by Rachel Held Evans
First sentence: “Once upon a time, there lived a girl with a magic book.”
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Content: It’s accessible and not too scholarly. It’s in the Religion and Philosophy section of the bookstore.

In this thoughtful work of scriptural examination, Evans looks at the stories in the Bible and deconstructs them. She asserts that the Bible isn’t an instruction manual, at least not in the way modern Christians have come to think of it, but rather a collection of stories that are meant to instruct, to challenge, and yes, to inspire.

I don’t know what I expected going in, but Evans’s writing is so accessible, so comforting, that even though she’s talking about challenging things, I was willing to take them in and think about them. She makes excellent points about faith and community, and about the dangers of prooftexting and being too absolutist about the Bible. Everything in context, as it should be.

A very good read.