Inspired

Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

By: Rachel Held Evans

Narrated by: Rachel Held Evans

If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she embarked on a journey to better understand what the Bible is and how it's meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it can change you, too.

Evans knows firsthand how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend. In Inspired, Evans explores contradictions and questions from her own experiences with the Bible, including:

• If the Bible was supposed to explain the mysteries of life, why does it leave the reader with so many questions?
• What does it mean to be chosen by God?
• To what degree did the Holy Spirit guide the preservation of these narratives, and is there something sacred to be uncovered beneath all these human fingerprints?
• If the Bible has given voice to the oppressed, why is it also used as justification by their oppressors?

Drawing on the best in biblical 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, and even a short screenplay.

Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages and unafraid to ask the hard questions, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating the mysteries surrounding Scripture. Discover alongside Evans that the Bible is not a static text, but a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that can equip us and inspire us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world.

Very good overall, but she has her soapboxes

This book was like a very tasty blackberry cobbler. It’s tastes very good, but you have be mindful of of the pits/seeds. I loved so many of her insights, but she definitely has her soapboxes she likes to get on occasionally. Just like those pits/seeds won’t keep me from eating and enjoying that cobbler, her soapboxes won’t prevent me from reading this again in the future. For those that are on the same page with her soapboxes, they will love this book entirely.

Prophetic

Rachel Held Evans would likely refuse the title “prophetess,” thinking that she always had somewhere to improve. However she gives the answer to why her byline should carry it in the pages of this book. She points out that a prophet is simply a teller of truths and that is what she does in this book. She brings the truth about herself, the truth about the American church, the truth about history and the truth that faithful Christians disagree, yet are no less faithful. With her open, truthful words, she brings story that connects us and also leaves space for us to write a bit in the margins.

Wonderful listen

I absolutely loved listening to this phenomenal book. As someone who was raised Baptist, left the church as a young adult and recently rediscovered his faith in his late 20s as an Episcopalian, this book spoke to me on so many levels. Rachel Held Evans gave me so much to think about and reassured me that the doubts I, and so many other Christians have, are perfectly normal. She used beautiful language to describe the varying purposes of different stories in The Bible and wasn’t afraid to tackle the uncomfortable situations that it often presents. I cannot “Inspired” enough.

Excellent!

This was an excellent book that was very thought provoking and challenging in the best of ways. Highly recommend!

I Feel Less Like a Ship Without an Anchor-

Thankful for Rachel's graceful, intelligent, painless approach to tough dividing issues within the Christian Evangelical community. I will read it again just in case I missed something, I loved "Inspired" that much! Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Rachel's life and her gifts which she shared with us. God give peace your presence to all who knew and loved Rachel. Amen.