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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
  • Written by: Rob Bell
  • Narrated by: Rob Bell
  • Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (24 ratings)

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What Is the Bible?

Written by: Rob Bell
Narrated by: Rob Bell
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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.

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

What listeners say about What Is the Bible?

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Fantastic

Material was great and humour superb! Really enjoyed that the author performed it. Love to hear the authors’ emphasis in books like these.

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Appreciate any effort to help me understand more...

Been a Christian since I was 9 (that's a long time, trust me!)...reading and trying to understand the Bible has always been a challenge. Rob Bell really helps bring those stories and authors and times to life, which renews my interest to dig in and enjoy and study this ancient "library of books" more 👍👍🙏

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Learning the Bible, again and for the first time

I was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, and like most people in a system of high control, we were only taught a very literal and specific version of the Bible, with little doubt (at least for me) of the agenda at hand.
I left the group and have been shunned for the last 7 years by everyone I’ve ever known, including my own brother and father. I was angry at ‘god’ and everyone. I threw out the proverbial baby with the bath water and went full atheist - but I found that belief system cold and empty of heart. I have come around back to spirituality in the last year or so, and this book was a revelation (totally intended) on the actual story of a people trying to figure out the world and how to exist in it, despite suffering and oppression, all while trying to figure out a relationship with the divine.
Excellent presentation by Rob Bell, and I can see why he was a very popular orator in the church scene.
Thanks Rob, excellent book. I’m looking forward to reading more.

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No

This book does more to discredit God and the Bible than any I have ever read.

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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.

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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.

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