Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm Into a Tool of Healing - Paperback

by Zach W. Lambert (Author), Sarah Bessey (Foreword by)

How can we read the Bible in ways the 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.

Back Jacket

"A must-read for anyone wrestling with faith after experiencing harmful Bible interpretations"

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. In Better Ways to Read the Bible, he dismantles four common lenses for reading the Bible that lead to harm, then offers four new lenses that promote healing and wholeness.

"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

"Lambert will challenge you, encourage you, and show you how, even amid theological differences, Christians should be known first for our love."
--Beth Allison Barr, professor, Baylor University; New York Times bestselling author of Becoming the Pastor's Wife and The Making of Biblical Womanhood

"A must-read for anyone wrestling with faith after experiencing harmful Bible interpretations. 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

"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. Let it cause you to lean in, stay curious, question the clich?s, and take the Bible back as a love story."
--Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and cofounder of Red Letter Christians

"Lambert offers sage guidance for moving beyond the harmful lenses that obscure and distort the life-affirming words of Scripture."
--Peter Enns, professor, Eastern University; host of The Bible for Normal People podcast; author of The Bible Tells Me So and How the Bible Actually Works

Author Biography

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 Theological Seminary and is pursuing his doctorate at Duke Divinity School. Zach is the cofounder of the Post-Evangelical Collective and serves on the boards of the Austin Church Planting Network and the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network. Zach and his wife, Amy, met each other in the sixth grade, fell in love at seventeen, and got married at twenty-one. They love watching live music, discovering local Mexican food places, and playing with their two boys.