Inspired : slaying giants, walking on water, and loving the Bible again

Title:

Author:

Evans, Rachel Held, 1981-2019, author.

Summary:

If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, then what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she began a quest to better understand what the Bible is and how it is meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it will change you too. Drawing on the best in recent scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture's mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world. -- Amazon.com.

Contents:

The temple. Origin stories -- The well. Deliverance stories -- The walls. War stories -- The debate. Wisdom stories -- The beast. Resistance stories -- The water. Gospel stories -- The sea. Fish stories -- The letter. Church stories.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 236 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Bible stories

Title Subject:

Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Subject Term:

Christian life.

Publisher:

Nelson Books,

Publication Date:

2018

ISBN:

9780718022310

Publication Information:

Nashville, Tennessee : Nelson Books, [2018]

Call Number:

248 EVANS

Holds: Copies:

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Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003411900	Adult Nonfiction	248 EVANS	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, what is it What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired When New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she embarked on a journey to better understand what the Bible is and how it's meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it can change you, too.

Evans knows firsthand how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend. In Inspired, Evans explores contradictions and questions from her own experiences with the Bible, including:

If the Bible was supposed to explain the mysteries of life, why does it leave the reader with so many questions What does it mean to be chosen by God To what degree did the Holy Spirit guide the preservation of these narratives, and is there something sacred to be uncovered beneath all these human fingerprints If the Bible has given voice to the oppressed, why is it also used as justification by their oppressors

Drawing on the best in biblical scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, and even a short screenplay.

Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages and unafraid to ask the hard questions, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating the mysteries surrounding Scripture. Discover alongside Evans that the Bible is not a static text, but a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that can equip us and inspire us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world.

Author Notes

Rachel Held Evans was born Rachel Grace Held in Alabama on June 8, 1981. She received a bachelor's degree in English from Bryan College in 2003. She started working for The Herald-News in 2004. In 2007, she won an award from the Tennessee Press Association for the best personal humor column.

An Episcopalian, she left the evangelical church in 2014 to find what she considered a truer, more authentic Christianity. She wrote four books including Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions; A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master; and Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again. She died from extensive brain swelling on May 4, 2019 at the age of 37.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Evans (A Year of Biblical Womanhood) introduces readers to Biblical criticism in her gratifying work on approaching the Bible. Shaped by her staunch religious upbringing and eventual doubts about her faith, Evans finds a graceful balance between challenging fundamentalist readings of the Bible and opposing outright dismissal of biblical tales. She devotes chapters to important genres, including origin stories, deliverance tales, accounts of war, and narratives of prophetic resistance. Before each chapter, Evans creatively retells a biblical story in a way that models her call for readers to think freshly about the Bible. With a serious yet conversational tone, she explores the original context of Bible stories to enrich their power. For instance, she writes, the Babylonian exile and threatening loss of identity explain Israel's creation stories, and the Roman empire's domineering edicts make Paul's letters a smart response to political pressures of the time. Her chapter on miracle stories-which argues that one should focus on how these stories can bring personal change, rather than on proving or disproving them-is particularly touching. This appealing and open book will provide readers of all theological persuasions a clear picture of how the tools of scholarship can be deployed to bolster the Bible's impact and beauty. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Introduction	p. xi
The Temple	p. 1
1 Origin Stories	p. 7
The Well	p. 29
2 Deliverance Stories	p. 35
The Walls	p. 59
3 War Stories	p. 61
The Debate	p. 81
4 Wisdom Stories	p. 91
The Beast	p. 113
5 Resistance Stories	p. 115
The Water	p. 141
6 Gospel Stories	p. 147
The Sea	p. 165
7 Fish Stories	p. 175
The Letter	p. 191
8 Church Stories	p. 199
Epilogue	p. 215
Acknowledgments	p. 223
About the Author	p. 227
Notes	p. 229

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Table of Contents