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    Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today
    Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today
    Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today
    Audiobook9 hours

    Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today

    Written by Adam Hamilton

    Narrated by Sean Runnette

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    About this audiobook

    Denominations from evangelical to mainline continue to experience deep divisions over universal social issues. The underlying debate isn’t about a particular social issue, but instead it is about how we understand the nature of scripture and how we should interpret it. The world’s bestselling, most-read, and most-loved book is also one of the most confusing. In Making Sense of the Bible, Adam Hamilton, one of the country’s leading pastors and Christian authors, addresses the hot-button issues that plague the church and cultural debate, and answers many of the questions frequently asked by Christians and non-Christians alike.

    Did God really command Moses to put gay people to death? Did Jesus really teach that everyone who is not a Christian will be assigned to hell? Why would Paul command women to “keep silent in the church?” Were Adam and Eve real people? Is the book of Revelation really about the end times? Who decided which books made it into the scriptures and why? Is the Bible ever wrong? In approachable and inviting language, Hamilton addresses these often misunderstood biblical themes leading readers to a deeper appreciation of the Bible so that we might hear God speak through it and find its words to be life-changing and life-giving.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMar 18, 2014
    ISBN9780062347985
    Author

    Adam Hamilton

    Adam Hamilton is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. Started in 1990 with four people, the church has grown to become the largest United Methodist Church in the United States with over 18,000 members. The church is well known for connecting with agnostics, skeptics, and spiritual seekers. In 2012, it was recognized as the most influential mainline church in America, and Hamilton was asked by the White House to deliver the sermon at the Obama inaugural prayer service. Hamilton, whose theological training includes an undergraduate degree from Oral Roberts University and a graduate degree from Southern Methodist University where he was honored for his work in social ethics, is the author of nineteen books. He has been married to his wife, LaVon, for thirty-one years and has two adult daughters.

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    Reviews for Making Sense of the Bible

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    • 3/5
      This audio book is really neat but the audio cut out a ton and I missed a lot of it.
    • 3/5
      I grew up watching Brady Bunch re-runs, so I was excited to read this book. I had no idea that Maureen went through so many hardships. I guess I was naive, but I thought she was more Marcia-ish. This story shows that she had a completely different life outside of what was seen on the screen.
    • 4/5
      I found this book to be quite engrossing. Who knew Marcia Brady was a cocaine addict. Yes, the book was also very sad. I think Maureen McCormick is probably still pretty messed up, even though she tried to tie the book up in a happy ending. I am not so sure I buy it. I did however like that she really barred all this memoir. I really found it fascinating. The only complaint I had was that chronologically she jumped around a lot. I had a hard time keeping track of what year it was. She would tell a story about something that happened in the 1984 and then a few paragraphs later would talk about something that happened either earlier or later and then come back to 1984. Other than that, I was actually impressed with her writing. Every easy to read, yet again, very engrossing. For anyone who likes the Brady Bunch or is even interested in the 1970’s or who just likes a good memoir, I would recommend this.
    • 3/5
      Maureen McCormick isn't Marcia Brady.
    • 5/5
      The Brady Bunch was a show that I discovered only in reruns as I was a little young when it first aired. By the time I did watch it, I was in my teens and thought the whole show was a bit of a joke and could not understand its cult following - however, over the years, it somehow kept resurfacing and despite myself, I got to know a little bit about each of the Brady kids. When I saw that Maureen McCormick was publishing her memoirs, I thought it would be interesting to read as I always thought she was the most interesting character on the show - and always felt that there was alot lurking behind the "good girl, hair of gold Brady".As soon as I started reading, I absolutely fell in love with the pace, the tone and the overall story being told. The first thing I noticed (and was eternally grateful for) was that although Maureen does touch on her childhood, she does not go on and on about it for half the book. She basically gives us the highlights (which includes some surprising facts about her siblings and her parents) and then moves on to her early career. Yes, she does spend some time on her "Brady days" but tends to gloss over some of the key elements that I believe would have been fun to read. She does go into quite alot of detail about the "crushes/kissing/fondling" that happened among the Brady kids, but I would have liked to hear more about the dynamics behind the scene - that did not necessarily relate to the teenage lust that seemed to be rampant. I would have like to find out more about the chemistry of the actors, some funny onset stories would have been nice. There is a minimal amount of this type of thing - it seems as though the Brady kids were all about "teenage lust" which is okay - but I felt there could have been a little bit more substance here. Besides which, somebody is going to have to explain to me why every girl (including Maureen) had a thing for Greg? I mean, the guy is really average looking in my opinion!!!However, what comes after the Brady years is really where you find the heart and soul of Maureen McCormick. Its going to be hard for me to write this review without giving away any of the spoilers, but I had NO IDEA just how far down she fell before she found the strength to pick herself up. To her credit, she exposes every raw nerve in this memoir and makes a point of saying that SHE alone is responsible for the situation(s) she got herself into. I have to say that she must have had a fairy godmother looking over her - because she really got herself into some horrible situations.The writing here is exceptional and we get a very clear picture of just how screwed up Maureen was. When she talks about her meeting with her future husband, you can actually feel the tone of the writing change - there is hope and love in the writing.Maureen McCormick needs to be commended for writing an honest, raw memoir. She could easily have gone the other way and written some bubblegum account of her life. Writing memoirs are always tricky because you can't or won't divulge other people's involvement in your life and Maureen has done an excellent job of keeping the focus on her and not on the "other" celebrities that she talks about in her book.I read alot of these types of books and I can't encourage you enough to run to the bookstore for this one.
    • 2/5
      Maureen McCormick has gone through a lot in her life, and seems to now be in a good place, with a loving husband and daughter. Her road to this point, however, was a long and complicated one, full of insecurity, bulimia, drug addiction, and neuroses. While I empathize with the struggles that she faced, it is somewhat difficult to be completely supportive of her success with the opportunities she was given. I found by the end of the book that I was no longer rooting for McCormick, because she turned into a self-righteous god-fearing woman who was somehow less interesting and less empathetic. I am sure she is very nice in person, but I don't need to read about her.
    • 3/5
      This was loaned to me by an enthusiastic friend who told me that Maureen's story was very similar to the one I wrote in Sleep Before Evening. I found the book, which I read in a few days, pretty cheesy, cliche ridden, and superficial (she should have gotten a better ghostwriter), but despite all that, it was engrossing enough to distract me away from Salman Rushdie for a while, and there's a kind of open sincerity in Maureen's prose that is engaging enough.
    • 4/5
      Interesting book--I really didn't know much about any of the actual characters of the show so it was interesting to read in-depth details about a challenging life that has seemed to end on a positive role.
    • 4/5
      Some pastors would prefer to avoid the really tough questions parishioners have about the Bible. Adam Hamilton, pastor of the largest United Methodist Church in the world (near Kansas City) tackles such questions head-on in his 2014 book “Making Sense of the Bible.”Is the Bible inspired by God? What does that even mean? Is it infallible? Were Adam and Eve real people? What does the Bible really say about homosexuality, women in leadership positions and other controversial issues? Not every reader will like every answer Hamilton gives, but they should all appreciate his willingness to offer his answers frankly, while admitting they are not necessarily the correct ones.Hamilton describes himself as an evangelical, while conceding that his views have changed over the years, especially on the homosexuality question.He doesn't believe God dictated the Bible word for word. Rather, he says, the Bible was written by people as fallible as anyone else. But Jesus himself frequently quoted passages from what Christians call the Old Testament, giving it authority for him and thus authority for his followers. As for the New Testament, it was written by those who either knew Jesus or knew others who knew Jesus. This proximity to Jesus makes these books more essential to the faith than books written in later centuries that may be no less inspired by God. Thus he is not bothered by the fact that the gospel writers told the same stories a little differently. They were only human, after all. What's important is that they agree on the important things, the Resurrection for example.Hamilton takes a middle position between the two extremes of the Bible controversy. "Instead of assuming that the Bible is the result of God's word-for-word inspiration of its authors, or that the Bible is merely a human book, I've suggested that the scriptures were written by human beings who were inspired by God yet wrote in the light of their own experiences, the scientific knowledge they had access to, and the historical circumstances in which they lived."According to John 1:1, Hamilton points out, the word of God is not the Bible but Jesus himself.
    • 5/5
      This book is very good. It attempts to answer questions that people struggle with in regards to the bible in a reasonable way. I'm not sure if I agree with all of Hamilton's conclusions, but will admit that the book has given me some things to think about. I would consider the book a success for that reason.
    • 5/5
      Very accessible and awesome.