"The Bible Tells Me So" is the third book that I have read now from Peter Enns. I can summarize my reaction to be book by saying, "Whoa, that was awesome!" Let me unpack that for you so that I do not come across as a total deadhead (at least for now, feel free to think that way at the end of these remarks).
Nearly two years ago, I initially came across "Inspiration and Incarnation" by accident. Having recently graduated from a neo-Reformed seminary, I remembered that Enns' work had been described there as "dangerous" by the students, and as "problematic" by the faculty -- like contraband. Yet with anything akin to contraband, I could not help but wonder what all of the so-called controversy was about with the book. Why avoid engagement with a person or a topic if it is as solid as people suggest?
Like many recently graduated seminarians, I still had many questions that were left unanswered. Where was I to go? Should I treat seminary like a closed book or like a stepping stone that takes me to new places in theology? Those two options seem to be common for graduates, especially of evangelical schools.
Opting for adventure, I took the risk and began reading it, although, I admit, I read it in private. Sadly, my reason for doing this was because I did not want other friends from seminary and in my denomination to find out that I was actually engaging with Enns' material. If they found out that I was considering his arguments, let alone reading it, I feared what that might mean for my life and my hopes for pursuing vocational church ministry in the future. I could be blacklisted, because, I was in possession of contraband.
What I encountered then took my breath away, and in many ways, I am still reveling in what Enns' arguments introduced me to in the world of biblical scholarship. In "Inspiration and Incarnation," not only did Enns show how the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible was influenced by other ANE writings, but he also began to probe into the diverse ways that the theology takes shape throughout Israel's history. In addition, he provided a helpful overview of some of the ways that writers in the New Testament handle Old Testament texts. In short, Enns was one of the voices who forced me to consider that my seminary education was insulated from the rest of the world and academia, and quite frankly, that was very upsetting for me. I thought that my professors were the toughest dogs on the block, but I began to realize that their barking just stayed on their street--they didn't reverberate out into the rest of the city (okay, I will stop with the lame analogies).
This contributed to a major conflict in my life, but one that I look back upon now with gratitude: if I was to take the Bible seriously, as I had been taught, how should I respond to a text like this one? Should I consider the strength of these arguments and look further into similar discussions? What if it challenged the system of doctrine that I had been taught? What would that mean to someone like me and my future?
Or, was I to immediately reject them and revert to the system of biblical interpretation that I had been taught in seminary and to that which was normative in my conservative Reformed denomination? In other words, I had two options: take a risk or play it safe.
So, I opted for the latter and two years later, after a complete paradigm shift, I do not regret my decision at all. Throughout the past two years, I have read other books and various articles that make the similar arguments as Enns' did with "Inspiration and Incarnation." Due to the almost overwhelming amount of material out there in biblical scholarship that critiques inerrancy, I was looking forward to the day when I could find a book that would condense the arguments into a broad overview that I could give to others who asked the same questions as I did years ago as a college student and as a seminarian. How else could you expect to describe biblical criticism to someone desiring to know more about it, especially to someone who has only heard nasty things about critical scholarship--like, all critical scholars rip Bibles apart for fun or use them for coasters? And who would be qualified to write such a book? It seems that the options were limited.
That is, until now. Thankfully, in "The Bible Tells Me So," Enns not only continues this conversation with these same themes that were introduced several years ago in "Inspiration and Incarnation," but he does it in a way that makes these topics accessible for all people, whether or not they have studied religion at the collegiate or graduate level. Unlike many books that handle these topics, Enns' writing style feels as if you are having a conversation with him over a bite to eat or over a cup of coffee. He is both funny and fascinating, which are two traits that don't seem to go together with biblical scholars. I'll go ahead and say it: he makes theology "fun"! (Didn't see that one coming, did you?)
Not only this, but he takes very complex arguments that are shared by many biblical scholars and unpacks them so that readers can see the social backgrounds of the biblical text, like the ANE backgrounds of the Old Testament, the plurality of perspectives about God and ethics in those books, and the ways in which the New Testament writers interact with the Old Testament. If you are coming from an insulated background in the church or seminary, then you can be assured that Enns' is not the only person out there speaking in this way. He is polite and he is also transparent about what led him to have the perspectives that he does today. By doing so, there is a human touch to this book that other books dealing with these themes omit.
In addition, Enns puts a Christological focus on the interpretation of Old and New Testament texts which should give comfort to readers who might be wondering about the conclusions that Enns is drawing from his critical examination of the Old Testament while reading along in the book. He even spends some time showing the ways that the writers of the Gospels portray Jesus' interpretation of the Old Testament, too. This helps the reader see for herself that it's not as nice and neat as one might suspect. Jesus didn't treat the Bible as a rulebook, so why should we?
Coming from someone who works in a church, I think that this book would be of wonderful help for people as young as high school (as long as they are avid readers) and up, especially those who are frustrated with evangelical and/or fundamentalist readings of the biblical text.
Only if, however, you are ready to be contradicted and challenged by God, then this might just be the book for you. As Enns tells us, "we are free to walk away from [the invitation to trust God], of course, but we are not free to make a Bible in our own image. What the Bible looks like is God's call, not ours." And what Enns does with "The Bible Tells Me So" is show us that we don't get to decide what the Bible is all about.
Thank you, Dr. Enns, for taking the risk that you did years ago by taking the Bible seriously. You've changed the lives of many people, including me.
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About the author
The Christian Assault Rifle
An assault rifle is a selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate verse cartridge and a detachable book magazine for effective countermeasures when increased delivery methods are needed to protect the Bible.Assault rifles were first put into mass production and accepted into widespread service during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. The AK-47-T (Torah) became the standard used throughout the region. By the 19th century the “Jesus Said” (JS) cartridge became the most used armour piercing bullet available. Ammunition became readily available as more Bible colleges and church pastors began using this technique to support theological concepts. Sermons were bullet-proofed, bracketed by “Jesus Said” cartridges.The AK-47-B (B for Bible) rifle became the standard for shutting down open and diverse dialogue whenever Remez was presented as an option. Today it has become the most effective tool at controlling heresy, faith, opinions, beliefs and misguided theological bents. Set on semi-automatic, the rapid delivery of verse cartridges has become an art for the protection of the Bible. The effective stopping power is remarkable especially within denominations.Recent news articles disclose that the “Jesus Said” cartridge has been enhanced to a “BS” version; the “Bible Said” cartridge. It’s a scatter gun type of load that expands the stopping power of the assault rifle from a single person to crowd control, especially for those sitting in church pews.People know the new improved BS cartridge is being used because the tracing residue scatters BS all over the unknowing victims. And single verse cartridges litter the site. While the Bible doesn’t need this level of protection, most believers still hold to this delivery system to avoid any faith crisis that would unhinge their beliefs.<><><><<><><><>><><><><><><><>The above I wrote as a “take off” to what Peter Enns is saying in this book. It all came together after I made a Facebook post. I quickly received two replies with verse and reference. It wasn’t a controversial post, but it did raise a question. Enough of a question that “I’ve got a verse for that” was posted in the comments. It was a subtle way of steering me back to accepted norms. The ones that say “this” and it is interpreted “this way”. I know “this” because all the commentaries I’ve ever read support it, the Bible colleges teach it and my pastor preaches it. Defending the Bible is our job, because God needs our help.As Peter says in this book “...we have all heard of stories where people have become casualties for asking questions about scripture.” He goes on to say “...we were all caught up in a system that exerted a deep, subliminal pressure on its members to conform—a system that apparently couldn’t hold it together without exercising some serious information control.” I felt like I was a casualty.Peter further addresses this “singular belief” concept, a concept I find totally void in our circles today. He covers this under the “debating the Bible” theme, as if you can’t do that and still be a Christian. “Debating the Bible, especially Torah, and coming up with creative readings to address changing times was a mark of faithful Judaism. The debates of the day were about how to be flexible and creative, not whether scripture was still binding. Torah study and debate were an irrevocable part of Jewish life.” Sadly the debate is gone today because the Christian Assault Rifle has effectively stopped it.
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