From Publishers Weekly
According to this engaging but not always convincing liberal gloss on the Good Book, biblical literalism is an idolatrous departure from the Bible's "enduring but non-literal wisdom," which progressives can reclaim through informed interpretations of biblical metaphor and symbolism. Drawing on historical and contemporary Bible scholarship, Buehrens, a Unitarian minister and co-author of A Chosen Faith, gives an illuminating if brief rundown of each book in the Bible, one informed by feminist, literary and lefty political critiques. The results are mixed. Themes of liberation and social justice emerge in the Exodus narrative, the Prophetic books and the Gospels. But on fundamentalist hot-button issues like homosexuality and women's rights, the Bible's clear statements defy interpretive rehabilitation. Faced with outright prohibition on a man "lying with a man as with a woman," Buehrens suggests that "the inner spirit of what is intended" there might be different. He champions "reading against the grain": with that interpretive strategy, the New Testament's urging of submissiveness on wives and servants, for example, attests to husbands' and masters' anxiety over the egalitarianism of Church congregations. And his anti-literalist, Bible-as-metaphor approach sometimes throws the religion out with the bathwater, as when nonbelievers are reassured that stories of miracles and resurrections can also be seen as metaphorical rather than actual events. Unfortunately, Buehrens's laudable attempt at "reading the Bible to overcome oppression" drains away much substantive content. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In his introduction, Buehrens offers several compelling reasons for studying the Bible. You aren't fully literate without it; if you can't or won't understand it, others will interpret it for you. And to his mind, most importantly, you can't be spiritually mature by simply rejecting the Bible as oppressive. Buehrens, who is affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist church, offers humanist or liberal interpretations solidly based on the original texts, and he also draws on other historical and literary sources to bolster his explanations. Although this is by necessity an overview, Buehrens does a masterful job of coursing through both Testaments, placing events and pronouncements in context of both prevailing theology and the times. An interesting balance to biblical interpretations that are weighted in the other direction. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious LiberalsA thoughtful, warm, and witty introduction Understanding the Bible is designed to help empower skeptics, seekers, nonbelievers, and those of a liberal and progressive outlook to reclaim the Bible from literalists. In makingaccessible some of the best contemporary historical, literary, political, and feminist readings of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, it encourages all who would find in the biblical heritage an ally and not an enemy in the questfor a more just and humane world. Brief and to the point, it can easily be used to stimulate group discussions and personal reading of the biblical texts themselves, and is an excellent introduction to the Judeo-Christian traditionfor those of other faiths. Understanding the Bible includes four preliminary chapters on the why, who, which, and how of biblical understanding, followed by eight brief thematic chapters covering the core of the Hebrew Bible and six covering the Christian scriptures, plus chronologies, maps, and helpful suggestions for further reading. John Buehrens was president of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1993 to 2001 and is now minister of the First Parish in Needham, Massachusetts, and special assistant to the secretary general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. He is coauthor, with Forrest Church, of A Chosen Faith (Beacon / 1617-9 / $15.00 pb).Praise for Understanding the Bible:"Biblical literacy is not just for Biblical literalists. To grasp the nuances of Western art and literature or the religious subtext of Western law and society requires a working knowledge of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Yet, to the uninitiated, the Bible is daunting. One opens its pages only to get lost in its maze. John Buehrens has performed a great service for the many religious liberals and seekers who would explore the Bible if only they could find a trusted guide. Addressed to thoughtful skeptics who know enough to be skeptical of their own ignorance, Understanding the Bible is an accessible, unpretentious introduction to the most influential writings of all time."--Forrest Church, author of The American Creed and Lifecraft: The Art of Meaning in the Everyday"Understanding the Bible is a thoughtful and honest introduction to the tragedy, compassion, mercy, justice, grief, and ecstasy that we share with the tellers of biblical stories and with the stories themselves. Read Buehren"s enlightening as well as entertaining work and you almost certainly will find yourself learning, thinking, and laughing as you reach for a copy of the Bible to read it again or for the first time."--C. Welton Gaddy, President, The Interfaith Alliance"Spiritual seekers of a liberal persuasion have too often dismissed the Bible, perhaps because of unhappy childhood experiences with literal interpretations. The Bible is neither history nor science, but rather stories of human struggle and divine presence throughout that struggle. John Buehrens engages us in the powerful stories of the Judeo Christian scripture, returning to us a rich heritage without which we would be both culturally and spiritually impoverished."--Marilyn Sewell, editor of Cries of the Spirit"If with Saint Augustine, you "believe in thinking and wish to think in believing," John Buehrens" book is for you. He spells out clearly the historic importance and textual complexities of the Bible, which then enables you to stand face to face, soul to soul, with blazing biblical insights sorely needed in these dark days."--William Sloane Coffin, author of A Passion for the Possible

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals

A thoughtful, warm, and witty introduction Understanding the Bible is designed to help empower skeptics, seekers, nonbelievers, and those of a liberal and progressive outlook to reclaim the Bible from literalists. In makingaccessible some of the best contemporary historical, literary, political, and feminist readings of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, it encourages all who would find in the biblical heritage an ally and not an enemy in the questfor a more just and humane world. Brief and to the point, it can easily be used to stimulate group discussions and personal reading of the biblical texts themselves, and is an excellent introduction to the Judeo-Christian traditionfor those of other faiths.

Understanding the Bible includes four preliminary chapters on the why, who, which, and how of biblical understanding, followed by eight brief thematic chapters covering the core of the Hebrew Bible and six covering the Christian scriptures, plus chronologies, maps, and helpful suggestions for further reading.

John Buehrens was president of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1993 to 2001 and is now minister of the First Parish in Needham, Massachusetts, and special assistant to the secretary general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. He is coauthor, with Forrest Church, of A Chosen Faith (Beacon / 1617-9 / $15.00 pb).

Praise for Understanding the Bible:

"Biblical literacy is not just for Biblical literalists. To grasp the nuances of Western art and literature or the religious subtext of Western law and society requires a working knowledge of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Yet, to the uninitiated, the Bible is daunting. One opens its pages only to get lost in its maze. John Buehrens has performed a great service for the many religious liberals and seekers who would explore the Bible if only they could find a trusted guide. Addressed to thoughtful skeptics who know enough to be skeptical of their own ignorance, Understanding the Bible is an accessible, unpretentious introduction to the most influential writings of all time."--Forrest Church, author of The American Creed and Lifecraft: The Art of Meaning in the Everyday

"Understanding the Bible is a thoughtful and honest introduction to the tragedy, compassion, mercy, justice, grief, and ecstasy that we share with the tellers of biblical stories and with the stories themselves. Read Buehren's enlightening as well as entertaining work and you almost certainly will find yourself learning, thinking, and laughing as you reach for a copy of the Bible to read it again or for the first time."--C. Welton Gaddy, President, The Interfaith Alliance

"Spiritual seekers of a liberal persuasion have too often dismissed the Bible, perhaps because of unhappy childhood experiences with literal interpretations. The Bible is neither history nor science, but rather stories of human struggle and divine presence throughout that struggle. John Buehrens engages us in the powerful stories of the Judeo Christian scripture, returning to us a rich heritage without which we would be both culturally and spiritually impoverished."--Marilyn Sewell, editor of Cries of the Spirit

"If with Saint Augustine, you 'believe in thinking and wish to think in believing," John Buehrens' book is for you. He spells out clearly the historic importance and textual complexities of the Bible, which then enables you to stand face to face, soul to soul, with blazing biblical insights sorely needed in these dark days."--William Sloane Coffin, author of A Passion for the Possible

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

According to this engaging but not always convincing liberal gloss on the Good Book, biblical literalism is an idolatrous departure from the Bible's "enduring but non-literal wisdom," which progressives can reclaim through informed interpretations of biblical metaphor and symbolism. Drawing on historical and contemporary Bible scholarship, Buehrens, a Unitarian minister and co-author of A Chosen Faith, gives an illuminating if brief rundown of each book in the Bible, one informed by feminist, literary and lefty political critiques. The results are mixed. Themes of liberation and social justice emerge in the Exodus narrative, the Prophetic books and the Gospels. But on fundamentalist hot-button issues like homosexuality and women's rights, the Bible's clear statements defy interpretive rehabilitation. Faced with outright prohibition on a man "lying with a man as with a woman," Buehrens suggests that "the inner spirit of what is intended" there might be different. He champions "reading against the grain": with that interpretive strategy, the New Testament's urging of submissiveness on wives and servants, for example, attests to husbands' and masters' anxiety over the egalitarianism of Church congregations. And his anti-literalist, Bible-as-metaphor approach sometimes throws the religion out with the bathwater, as when nonbelievers are reassured that stories of miracles and resurrections can also be seen as metaphorical rather than actual events. Unfortunately, Buehrens's laudable attempt at "reading the Bible to overcome oppression" drains away much substantive content. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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