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Better Ways to Read the Bible

Transforming a Weapon of Harm into a Tool of Healing (Four New Lenses for Making Sense of Scripture)

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Better Ways to Read the Bible

By: Zach W. Lambert, Sarah Bessey -foreword by
Narrated by: Zach W. Lambert
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About this listen

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.

In Better Ways to Read the Bible, Lambert calls listeners to a more Christlike interpretation of Scripture. Lambert has created this accessible guide to help listeners dismantle four common lenses for reading Scripture that lead to harm—Literalism, Apocalypse, Moralism, and Hierarchy. Instead, he offers four new lenses—Jesus, Context, Flourishing, and Fruitfulness—that promote wholeness, inclusion, and flourishing for all people. This book transforms the Bible from a weapon that condemns, oppresses, and excludes into a tool that helps and heals.

Better Ways to Read the Bible, which includes a foreword by Beth Allison Barr, welcomes all Christians to reengage Scripture in life-giving ways.

©2025 Zach W. Lambert (P)2025 Christian Audio Bible Study Bibles & Bible Study Christian Living Christianity
All stars
Most relevant
This book is really lovely, the stories, illustrations and points that are made are very helpful. I’d recommend to anyone who struggles with some of the things they’ve been taught about the Bible that just don’t feel right when you love and want to follow Jesus.

Lovely book

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The world has badly needed a book like this for a very long time.
I urge any person, with any interest in (or just curiosity about) Jesus; or why the Christian church operates as it does; or Biblical history for any reason: Please read this book. Seriously. Please. You’ll be glad you did.

A very necessary book

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Excellent book. Very easy listening and reading. Layed out in a thoughtful way. It’s really well considered. It splits the chapters into lenses to look through. I only wished I could have read this book years ago

Excellent, thoughtful and practical

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I read this book within 48 hours of its release. Zach so effectively identifies the key issues in evangelical Christianity which lead it to betray the gospel of Christ and contributes to a growing and hugely important genre of learned but accessible literature which helps us deconstruct misguided and dangerous accounts of the faith to recover a more holistic and healing form of Christianity which is true to the nature of a God who is love. Definitely recommending this to anyone I can who comes from this background or wants to understand that Christianity doesn't have to manifest in the toxic form that so many of us grew up with in America and have since been looking to deconstruct.

Hugely timely and learned intervention

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