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

The New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell, using his inspired and inquisitive approach, focuses on the most widely read book of all time. He provides surprising insights and answers about how the Bible actually works as a source of faith and guidance, showing a brand-new way of reading this sacred text.

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 were 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: May 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9780008259594

Rob Bell

Rob Bell is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and spiritual teacher. His books include Love Wins, How to Be Here, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, Velvet Elvis, The Zimzum of Love, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Drops Like Stars. He hosts the weekly podcast The Robcast, which was named by iTunes as one of the best of 2015. He was profiled in The New Yorker and in TIME Magazine as one of 2011’s hundred most influential people. He and his wife, Kristen, have three children and live in Los Angeles.

Reviews for What is the Bible?

[Shawn Gun · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good insights shared by Rob Bell that open up new ways and perspectives for me whenever I read the bible now.

[Tony Barrett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Where did my review go? I was still editing my document. It’s excellent book.

[Werner Schroeder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rob Bell had always been voicing fresh perspectives on what the Bible is and is not. I enjoy him, wish I could enroll for a 6week course with him.

[Tasha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant. Thank you, Rob Bell. I couldn't stop listening and I have a new found passion for reading the Bible.

[Caroline Talitha Saliba · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book. I loved every bit of it and that’s exactly the way I want to approach the Bible.

[Mariana Peinado · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So good that I will probably listen 2-3 more times

[drfuriosa · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This just did not do it for me. Bell brings up some interesting ideas in the beginning and then skates over them to exclaim how cool and interesting something else is. His writing style is conversational, which is fine, but the liberal italics and bolded phrases become exhausting.

And here's what I as a Christian am really concerned about: Bell continually emphasizes the Bible's being written by humans. Again and again, with very little discussion on the Divine that causes us to read and form doctrines from it. That's true, yes, but it was also inspired by God. That's why we read it in the first place. I feel like this is only going to confirm secular bias about the Bible being a book of fairy stories.

Ultimately, Bell is entertaining and brings up a few salient points, but this is not spiritually meaty.

[highlander6022 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

If I could give it no stars, I would. Through most of the book Bell only raises questions but provides minimal, if only, answers. Although I believe everyone must interpret the bible in their own way, many of us need added guidance. Bell clearly has a far left political view but attempts to hide it - in certain spots, though, it is clear political persuasion is his agenda. Don't wast your money. My copy has already gone in the trash.

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

That Rob Bell speaks so often in theaters rather than in churches may say as much about the controversial nature of his views on Christianity as it does about his popularity. Many churches would hesitate to invite him in. And they might not be large enough to hold the crowds.Bell views things just a little differently than most Christians, whether of the mainline variety, evangelicals or fundamentalists. That makes him difficult to pin down.Reading his 2017 book “What Is the Bible?” makes him no easier to pin down, but it may cause one to realize that pinning him, or anyone else (including God), down may be the wrong objective. One of the last statements he makes in the book is this: “Do your best to read it (the Bible) without any ideas about God entering the picture.” Read it with an open and clear mind. Pay attention to every detail. Discover the real story behind the story and why it is important. Embrace the truth wherever it is found. Bell doesn’t say so, but perhaps we should read people in the same way.Bell sees the Bible as a library of literature in many forms, written over a period of many centuries, that somebody thought important enough to preserve and combine. Before we can know its importance to us today, the object of most Bible study, we should know why it was so important to those who wrote it down in the first place, he argues.He views the Bible as a record of the development of a new way of perceiving God. At one time the favor of gods was won through animal sacrifice, even child sacrifice. That’s why Abraham seems so calm when he is about to sacrifice Isaac. Gradually these attitudes change through the Old Testament. Then in the New Testament comes the sacrifice of Jesus. The cross may make little sense to people of today, but it did to the people of that time. Thus Bell suggests trying to get into the minds of those who wrote it all down and were the first to read it.This is exciting stuff, probably not a phrase often used for a book about the Bible.

[mattmcmanus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rob Bell is excited about a lot of things, but what he is most excited about is the Bible. To those outside of the church there is the perception that the Bible is rigid and violent. Even those inside of the church have a complicated relationship with it. This book by Rob Bell is a breath of fresh air that tries to cast a vision of the Bible that is bright, hopeful, provocative, and inspiring.

Why bother with such a strange, old book? Because it’s a book about them, then, that somehow speaks to you and me, here and now, and it can change the way you think and feel about everything.

To those who are unfamiliar with Rob’s work, some back story is helpful. He was an evangelical pastor and author. He is a personality who at his very core is a pot stirrer. Like most interesting people who are doing worthwhile work, you will have an opinion about him. He became considered an outsider, and even a heretic, as a result of some of his writings. That hasn’t stopped him from continuing to explore what it means to be a Christian in the 21st century.

His work over the last several years has focused on speaking to those who are outside of the “Church.” It could be those who have never been in it or those who have left it. If you are a content Christian, Rob will seem dangerous to you. I do not think I can convince you otherwise. This book is for those that look at the Church and despair. For those that feel like the Church and the Bible has nothing to offer. For those who are a part of it, but struggle to make the pieces fit and find reason to stay.

In it he gives voice to many thoughts and emotions that I have experienced for years. Giving a clear voice to those emotions disarms them and lays the foundation to build on top of. The end result? After you get used to his quirky style of writing, his statements that seem a little over-the-top, and his weird sense of humor, you’re left with hope and excitement to continue onward.

[themadturtle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bell is great at making you really think. In that regard, this book is not unlike many of his previous ones and well worth reading. I was a little let down by some things in this book, however. The principle thing that I got hung up on was - to quote him quoting his professor in Seminary - "you can take it way farther". He seems to start along a line of thinking in a number of places and then just switches gears and starts on another topic - some chapters are just a tease. The other thing that made me roll my eyes more than once was his hipster/SoCal attitude. Dude. You live in LA now, I get it already... It just seemed like he was working a little too hard, unnecessarily, to convey how hip and cool he is.

[robynelee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

excellent and thought provoking.

[jennyo_587543 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like Rob Bell. I like his sense of wonder. I like that he thinks that you should have lots of questions when you read the Bible. I really like that he recommends studying it as, not just the Word, but the Word as written down by real people living in real historical situations. I found this a fast but helpful read, and I'm sure I'll go back to it often.