Impressed: Slaying Giants, Strolling on Water, and Loving the Bible Once more (series_title)

Challenging!
In “Inspired,” Rachel’s creativity, humanity, and love breathe life into the Bible. Here, we encounter not just truths to absorb or stories to recount, but the living, breathing God who continually invites us into love.From the breathtaking retellings of Scriptural narratives interwoven throughout the book to the cohesive and accessible framework for understanding the diverse genres of the Bible, Rachel has gifted us with a remarkable resource.Her openness in sharing her own journey, filled with doubt and passion, alongside her authentic engagement with Scripture, invites you to discover the awe that comes from knowing both you and Scripture can be immensely powerful, beautiful, and, above all, loved, even without complete understanding.My one regret is I waited so long to start reading her! I was also distraught to find out she passed away a few years ago! Give this a read and allow yourself to be challenged!

Reading the Bible with fresh eyes
I have many words to describe this book:RelatableConversationalWell-researched and scholarlyStorytelling at its best within the Grand StoryThere are a lot of Bible study books on the market. This is something different and I was really happy to get to read it before its formal debut. It’s a book about learning how to read the Bible in a new way – through understanding the historical and literary context of its stories. This is not a book about breaking the Bible into small, palatable pieces. It’s a book about the larger story, and how we are called to struggle with what we learn about who God is and who we are in its reflection. Rachel breaks the biblical text into different kinds of stories – Origin, Deliverance, War, Wisdom, Resistance, Gospel, Fish, & Church… they are the kinds of delineations that I had not thought of before, but they work. As someone who usually studies to teach or preach, it gave me a fresh look at the ways that God has interacted with people, from the beginning to the end, from Genesis to Revelation.Each of the chapters is prefaced with a signature story – The Temple, The Well, The Wall, The Debate, The Beast, The Water, The Sea, The Letter. Some of the tellings seem ancient – some very modern. Each one drives home the understanding that the Bibles stories are also our stories. It was a great reminder of the Bible as the God’s story, kept alive not just through the transcribed and printed word, but before that, as our oral tradition and the personal history of those who came before us. Like sharing dinner with family, these stories are told over and over because they tell us something true about who God is and who we are created to be.For some, it will provide an “ah-ha” experience. For others, it will challenge many of the assumptions brought to reading and studying the Bible. For me, as a seminary-trained, 25-year ordained United Methodist clergyperson, it’s exactly the kind of book that can spark essential conversations about how to read the Bible and where we fit into the grand story it tells. For many, this may be the first foray into historical, contextual and literary biblical criticism. The variety of scholars, preachers, and teachers contributing to this work is really wonderful, and the Footnote appendix provides a great starter library for anyone who wants to explore these topics further. Even my wishlist got a lot longer!The chapters War Stories and Resistance Stories effected me significantly. Some may feel that a few of the examples are quite contemporary to the current religious and political climate in the United States. But I think they will age well, and translate across international borders. For me, they are the testimony of someone who struggles and wrestles with the Word ti live an authentic Christian life in the midst of difficult times. I think it’s also significant that Rachel had two children as bookends to the beginning and end of this book-birthing process. A lot of the work she asks us to do feels like labor – hard and intense, but totally worth it in the end.In a nutshell, I loved it. I’ll read it over and over, mark the pages with highlighting and underlines, and pull out little post-it note tabs to mark my favorite passages, for personal consumption and in preparation for teaching and preaching. I look forward to reading it with a group because I think our varied stories will enhance even more our understanding of what Rachel is trying to teach us. And I’ll recommend it to many. It’s a great read for all – for those who know and love the Scriptures but want to engage in a new way, and for anyone who isn’t sure what the big deal is all about.

Eu sou muito fã dela. Não importa se você é mais progressista ou conservador, se você já se encontrou em um caminho de questionamentos e dúvidas quanto à sua fé, esse livro é um alento. Rachel não traz respostas, mas traz conforto em saber que você não está só. Ela mistura tradição, com história, com ficção, com criatividade e te prende em cada página. Aprendi a olhar a Bíblia com novos olhos. Última obra publicada pela autora, mais uma daquelas que o mundo não era digno… Louvo a Deus por sua vida!

This book will bring relief to those who find themselves surrounded by people who are infected with the modern disease of mistaking the scriptures for hard science.The author reminds of us how the scriptures were viewed and used for Millenia before the fundamentalism took hold amongst those who forgot that they were the kind of person who Jesus often railed against.This book reminded me of what Jesus was saying to us and the context within which he was saying it.Discover the scriptures again and be inspired by then the way you used to be before you were led to believe that someone else should decide what it meant to you