Inspiration and Incarnation

Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament

By: Peter Enns

Narrated by: David Colacci

How can an evangelical view of Scripture be reconciled with modern biblical scholarship? In this book Peter Enns, an expert in biblical interpretation, addresses Old Testament phenomena that challenge traditional evangelical perspectives on Scripture. He then suggests a way forward, proposing an incarnational model of biblical inspiration that takes seriously both the divine and the human aspects of Scripture.

©2015 Peter Enns (P)2017 Tantor

Good Material; Painful Narration

It’s not my intent to be offensive, but it was very difficult to persist in listening to the narration of this book. The narrator drones along with what sounds like a significant head cold. Pete Enns’ material, which is thought provoking and brilliantly written, deserves better. He should have narrated it himself. I’d skip the audible version and just read this one if I had a do-over.

Decent reading of gently provocative scholar

Book is a bit all over the place in terms of addressing historical critical debates over historicity and "purity" of the Bible. Reasonable and reverent attempt to reframe the Christian understanding of inspiration, inerrancy, and incarnation. Narration is not colorful or engaging but fits book's tone and scope just fine. Worth a listen.

Great!

I can and can’t believe he got fired for this book! It’s great! I’m buying one for each of my family.

clear reading by the author

Peter Enns tries to argue that evangelicals have their heads in the sand by not confronting the results of biblical scholarship post development of the historical critical method. he asks good questions about what it means that scripture is inspired and proposes that it has fully divine and fully human origins. Enns is concerned that Evangelical's disregard for modern biblical studies results in a brittle faith that crumbles under the weight of new evidence and is attempting to pursuade them to think differently.

Helpful info

I recommend this book for anyone who has questions about whether the Bible is always historically accurate, whether it contradicts itself, or any questions of those natures. Pete does a great job of respecting the Bible as the inspired Word of God while explaining historical and human contexts in the way it was written

This book was a little more textbook-y than I anticipated. It systematically goes through sections and stories of the Bible and explains Pete's view of why it isn't contradictory or whatnot. It's a very different view than the Evangelical tradition I grew up with but it made a whole lot of sense to me.

If the paperback version has a good index of the Bible passages, I think owning that version would be a helpful reference tool when questions arise. The book is pretty dense, though written clearly and in layman terms, so a single listen didn't familiarize me with the interpretation approach as thoroughly as I desire. But perhaps that has more to do with my cognitive limits than with the book's limits.

Cultural Context & Biblical Revelation

God speaks to people in their cultural context. Our expectations should take that into account.

Hard to pay attention to

I liked the content well enough and appreciate the critical thought, but couldn’t make it through the book because the narration is so monotonous and droning. The narrator is clear, but not my style.

Not Peter Enns Best Work

Peter Enns is a marvelous writer but this is not his best work. It is too dry and obtuse. It lacks the humor and self-deprecating wit of “How to Read the Bible” or “The Sin of Certainty”

Unworthy of Serious Consideration

If you want the musings of a biblical skeptic, cynic, and unbeliever along the lines of Bart Erhman, Enns is your man. He theologizes away any biblical truth for sophisticated doubt that results in biblical imbecility.
His work on ANE writings has led him astray.
No wonder Westminster canned him.