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What Is the Bible?

How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything

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About this listen

The New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell, using his inspired and inquisitive approach, focuses on the most widely read book of all time. He provides surprising insights and answers about how the Bible actually works as a source of faith and guidance, showing a brand-new way of reading this sacred text.

Rob Bell, the beloved author of Love Wins and What We Talk About When We Talk About God, goes deep into the Bible to show how it is more revelatory, revolutionary, and relevant than we ever imagined – and offers a cogent argument for why we need to look at it in a fresh, new way.

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 inspired, inquisitive approach, he now turns to our most sacred book, the Bible. What Is the Bible? provides 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.

©2017 WORB, Inc. (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
Spirituality

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Reading this book has transformed how I view the bible and how to engage with it.

Read it

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First off, I am a Rob Bell fan. He has a gift of making difficult concepts more easily accessible and this down to earth explanation of what the Bible is, is clear and very helpful. Whatever you may or may not believe about God, the Bible is first and foremost a human resource compiled by human beings, and within its pages you see an unfolding of the story of humanity's attempt to understand itself and its relationship to the world and to God.
Thanks Rob!

Every Bit As Good As I'd Hoped

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This is one of the best books I have read. Very insightful and liberating to listen and read your thoughts on the Bible: can't wait for your next book

Brilliant Book

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New insight to reading the bible ! states the obvious in a very clever revolutionary new way
the bible was written by real people, at a real point in time a very long time ago. What points were the writers trying to highlight when chosing what words/stories/poems to include?

fantastic ! eye opening !

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A must have in the library of any Priest and equally good for lay people. Rob Bell opened me up to a new way of reading.

Excellent. A must read for any Christian.

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An absolute must read, not just for Christians but for everyone. This book presents a completely new dimension to the bible, one that will expand the horizons of the reader and completely reshape the way he sees scripture.

Must read!

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The audiobook was an easy listen and provided a number of insights Would have welcomed a more in depth approach. Rob Bell is an engaging narrator - although I did have to check if it was slightly faster than normal speed

Interesting

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Shakes up the way you see some of the stories you read a 100 times

Enjoyable and informative book

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Really loved this book. very easy to listen to and full of new, exciting insights. Can't wait to read my bible more having read this book.

brilliant, thought-provoking, engaging

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Worth the listen :) The next book I read will be the bible ! +

Thought provoking

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