Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm Into a Tool of Healing (Four New Lenses for Making Sense of Scripture)

Zach Lambert has seen the Bible used countless times as something far from the "Good Book"--both in his own life and in the experiences of others. He has seen the Bible weaponized to subjugate women, justify racism, bash LGBTQ+ people, cover up abuse, and exclude people who speak out against these injustices. In Better Ways to Read the Bible, Lambert calls listeners to a more Christlike interpretation of Scripture. Lambert has created this accessible guide to help listeners dismantle four common lenses for reading Scripture that lead to harm--Literalism, Apocalypse, Moralism, and Hierarchy. Instead, he offers four new lenses--Jesus, Context, Flourishing, and Fruitfulness--that promote wholeness, inclusion, and flourishing for all people. This book transforms the Bible from a weapon that condemns, oppresses, and excludes into a tool that helps and heals. Better Ways to Read the Bible, which includes a foreword by Beth Allison Barr, welcomes all Christians to reengage Scripture in life-giving ways.