{
    "id": 462423,
    "slug": "how-the-bible-actually-works-peter-enns",
    "nstc": null,
    "title": "How the Bible Actually Works",
    "subtitle": null,
    "collection_title": null,
    "collection_part_number": null,
    "annotation": null,
    "description": "Controversial evangelical Bible scholar, popular blogger and podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, and author of The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty explains that the Bible is not an instruction manual or rule book but a powerful learning tool that nurtures our spiritual growth by refusing to provide us with easy answers but instead forces us to acquire wisdom. \n\nFor many Christians, the Bible is a how-to manual filled with literal truths about belief that must be strictly followed. But the Bible is not static, Peter Enns argues. It does not hold easy answers to the perplexing questions and issues that confront us in our daily lives. Rather, the Bible is a dynamic instrument for study that not only offers an abundance of insights but provokes us to find our own answers to spiritual questions, cultivating God\u2019s wisdom within us.\n\n\u201cThe 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\u2019s true subject matter,\u201d 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\u2019t the problem; having the wrong expectation is what interferes with our reading.\n\nRather than considering the Bible as an ancient book weighed down with problems, flaws, and contradictions that must be defended by modern readers, Enns offers a vision of the holy scriptures as an inspired and empowering resource to help us better understand how to live as a person of faith today.\n\nHow the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that \u201cbeing right\u201d is the most important measure of faith, Enns\u2019s freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God\u2014which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.",
    "imprint": null,
    "language_code": "eng",
    "original_language_code": null,
    "page_count": 304,
    "duration_seconds": null,
    "publication_date_first": "2019-01-01",
    "publication_date_latest": "2019-01-01",
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    "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:56:17+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2025-10-30T00:39:03+00:00",
    "publisher": {
        "id": 4984,
        "slug": "harperone",
        "name": "Harperone",
        "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:18:18+00:00",
        "updated_at": "2025-09-19T14:42:29+00:00"
    },
    "contributors": [],
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}