Evans - Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

PRAISE FOR INSPIRED

Besides being such an intelligent, often whimsical teacher on something as complicated as the Bible, perhaps the best endorsement I can give Rachels book Inspired is that before I was even halfway through, I told my teenagers I wanted to read it with them. This is the Jesus and the Scriptures I want them to love. This is a brilliant, beautiful offering.

Jen Hatmaker, author of New York Times bestsellers Of Mess and Moxie and For the Love

Rachel Held Evans models a spiritual journey that many are yearning to take: growing into adult readers of the Bible without feeling as though they are leaving the faith of their youth in the process. With her characteristic honesty and warmth, Rachel gives many the language and permission they desperately need to leave behind their guilt and fear, and to read the Bible anew with the joyful anticipation the sacred book deserves.

Peter Enns, author of The Bible Tells Me So

Rachel Held Evans has taken the stodgy, ancient bundle of work we call the Bible and makes it accessible without trampling its ancient origins or cultural contexts. In doing so, she subverts the strange, modern assumptions we too often bring to its pages. Inspired is both delightful and essential.

Mike McHargue, cofounder of The Liturgists, host of Ask Science Mike, and author of Finding God in the Waves

Inspired is a love letter to scripture. Evans takes what has been weaponized against so many of us and she beats it into a ploughshare. She shows us how to love the Bible; how to see its flaws, beauty, strength, and spirit at the same time. Thats love. Not worship. Love. Im so grateful for this expertly written, timely book.

Nadia Bolz-Weber, pastor and author of Pastrix and Accidental Saints

2018 by Rachel Held Evans

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from New Revised Standard Version Bible. Copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN 978-0-7180-2231-0

Epub Edition May 2018 9780718022327

ISBN 978-1-4002-1107-4 (Custom)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017963332

Printed in the United States of America

18 19 20 21 22 LSC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my mother-in-law, Norma Evans

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Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

Did he believe that God wrote stories with only one kind of meaning? It seemed to me that a story that had only one kind of meaning was not very interesting or worth remembering for too long.

CHAIM POTOK, DAVITAS HARP

CONTENTS

ONCE UPON A TIME...

O nce upon a time, there lived a girl with a magic book.

Like many other books, this one told tales of kings and queens, farmers and warriors, giants and sea monsters, and dangerous voyages. But unlike any other, it cast a spell over all who read it so they were pulled into the story, cast as characters in a great epic full of danger and surprise. From the book the girl learned how to be brave like the shepherd boy David, clever like the poor peasant Ruth, and charming like the beautiful queen Esther. She memorized the books proverbs, which were said to hold the secret to a rich and happy life, and she sang the books ancient songs, just as theyd been sung for thousands of years. She learned that with enough faith, you could topple a giant with a slingshot, turn water into wine, and survive three days in the belly of a great fish. You could even wrestle an angel. She learned, too, how to defend the book against its enemies, those who said its story wasnt true. She could fashion the book into a weapon if she wanted, and wield its truth like a sword. Rumor had it the book was divinely inspired, and she believed it, for every word she read echoed with the voice of God.

When the girl met a teacher named Jesus in the story, she heard that voice even louder than before, so she promised to love and follow him forever. Jesus taught her to care for the poor, be kind to the lonely, forgive the bullies, and listen to her mother. He healed the sick and raised the dead and said those who followed him would do the same. The girl never healed the sick or raised the dead, but still she believed.

Then, one day, the story began to unravel. The girl was older now, with a mature and curious mind, and she noticed some things she hadnt before. Like how God rewarded the chosen patriarch Abraham for obeying Gods request that he sacrifice his own son. Or how God permitted the chosen people of Israel to kidnap women and girls as spoils of war. After the famous walls of Jericho came a-tumblin down, a God-appointed army slaughtered every man, woman, and child in the city, and after Pharaoh refused to release his slaves, a God-appointed angel killed every firstborn boy in Egypt. Even the story of all the earths animals taking refuge in a giant ark, once one of the girls favorites, began with a God so sorry for creating life, he simply washed it all away. If God was supposed to be the hero of the story, then why did God behave like a villain? If the book was supposed to explain all the mysteries of life, why did it leave her with so many questions?