Better Ways to Read the Bible
Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing
About
How can we read the Bible in ways that lead to healing and wholeness?
"A wide-ranging and cogent guide to seeing scripture in a new light. Disenchanted Christians will be energized."--Publishers Weekly
As a pastor for more than ten years, 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.
If you've been hurt by harmful interpretations or feel disconnected from Scripture, this book offers a path forward to reclaim the Bible's life-giving message. This accessible resource will help you
· break free from harmful interpretations that distort Scripture's true message,
· develop Christ-centered reading practices,
· renew your relationship with Scripture,
· apply new frameworks to challenging Bible passages that have historically been misused to cause harm, and
· connect with Christians who embrace Scripture's call to abundant life for everyone
In this compassionate guide, Lambert dismantles four common lenses for reading the Bible that lead to harm, then offers four new lenses that promote healing and wholeness. This book welcomes all Christians--regardless of background, doubts, or wounds--to reengage Scripture in life-giving ways.
Contents
Foreword by Sarah Bessey
Introduction: How the Bible Beat Me Up
Part 1: We All Have Lenses
1. You're Reading It Wrong
2. Some Lenses Are Better Than Others
Part 2: Lenses That Inflict Harm
3. The Literalism Lens: "The Bible Says It, I Believe It, That Settles It"
4. The Apocalypse Lens: "It's All Gonna Burn Anyway"
5. The Moralism Lens: "Well, That's Not Biblical"
6. The Hierarchy Lens: "Submit to Authority as You Submit to God"
Part 3: Lenses That Promote Healing
7. The Jesus Lens: "The Scriptures Point to Me"
8. The Context Lens: "The One Who Seeks Will Find"
9. The Flourishing Lens: "I Have Come That They May Have Life Abundantly"
10. The Fruitfulness Lens: "By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them"
Conclusion: A Restored Reading
Endorsements
"In Better Ways to Read the Bible, Zach Lambert does what so many Christian leaders seem unwilling to do: he asks tough, important questions of the Bible and opens himself to unexpected responses. With a theologian's mind and a pastor's heart, Lambert shares his personal, often painful, stories from his journey of relearning Scripture. This book offers a fresh reading of the Bible that provides a counternarrative to white Christian nationalism and its rigid, exclusionary interpretations of the teachings of God. What emerges is a vision of the kind of Christianity most people imagine and hope for in the world. This book is for the faithful, the skeptic, and the inquirer. No matter who you are, this book will make you curious about another book: the Bible."
Jemar Tisby, historian, professor, and New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise
"This book is for those who have been harmed by the church; it will bring healing. This book is for those who will not agree with it; it will bring understanding. This book is for those who can't reconcile the words of Christ to love God and love others with the church they see today; it will bring clarity. With pastoral compassion and wit, Zach Lambert invites you into a conversation about how the Bible can be read differently. He will challenge you; encourage you, and show you how, even amid theological differences, Christians should be known first for our love."
Beth Allison Barr, James Vardaman Professor of History, Baylor University; New York Times bestselling author of Becoming the Pastor's Wife and The Making of Biblical Womanhood
"This book is a must-read for anyone wrestling with faith after experiencing harmful Bible interpretations. Lambert offers a path forward, transforming Scripture from a weapon of harm into a healing tool. With clarity and compassion, he exposes problematic lenses and provides practical alternatives. Lambert's unveiling offers hope for the marginalized and tools for healthy Bible reading. This book will empower readers to reclaim the Bible as a source of liberation and wholeness."
Latasha Morrison, New York Times bestselling author of Be the Bridge
"It's been said that many Christians have a head full of Scripture but a heart full of hate. That is why I find Zach Lambert so refreshing. In this debut book, he answers bad theology with good theology. Zach is a pastor who loves people and a theologian who loves Scripture. He cares so much about Jesus and the Bible that he isn't willing to concede his faith to those who distort Scripture in order to camouflage their bigotry. This is a book for people who love the Bible as much as it is a book for those who have been turned off by the Bible because of how it's been weaponized. Let it cause you to lean in, stay curious, question the clichés, and take the Bible back as a love story."
Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and cofounder of Red Letter Christians
"Many are disturbed at the rapid rate at which the Bible, especially in the United States, is being used as a weapon. Rooted in his own personal experience, deep study, and pastoral ministry, Zach Lambert offers sage guidance for moving beyond the harmful lenses that obscure and distort the life-affirming words of Scripture. This book is a winsome and insightful aid for followers of Jesus."
Peter Enns, professor of biblical studies, Eastern University; host of The Bible for Normal People podcast; author of The Bible Tells Me So and How the Bible Actually Works
"Lambert challenges the ways Scripture has been misused and invites readers into a more compassionate, justice-centered understanding of the Bible."
Brit Barron, author of Do You Still Talk to Grandma?
"This fine debut book by leading post-evangelical pastor Zach Lambert is a profound combination of memoir, biblical storytelling, and scriptural interpretation. It will be a major resource for the rapidly growing community of post-evangelicals. I highly recommend this work!"
David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University
"Zach is a vigorous thinker, unafraid to shy away from the big questions. But he is also deeply pastoral. Underneath all of these words, you'll find a kind, hospitable, and quiet invitation to curiosity, to wonder, and even to rest in the love of God as we seek to follow Jesus."
Sarah Bessey (from the foreword)
The Author
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Matt Gonzalez Zach W. Lambert
Zach W. Lambert is the lead pastor and founder of Restore, a church in Austin, Texas. Under his leadership, Restore has grown from a launch team of five people in 2015 to more than one thousand members today. He holds a master of theology from Dallas...
Continue reading about Zach W. Lambert
Reviews
"Pastor Lambert details in his meditative debut manual how Christians can read scripture to promote 'wholeness and healing' rather than hate. . . . A wide-ranging and cogent guide to seeing scripture in a new light. Disenchanted Christians will be energized."
Publishers Weekly