You Start With the Divine

A conversation with author and speaker Rob Bell about how reframing the Bible as a deeply human book opens the doorway to encountering its divine depth. As part of the “Embarrassed by the Bible” series, Mike and Andy talk with Bell about his book "What Is the Bible?" and how growing up in our reading of scripture helps us make sense of its most difficult passages. From violent Old Testament narratives to doubt, deconstruction, and rediscovery, this episode encourages us to move beyond literalism into transformation. Bell offers a pastoral and provocative invitation: stop reading the Bible flatly—and start seeing it as an unfolding narrative that shapes personal and communal identity.

Key Takeaways: • Reading the Bible as Evolving Narrative – Why understanding scripture as a human and progressive story helps us encounter the divine more honestly and powerfully. • Recovering the Original Purpose of Sacred Text – How the Bible’s ancient poems, stories, and laws were subversive, political, and profoundly human responses to empire and suffering. • Violence, Wrath, and Redemption – Rethinking how Old Testament violence reflects a tribal consciousness rather than a divine endorsement—and how Jesus reframes it all. • Taking the Bible Seriously, Not Literally – The difference between honoring scripture’s depth versus flattening it through rigid dogma. • Doctrine and Experience – Bell explains how doctrines were attempts to preserve divine experience, but without engagement, they lose meaning. • What Reconstruction Looks Like – Why building anew after deconstruction isn’t returning to certainty, but embracing the ongoing journey of faith and transformation.

Guest Highlights: Rob Bell – Bestselling author, former pastor, and host of The RobCast. Bell shares insights from his book What Is the Bible?, expanding on how cultural context, poetry, humor, and the human experience reveal the Bible’s enduring relevance and beauty.

Resources Mentioned: • What Is the Bible? by Rob Bell – Link • Bell’s Podcast – The RobCast • Book Recommendations in Bell’s Bibliography – found at the back of "What Is the Bible?" • Genesis 1, Book of Jonah, Book of Lamentations – used to illustrate poetic and political layers of Old Testament literature • Enuma Elish – Babylonian creation myth compared with Genesis • Greg Boyd’s Crucifixion of the Warrior God – an alternative take on biblical violence, discussed in a future episode

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