What to Do With Rob Bell’s “What is the Bible”
I love the Bible.
Not just in the I’m a Christian and that’s what I’m supposed to say kind of way. I mean I actually pour over its pages for fun, randomly bring it up in conversation, and spent the last 3+ years in seminary trying to understand it in at a deeper level.
Chances are, most of you reading this love it too. That intrigue is probably why Rob Bell’s new book, What is the Bible? caught your attention. I know that’s why it caught mine. I wanted to see what he had to say about the book I love, and the text I have been trying to understand for the better part of my adult life.
In this article, I want to answer a few questions you might have:
- Who is this book for?
- What is it mainly about?
- Should I read it?
- Should those I pastor/disciple read it?
To answer these, I am going to briefly cover Bell’s main arguments from the book, what gems of insight I might’ve found, and what “troublesome” parts I stumbled across (depending upon your theological leaning of course).
Main Points from What is the Bible?
The Bible is a Library
The subtitle partially gives this idea away, but it’s worth restating because it’s a central part of Bell’s thesis.
The Bible is not one book. It’s a collection where “New ideas sit side by side with old ideas” (123). It’s vast, massive, expansive, and complex. I really appreciated how Bell emphasized this point. He wanted the readers to understand the grandness of Scripture (a point I have seen get lost in churches and classrooms alike).
But the Bible being a library does not mean the books are disconnected. Bell believes quite the opposite.
Bell believes the Bible is a library, but that does not mean the books are disconnected. Share on XThe Bible is One Overarching Story of Progress
Bell’s book aims to show readers that the library of books is connected by the central theme of humans progressively understanding God in a better, clearer way. “The stories in the Bible – and the Bible itself – have an arc, a trajectory, a movement and momentum like all great stories have” (116).
Jesus was/is the greatest revelation of who God is, and who we are supposed to be as humans. Which leads into probably his most potent and perhaps contentious argument.
The Bible is a Profoundly Human Book
This idea influences how Bell reads the Bible in two primary ways. First, we have to understand that these books were written and organized by “real people living in real places at real times” (21).
It is a human text, and because of that, Bell believes it can have biases and errors.
Second, it has a “human” goal. That is to invite readers into the life and experience God has for them.
The Bible Wants Us to Ask Better Questions
For Bell, the Bible should never be the end of the conversation, always the beginning. He follows a three-part explanation for how Jesus approached Scripture, and how we should as well.
- Interpretation – Communally read, discuss, argue, think and share what we believe the text means.
- Incarnation – “take the words and bring them to life” (157). Live out the interpretations we have discovered.
- Invitation – Bring more humans into the mix so that they can see what God is doing, ask more questions, and enter into the renewal of all things.
Personally, I really enjoyed the book. If you don’t mind the way Bell writes (for those of you who have flipped through any of his other books, you know what I mean), then he will take the reader on an awesome adventure. That being said, I wasn’t on board with everything Bell had to say about the Bible.
Below are a few things I believe he got right, followed by a few ideas you might want to be warry of.
What The Book Does A Great Job At
Emphasizing the Importance of Context
Context, context, context.
Seriously taking context into consideration is the one practice that will transform your Bible reading unlike any other. Bell begins his book talking about how once he began taking Jesus’ Jewish context seriously, the way he read the Bible was forever changed. “And once you see, you can’t unsee. And once you taste, you can’t untaste” (3).
Bell starts by taking Jesus’ Jewish context seriously, changing the way he read the Bible Share on XI know the same has been true in my own faith journey. Context is everything—and not just textual context (surrounding/related Scriptures, genre, etc.) but the historical, economic, socio-political context.
The beauty is in the details.
The more we can accurately understand the Bible then, the more appropriately we can apply it to our now.
Refreshing Our View of Timeless Stories
Once the foundation of context is in place, stories you once thought you knew everything about become entirely new puzzles to be explored. Bell does a great job of opening up stories we’ve taken for a granted. A few of my favorites were:
- Ruth and how her story is this beautiful crescendo to the Abraham and Lot conflict
- Luke’s complicated relationship to the other Gospels, and how he works to highlight the marginalized
- How crazy Revelation is, but how less crazy it sounds when you place its imagery in an ancient Roman context
- Moses and his freshness (trust me, you just have to read this chapter)
Attempting to Tackle Topics that Usually Aren’t Up for Discussion
When we say things like the Bible is authoritative, inerrant, and inspired how often do we actually take the time to explain what we mean and how we should act because of these?
While I don’t believe Bell did a particularly great job at explaining these ideas, I do appreciate him taking a fair amount of space for hard questions to be asked of them. What we believe about the Bible is always going to influence what we believe from the Bible, so we have to struggle with these concepts.
Where The Book Went Off Track
Saying that “All Truth is God’s Truth”
Now, I do partly understand where he was trying to go with this.
He’s expanding upon the “all things” concept from 1 Corinthians 3. He does this in multiple places throughout the book, but chapter 23 is where he tries to push it past its limits.
Depending upon your theological leaning, his argument might seem like a perfectly legitimate place to take the verse. But if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of transcending beyond the Christian religion (as in, Jesus may or may not be the only way to God) then you may want to build some boundaries around this idea.
Saying that “There’s Only One Kind of Sin—the Kind that God has Forgiven in Christ”
This really disappointed me because Bell’s chapter on sin is honestly fantastic.
He captures the raw sorrow of it—why it’s so much more than this religious concept, but something that actually damages our lives and our world. Maybe if he defended the statement more, I would have been (a little) more okay with it. But as it stands, I believe he misses the mark on this one.
Saying that There’s No Real Difference between the Word of God and the Words of God
Bell’s entire book is about the Bible and yet, one of his final points is how the truths found in the Bible can be found pretty much anywhere else, because “lots of things are the word of God” (266).
What?!
This was another moment of disappointment. Although he partially rescues it in the following chapter (which addresses the topic of authority), I think he missed the opportunity to make the Bible stand out as something truly unique in God’s purpose for the world.
With all that, let’s take a look at the 4 questions we asked at the beginning:
Who is this Book For?
This book is for people who would not normally pick up a book on the Bible.
Non-Christians, people who have left the church, and people disenchanted with the current state of the church. The book doesn’t include footnotes and rarely adds in the refence (chapter/verse) for the portions of Scripture Bell is addressing. Because of this, the book reads very quickly (the average reader could cover all 300+ pages in just a few hours).
What is it Mainly About?
Convincing readers that the Bible is relevant, interesting, and useful. It’s a book for people, not just Christians. And it’s as much about questions as it is answers.
Should I Read It?
My opinion: Yes.
Whether or not you agree with Bell’s main points, he does a great job of showing how context can transform the way we read the text. Plus, he does end the book with an excellent list of recommended books. (Also, his short essay on pages 319-322 titled “A Note on Growing and Changing” is perfect for anyone who has experienced an evolution of their theology in the past few years.)
Should Those I Pastor/Disciple Read It?
It depends.
In my opinion, this book should be read/discussed communally (like in a small group). Bell is all over the place and this can be overwhelming (especially if you haven’t heard many of the ideas before). I think it’s a great introduction into how we can approach Scripture.
But that’s it, only an introduction.
Do you plan on picking up a copy?
And if you’ve already read it, what was your biggest takeaway?
David Ramos
