What the Bible Really Tells Us

October 10, 2011
Wray (Good Girls, Bad Girls), an associate professor of religious studies at Salve Regina University, offers an undergraduate-friendly introduction to biblical studies based on her years of teaching undergraduates, who, like the rest of the country, are fairly biblically illiterate. Her opening "60-Second Super-Easy Bible Quiz" is, of course, not as easy as it would appear, a classroom gambit designed to make people aware of their assumptions and to loosen up their preconceptions about this sacred text. Her fresh approach allows her to hopscotch around biblical books and point out many internal disagreements and distinctions. While good for the classroom, readers who like the brisk tone of an assured lecturer will also enjoy this competent book.

October 15, 2011
The Bible is one of a few works that is best read with an introduction or guide at hand. Wray's book is an engaging and excellent example of just such an aid. The collection of texts we now call the Bible was written over the course of many centuries, by different authors, in different languages, and under differing social and political circumstances. Understanding the times and places from whence these texts came is key to understanding what they mean. Wray devotes a couple of introductory chapters to the biblical world and the tools and methods scholars use in their exegetical work. But her intention is to get people reading the Bible, not to offer an academic, verse-by-verse commentary. Subsequent chapters, therefore, explore what the Bible says about such issues as wealth, heaven, hell, sex, and the environment, dispelling many commonly held assumptions and pointing out where disagreements in interpretation lie along the way. Wray succeeds in sharing the wisdom of the Bible by making it accessible, interesting, and fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)