Curveball

When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming (or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God)

By: Peter Enns

Narrated by: Peter Enns

Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

“Peter Enns is brilliant at taking the big topics, those Christian ideas that usually scare us or intimidate us or worry us, and then make those very places a meeting place with a God who is bigger and wilder and more wonderful and trustworthy than we ever could have guessed.”—Sarah Bessey, author of Out of Sorts and Jesus Feminist

The author of How the Bible Actually Works and The Bible Tells Me So explains how our model of God and faith must evolve as our understanding of the world deepens—just as the Bible describes it should.

Life throws us “curve balls”—from devastating personal losses to world tragedies. These events often leave us doubting God, the Bible, and our faith. But instead of pushing away our reservations, we should embrace them, Peter Enns argues. A leading biblical scholar and Christian mentor, Enns has never been afraid to question the Bible or Christian beliefs. Such thoughtful inquisitiveness, he argues, is part of God’s plan. He wants us to question, because doing so actually leads to a stronger, lasting faith.

By reframing how we see these events, we allow ourselves to see how the Bible itself showcases this very process and that “treating curve balls as the enemy” is not only counterproductive but thwarts God’s goal of helping us become mature and wise. Enns shares a number of curve balls he’s encountered in his own life and the questions he has pondered. Does God care about the millions of people who never heard the gospel? Could I relate to a God who has created a universe this big? If God is so relatable, constant, and caring, how do we explain quantum physics? He reveals how particular biblical passages have helped him find wisdom, and how they can do the same for us.

As Curveball persuasively shows, God is bigger and more mysterious than anyone’s expectations. We need a faith that can grow just as deeply.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Peter Enns (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

An honest and personal journey

Peter Enns tells his own personal journey of spiritual growth and discovery. He tackles life’s biggest questions in an assessable way and with a delightful sense of humor. But he is no theological lightweight. He challenges some long-held assumptions of the Christian faith and encourages his listeners to see science and mystery as gifts that can deepen and expand our understanding of God and his love for creation. Highly recommended.

Interesting.

Loved the book, first time I use audible. Very compelling. I want more like it.

Taking God out of a Bible size box

Over the past year I became familiar with the author from the Bible for Normal People podcast. I appreciate how he is able to explain the history and culture of the time when the Bible was written in order to obtain a greater understanding of the original content and context. In this book the author shares their spiritual journey. My own evolution of faith lacked much of the language, cultural, and historical knowledge that the author provides, though learning more about the vastness of the universe helped me to have a belief and understanding of God as more than can be contained in a book written by writers several millennia ago.

Rick Jackson

Great book! Very helpful in articulating my questions of faith. Very well written and presented. I highly recommend this book.

A personal testimony

I have enjoyed Peter’s books. This one is very personal and reveals his own deconstruction and reconstruction journey. You may not agree with all his conclusions and he would be fine with that. The key point I took away from the story is allow yourself to get out of your theological box and trust God loves you more than you can imagine. I agree that if the church doesn’t morph it will become increasingly irrelevant. I say this as a former fundamentalist/ evangelical minister of 30 years. Enjoy the book and your own journey with God. He’s so much more beautiful than you think.

Excellent Read

This book was written by a person who has found his way past evangelical/fundamentalist legalism to discover a deeper understanding of what we call God. It is in some ways a road map for people like myself who dare to question the things we have been taught in our past and who continue to search for a loving God for all people.

Honest vulnerability

Thankful for his honest thoughts and understanding as he’s made his way thru life…gives me peace as I make my own way.

Once again, Pete Enns does not disappoint!

Somehow, another Pete Enns book that explains (to me) my own thoughts. I'm grateful to Pete for this work of fearless honesty. I'm sure many others who read it will agree!

Thoughtful and timely

Pete Enns narrates his spiritual biography with authenticity, intelligence and sensitivity. I felt lighter after listening to this book.

Resonates

Brings together so much that I identify with and reminds us that we are never so far from having it all figured out as when we think we have it all figured out