicht nur bei "dem alten Judenschmuß", wie ein Glaubensbruder as AT zu bezeichnen pflegte, sondern auch in den Evangelien, dass die Urzeitgeschichten der Bibel starke Ähnlichkeit und starke Differenzen zu den gleichzeitig kursierenden Mythen anderer Völker aufweisen, dass Adam z.B. im ganzen AT nur an einer einzigen, bedeutungslosen Stelle erwähnt wird (der war doch schuld an allem, oder?) und einiges mehr, das ich mit befriedigtem Kopfnicken zur Kenntnis genommen habe. Auch das Statement, dass so ziemlich das ganze AT während und nach der Rückkehr aus der babylonischen Gefangenschaft geschrieben und reichlich überarbeitet wurde, selbstverständlich basierend auf älteren Überlieferungen und Schriften. Peter Enns führt sehr überzeugende Beweise dafür an.
    Dann kommt der Knaller.
    Was da geschrieben wurde, nennt Peter Enns "kreatives Schreiben". Soll heißen: alternative Fakten, was ein anderes Wort für Lügen, Verdrehungen, Ergänzungen etc. in einem Ausmaß ist, dass man sich an die Geschichtsklitterer in "1984" erinnert fühlt (und natürlich an Ex-POTUS D.T.) Ein Beispiel: Die scheußlichen Massaker der Landnahme haben in Wirklichkeit nicht stattgefunden, sagen die Akademiker, (Gott seis gedankt) und Peter Enns fügt hinzu: Das haben die Autoren der Bibel nur erfunden, um dem verwundeten Selbstbewusstsein der Verschleppten ein Pflaster aufzukleben. ("Mann, damals waren wir wer! Da rannten alle vor uns davon!")
    Spätestens an dem Punkt hat es mir die Haare aufgestellt. Die Bibel als ein Sammelsurium von Kriegspropaganda und Selbst-Bauchpinselei? "So spricht der Herr" - eine Marionette in den Händen irgendeines Zebulon oder Habakuk, dem man (wie später Jesus) in den Mund legt, was gerade passt? Andererseits: Was in der Bibel steht, ist nicht gerade eine Ode hemmungsloser Bewunderung an die alten Hebräer. Welches andere Volk hat so penibel seine Fehler und Schwächen publiziert? Steckt also doch etwas anderes hinter dem mehr als lockeren Umgang auch mit der konkreten Geschichte (Israel hatte ja eine ganz konkrete Geschichte, die - teilweise - wissenschaftlich fassbar ist!)
    Ich habe mich durch dieses Buch und das noch spannendere "The Evolution of Adam" durchgewühlt, bis mir die Augen brannten. Dass die Bibel wortwörtlich Gottes Wort und Seine Meinung sei, habe ich zwar nur in sehr zartem Alter geglaubt - dafür steht zu viel Gemeines, Scheußliches und einfach Falsches darin - aber wenn Peter Enns recht hat, dann kommt das doch sehr nahe an "den größten Hoax aller Zeiten" heran. Was für das AT gilt, gilt schließlich auch für das NT.
    Jedenfalls ist mir schon lange kein Buch mehr untergekommen, das mich so erleichtert, fasziniert, befriedigt und verärgert hat wie dieses.
    Report
  • T Chier
    5.0 out of 5 stars Every Christian should read this!
    Reviewed in Australia on March 5, 2022
    This is the second book I’ve read by Pete Enns and I found it an eye opener. While I don’t agree with every proposition he puts forward, what he says on the whole makes a lot of sense. If you are a Christian who wants to witness to well read atheists and skeptics, this book is a must read. I found the author’s take on OT books such as Joshua truly enlightening and it has definitely given me a new perspective on the Bible in general.

    I intend to read it again in a month or so as there is a lot to digest even though the author does his best to write in a light-hearted and entertaining style. Well done Pete Enns - I’ll definitely be reading more of your books.
  • Kenneth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening and essential for the common Christian
    Reviewed in Canada on October 28, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This book is amazing at exposing without shaming. It does this to the Bible and also to theologians that would disagree with it. Peter Enns clearly knows how to have a good debate and knows exactly where to poke to get people going, yet he does it with grace and clarity that it's hard to be mad at him. I've found myself mad at myself more that him when reading this book.

    This book is for the common Christian. It isn't heady theology or hard to understand. It doesn't talk over you (in fact it talks under you most likely). This book doesn't make me want to go out and correct all the people that I know are wrong. Instead it makes me want to go to church, read my Bible, and converse with my friends with more grace and freedom. It has helped me in my journey by challenging assumptions but not criticizing me for having them.

    Amazing read and 99% recommended.

    I'm sure Peter will understand that 1% ;)

    Thank you Peter.