Listen free for 30 days
-
What Is the Bible?
- How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Membership
$14.95 a month
Buy Now for $28.59
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Everything is Spiritual
- Finding Your Way in a Turbulent World
- Written by: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everything Is Spiritual is a brief history of how these ideas about creation, love, and connection shaped the author - and can shape every one of us. In this audiobook, Rob Bell explores the concept that what people really want, more than anything, is to understand their purpose here - so much so that it gives them an abiding sense of awe and wonder. And when you embrace where and who you come from and your wounds and pains and regrets, you will discover that there's an invitation lurking there in the mess of life.
-
-
Great book - very informative
- By LINA on 2021-09-07
Written by: Rob Bell
-
Love Wins
- A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived
- Written by: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance.
-
-
It is worth every moment of your time to listen.
- By GeoGeoff on 2018-02-25
Written by: Rob Bell
-
How the Bible Actually Works
- In Which I Explain How an Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers - and Why That's Great News
- Written by: Peter Enns
- Narrated by: Peter Enns
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read or listen to the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that “being right” is the most important measure of faith, Enns’ freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God - which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.
-
-
Informative, challenging and lots of humour
- By CAM on 2022-05-19
Written by: Peter Enns
-
The Universal Christ
- How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe
- Written by: Richard Rohr
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world.
-
-
Most thorough book on the Christ I've ever read...
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-01-13
Written by: Richard Rohr
-
What We Talk About When We Talk About God
- Written by: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How God is described today strikes many as mean, primitive, backwards, illogical, tribal, and at odds with the frontiers of science. At the same time, many intuitively feel a sense of reverence and awe in the world. Can we find a new way to talk about God? Pastor and New York Times best-selling author Rob Bell shows how traditional ideas have grown stale and dysfunctional and reveals a new path for how to return vitality and vibrancy to how we understand God.
-
-
Thoughtful and practical
- By Heidi F on 2021-02-12
Written by: Rob Bell
-
The Zimzum of Love
- A New Way of Understanding Marriage
- Written by: Rob Bell, Kristen Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell, Kristen Bell
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rob and Kristin Bell introduce a startling new way of looking at marriage, The Zimzum of Love. Zimzum is a Hebrew term where God, in order to have a relationship with the world, contracts, creating space for the creation to exist. In marriage, zimzum is the dynamic energy field between two partners, in which each person contracts to allow the other to flourish. Mastering this field, this give and take of energy, is the secret to what makes marriage flourish.
Written by: Rob Bell, and others
-
Everything is Spiritual
- Finding Your Way in a Turbulent World
- Written by: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everything Is Spiritual is a brief history of how these ideas about creation, love, and connection shaped the author - and can shape every one of us. In this audiobook, Rob Bell explores the concept that what people really want, more than anything, is to understand their purpose here - so much so that it gives them an abiding sense of awe and wonder. And when you embrace where and who you come from and your wounds and pains and regrets, you will discover that there's an invitation lurking there in the mess of life.
-
-
Great book - very informative
- By LINA on 2021-09-07
Written by: Rob Bell
-
Love Wins
- A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived
- Written by: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance.
-
-
It is worth every moment of your time to listen.
- By GeoGeoff on 2018-02-25
Written by: Rob Bell
-
How the Bible Actually Works
- In Which I Explain How an Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers - and Why That's Great News
- Written by: Peter Enns
- Narrated by: Peter Enns
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read or listen to the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that “being right” is the most important measure of faith, Enns’ freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God - which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.
-
-
Informative, challenging and lots of humour
- By CAM on 2022-05-19
Written by: Peter Enns
-
The Universal Christ
- How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe
- Written by: Richard Rohr
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world.
-
-
Most thorough book on the Christ I've ever read...
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-01-13
Written by: Richard Rohr
-
What We Talk About When We Talk About God
- Written by: Rob Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How God is described today strikes many as mean, primitive, backwards, illogical, tribal, and at odds with the frontiers of science. At the same time, many intuitively feel a sense of reverence and awe in the world. Can we find a new way to talk about God? Pastor and New York Times best-selling author Rob Bell shows how traditional ideas have grown stale and dysfunctional and reveals a new path for how to return vitality and vibrancy to how we understand God.
-
-
Thoughtful and practical
- By Heidi F on 2021-02-12
Written by: Rob Bell
-
The Zimzum of Love
- A New Way of Understanding Marriage
- Written by: Rob Bell, Kristen Bell
- Narrated by: Rob Bell, Kristen Bell
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rob and Kristin Bell introduce a startling new way of looking at marriage, The Zimzum of Love. Zimzum is a Hebrew term where God, in order to have a relationship with the world, contracts, creating space for the creation to exist. In marriage, zimzum is the dynamic energy field between two partners, in which each person contracts to allow the other to flourish. Mastering this field, this give and take of energy, is the secret to what makes marriage flourish.
Written by: Rob Bell, and others
-
Jesus and John Wayne
- How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
- Written by: Kristin Kobes du Mez
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate's staunchest supporters? Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last 75 years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Kindle Customer on 2021-01-27
Written by: Kristin Kobes du Mez
-
UnClobber
- Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality
- Written by: Colby Martin, Glennon Doyle Melton - foreword
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
UnClobber reexamines what the Bible says (and does not say) about homosexuality in such a way that breathes fresh life into outdated and inaccurate assumptions and interpretations.
Written by: Colby Martin, and others
-
The Enneagram
- A Christian Perspective
- Written by: Richard Rohr, Andreas Ebert
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This runaway best seller shows both the basic logic of the Enneagram and its harmony with the core truths of Christian thought from the time of the early Church forward. Experience author Richard Rohr's expertise and advanced thought on the subject, easily laid out for all audiences.
-
-
very insightful, thorough, really made me think.
- By Karen North on 2020-09-06
Written by: Richard Rohr, and others
-
The Sin of Certainty
- Why God Desires Our Trust More than Our "Correct" Beliefs
- Written by: Peter Enns
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With compelling and often humorous stories from his own life, Bible scholar Peter Enns offers a fresh look at how Christian life truly works, answering questions that cannot be addressed by the idealized traditional doctrine of "once for all delivered to the saints".
-
-
worth the listen
- By Leah Johnston on 2019-09-02
Written by: Peter Enns
-
The Case for Christ, Revised & Updated
- A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
- Written by: Lee Strobel
- Narrated by: Lee Strobel
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Retracing his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith, Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates from schools like Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis who are recognized authorities in their own fields. Strobel challenges them with questions like: How reliable is the New Testament? Does evidence for Jesus exist outside the Bible? Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual event?
-
-
Strobel hits it out of the park
- By Gentleman Gamer on 2018-09-19
Written by: Lee Strobel
-
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again
- Written by: Rachel Held Evans
- Narrated by: Rachel Held Evans
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
AMAZING
- By Jamie on 2020-09-23
Written by: Rachel Held Evans
Publisher's Summary
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 are 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.
More from the same
What listeners say about What Is the Bible?
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary Adams
- 2021-09-20
No
This book does more to discredit God and the Bible than any I have ever read.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah Tamlin
- 2021-03-11
a completely different look at the Bible
This book was so engaging and really changed my perspective. Growing up religious you hear so many mixed messages, this book changed my opinions.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robert
- 2020-02-25
Opens up Some New Perspectives
An original view of the Bible that asks why the writers thought these things were important enough to write down. Will give you some bright new openings on the way the Bible has always been and still is innovative and new.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jon
- 2017-06-19
Wonderful
Rob's books are all great! I don't agree with everything he says in all of them, but I don't have to. They are truly great and insightful. I learn new things in each one.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marisa
- 2017-06-06
Wonderful
I am not a religious woman. I'm so grateful for the spiritual and historical unfolding, the playfulness and lofty scope of What Is the Bible. I could connect to something that lies deep within, to stories that didn't add up, stories I could never quite harness a half-decent answer to. This created a space where I could enjoy and also reflect on my own flaws and strengths. And Robs passion and experience shines all the way through.
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike
- 2017-05-19
Gets me interested in the Bible again
I'm someone who has put down the Bible and walked away from church. Rob does a good job of explaining why I'm not alone in my sentiments and presenting another way of reading the Bible.
One less judgy and more hope-filled.
He also does a brilliant job narrating... expected for a professional public speaker.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elliott Family
- 2017-05-22
Beautifully done, highly recommend
Loved every word of this book and couldn't stop listening!! Rob Bell once again so eloquently describes so many complex ideas and questions that I've always struggled with in the Bible. Thank you for this book, it will most certainly transform my daily scripture readings!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anna Kinzie
- 2017-07-03
Once you see, you can't unsee...
This book is so eye opening to a different way to understand the Bible. I will never be able to hear or read the Bible the same way again after listening to Rob Bell's book. This book presents the Bible as a book about humanity and is for anyone who is human regardless of religious views.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Denny Thompson
- 2017-05-20
The rest of the story?
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Those aligning themselves with "Progressive Christianity".
What was most disappointing about Rob Bell’s story?
Rob was very selective and not objective in his content. In his attempt to establish the setting, background, and content of each topic, he could have done much better developing the themes throughout the entire Scriptures. I would recommend Audible’s, “Case for Christ, Revised & Updated: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus”, by Lee Strobel, as a more sincere, investigator's type approach to find the truth.
Which character – as performed by Rob Bell – was your favorite?
Rob is one of a kind in his delivery. He is clear speaking, witty, funny and engaging in his style.
What character would you cut from What Is the Bible??
That wasn’t the issue, rather than the agenda.
Any additional comments?
I realize Rob was covering a large number of topics, but in every case he stopped short of telling the “rest of the story”. I was there when Rob started Mars Hill Bible Church. I will never forget my first visit. I sat between a guy in a 3 piece suit and a fully tatooed motor cycle dude. As Rob opened the Bible I heard a sound echoing throughout the huge congregation that I had never heard in all my years in church. It sounded like rushing water. I looked up from my Bible to see everyone else was turning the pages of their Bible to find the passage Rob was about to read. That was the rushing water sound! That is what Mars Hill was like. Rob unlocked the Jewish world of the Bible and Jesus’ teachings in an amazing way. In the early years he always emphasized, it's all about Jesus, the power, healing and forgiveness of sins available in His death and resurrection. The festivals, the tabernacle, the monotonous details of Leviticus, it all points to Jesus. One example of what I mean by the “rest of the story” was Rob’s account of the “binding of Isaac”, or Akedah. Rob, why did you leave out the full significance of the male lamb caught by its horns (shofar)? Do you remember when you told Mars Hill how this event forshadowed a future sacrifice of God providing His own Son as our atonement? Do you remember when you pointed out how Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad”? And, how at the moment of Jesus’ death the shofar was blowing from the top of the Temple Mount, fulfilling Abraham’s promise, “On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided”? I agree with the Rob Bell of the early years of Mars Hill Bible Church. He taught in an amazing way, including the rest of the story, in every case pointing directly to Jesus. The nation desperately needs the truth of that message.
55 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rev. P. R. Miller
- 2018-05-07
A Mixed Bag of Nuts; I'm Torn Overall
A one-star review may not sound like a torn review, but please hear me out, and I think you'll understand why I can justify ranking this book the way I did. The first two-thirds get a three-star review. It's the final one-third that drops the book as low as it does.
Bell starts with encouraging readers to ask some of the most critical questions that many Protestant churches have missed for a long time, namely, "Why did the author write this? Why did the people preserve this?" While Bell is asking utterly fantastic starting questions (and despite his insistence that we cannot do this), Bell is bringing certain unspoken things to the text about what he believes about it. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, because his questions and my questions are identical, and we continually came to answers that were not even in the same state, let alone the same ballpark. His exegetical method seemed sound, but his hermeneutic interpretation was wildly different. The final chapters cleared up the misconception.
When answering a question like, "Is the Bible inspired," Bell does answer "yes," but he does not answer the actual question. He redefines the question, first, with no chance for a rebuttal because this is a book. So, when I hear him answer, "Yes, the Bible is inspired," what Bell seems to mean is, "Yes, I believe that people were inspired by a radically new vision of God to record their experiences with him." What was done there by Bell is a little slimy... because when anyone I've encountered *ever* asks, "Is the Bible inspired," what they are asking is, "Was the Bible directly inspired by God, in that God had a literal say in its content, collection, and editing process?" Not that it was dictated, but that God had inspired what was said about him. In other words, Bell answers a question that no one actually asks, and then it begins to unfold through the earlier parts of the book.
When Bell asks, "Why did the author write this? Why does did the people preserve this part?" this means he is looking at the Bible expecting only to see humans interacting with humans, because as he states ad nauseum, "The Bible was written by humans." And sadly, what he finds are people concerned about the social justice concerns that worry him: violence, inclusion, etc.. Of course, the Bible does talk about these things, but when Bell comes across something like violence being used in the Bible, which he does mention frequently, he can say that "The authors of the book looked at the world and because they expected a violent God, wrote it down that way." Behind this lies the belief that God did not (or perhaps, would not) interact to correct their notion of God's very nature before the ancient people wrote it down.
This is just one example, but examples like these litter the final third of the book. It plays out the reason why orthodox, traditional, radical, and much of progressive Christianity have rejected Bell's thoughts. God is more of a deistic inspiration rather than an active participant in the creation of the book that chronicles his actions with the Jews and later the Christians but never communicates that as the basis for his hermeneutic approach.
Bell also goes overboard with listing one-word synonyms for his point every 20 or so seconds ("inclusive, loving, caring," or, "violent, wrathful, angry," for example) I was ready to quit at the end for this one annoyance even more than my frustrations with his hermeneutic method. We get it. You know how synonyms work! Enough with the synonym lists!
I can't end without a final piece: while most of his exegesis in the text is surprisingly well done, even when considering the outcome of his answers, there is one place he really blew it. When talking about the death of Moses, and relating it back to Abraham and the carrying of seed, Bell was wildly off. While the theology of gathering is a very valid thing to look at, the death of Moses does not use that tone of the word at all, and the semantic range of uses of that word in the entire rest of the Hebrew Bible do not carry that usage of the word. I've read Bell subjectively stretching meaning in plenty of places, but this is one place where he objectively blew it.
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Doug Maddox
- 2018-02-28
A Must Read/Listen
What a fun book. Thorough. Great questions. Great possible responses. God is love. He loves humanity, and Scripture is His gift to us on what it's like to be human.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MWD
- 2017-07-01
simply brilliant...an amazing story teller,
compelling in everyway. listened straight through
this is the best book on the bible and faith I have read
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Spencer
- 2018-05-13
Just what I expected!
Rob Bell is a fantastic author and sermoner and this book, which in many ways is a collection of mini sermons, is no exception. For those well-versed in Rob's progressive reading of the Bible, there's not much new to digest here. For those who see the Bible as something other than what Rob suggests (especially atheists and anti-christian individuals), this book may change your life. Personally, I fall in the first category. But, if nothing else, this book is a great entryway into progressive theology, and perhaps a more mystical understanding of the world.
1 person found this helpful