Love this book! Zach has a way of making scripture make sense. I really enjoyed the chapter on the lenses through which we can interpret the Bible that promote love and liberation rather than exclusion. This book is helping me find my love of scripture again.

This book was such a breath of fresh air to read. Zach strikes a really nice balance between thoughtfulness and thoroughness, but not at the detriment of easiness to read. There are many quotes incorporated from other authors, and citations from outside sources that were included in reference to his own arguments. All in all, this book feels thought provoking yet easy to read and digest.

Something that stood out to me while reading is the structure of the book and how it's organized. I ended up really enjoying how the book was arranged into its various parts and chapters. I also really liked the pace of the book. No chapter was too long and each chapter had a clearly defined purpose. The book is overall separated into 3 parts: 1) We All Have Lenses, 2) Lenses That Inflict Harm, and 3) Lenses That Promote Healing.

The first part explores the fact that we all have lenses through which we operate in the world, and this is especially true when we interact with religious texts like the Bible. Due to there being different interpretations or approaches to reading the religious text, Zach sets the stage for the arguments to be made in the parts that follow.

In Part 2, Zach carefully and honestly explores the various lenses and interpretations of the Bible that end up causing injury. Those lenses are: Literalism, Apocalypse, Moralism, and Hierarchy. If you grew up similarly to me, or in a tradition that teaches one or many of these lenses, you might struggle throughout reading this part of the book. If this is you, I urge you to take your time and at the very least consider the arguments Zach presents in this section as equally justified.

Finally, Part 3 counters the lenses that cause injury presented in the previous part, and explores the lenses that promote flourishing and healing. Those lenses are: Jesus, Context, Flourishing, and Fruitfulness. This part aims to give readers a new set of lenses to help guide them towards a new understanding and into flourishing and healing.

I don't want to spoil all of the good content, but I did want to offer a few quotes that stuck out to me towards the beginning of the book:

"The churches they joined and the leaders they followed weaponized the Bible in ways that hurt them and the people they loved. Millions of these defectors are not rejecting Jesus; they are rejecting the use of Jesus' name for the purpose of domination and oppression. They aren't rejecting the Bible; they are rejecting harmful ways of reading it."

"Could I have been reading it wrong? Could the pastors and teachers I had been trained under have been reading it wrong too? What if the problem wasn't the Bible but the way I'd been taught to read it? As I began to consider these questions, something started to shift. Like ice thawing in the spring, it happened slowly at first, but I began to realize that even though I believed the Bible was inspired by God, the interpretations I'd been given were not."

"...thirty-nine of my forty seminary classes were taught by White men. Regardless of our racial or cultural heritage, we all have biases– lenses through which we interpret the Bible. That's not the problem. The problem is pretending that one group of people doesn't bring any biases to their Scripture reading while everyone else does...The perspective of a straight, White, able-bodied man is assumed to be normative; everything else needs a disclaimer."

"We are all interpreting. We make interpretive decisions without even realizing it, based on a combination of who we are, what we've been taught, where we grew up, and how we see the world."

I recommend this book to anyone who takes the Bible seriously and wants a different set of lenses to read the Bible from the ones they were given.

Review also posted on my website:
marshallhahn.com/blog/better-ways-to-read-the-bible-review

“Better Ways to Read the Bible” helps readers to see that there is no “just plain reading” of an ancient text written by multiple writers in places and contexts unlike our own. Zach W. Lambert points out different lenses that we might use as we read, and some lenses will point more toward healing, love, and flourishing for all. Great personal examples lend weight and conviction to the book.

I have been anticipating reading this book ever since I found out about it last October at the CenterPeace Conference in Dallas. I’m here to loudly proclaim - not only did it meet my very high expectations, it blew them away!

I am so weary of people using the Bible as a weapon. I’m so tired of divisive behaviors cloaked in the name of Christianity. My heart breaks to know that people are tormented by things that are wielded against them in the name of God but have no connection to God in reality. And that’s where this book breathes much needs fresh air into these subjects. There really are better ways to read the Bible and Zach steps readers through them with love. He also comes with receipts, so it’s not just one man saying so - it’s backed up with proof.

This book is worth the read. It really IS a balm, just as Zach indicated in the last few pages as a hope for the book. I promise you. It’s releasing soon and you can pre order NOW. You won’t regret time spent reading and absorbing these words, I assure you.

Brazos Press eARC
I have been waiting for a book like this for years. Zach Lambert adequately addressed a lot of the questions and concerns I’ve had now and in the past. This book really dove into the Bible and all of the context surrounding the clobber verses that are used to exclude so many people from the church. I liked how he emphasized walking with Jesus and people over everything. His writing was relatable, and I learned a lot. It's a book I will revisit again and again.

As someone who has, over the years, broadened my way of reading the Bible, I found this book to be relatable and timely. This is not a "how to" guide to read the Bible, rather it is designed to show the reader how to expand their reading of the Bible beyond the literal interpretation that many in the church were brought up with. The structure of the book is easy to follow and leaves the reader room to process the information and come to their own conclusions. A good resource for those starting to question the message they might be hearing from the pulpit or within their church circles. Unfortunately, I think the people that REALLY need to read this aren't going to pick it up... So, it's a good resource to share with a friend.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley. I look forward to receiving my pre-order to do some highlighting and note taking.

better ways to read the bible is not telling you this is exactly how to read the bible in this one way. it is not saying this is what you should believe because x,y, z but rather offers a really digestible approach to understanding different classical theology stances and various alternatives to approach scripture (ie an alternative to moralism). though these different perspectives tends to be contradictory to popular southern evangelical interpretations, lambert encourages the reader not to be trapped in the politics of black and white theology but guides the reader to make their own conclusions about the loving and merciful nature of god. he tackles some really tough topics (hell, creation, women in ministry, divorce, LGBTQ+) with a lot of care and compassion but also with facts. i really appreciated how lambert consistently drew upon other biblical scholars, the primary text, or even just good old statistics themselves. this book is equally educational and impactful but most importantly leaves the reader with a profound sense of hope about who christ is and what that means for us as christians.

First Impressions – A Courageous, Healing Reintroduction to Scripture

I’ve just begun reading Better Ways to Read the Bible, and already it feels like a balm for anyone who's ever been bruised by well-meaning (or not-so-well-meaning) interpretations of Scripture. The author approaches the Bible with deep love, but also with clear eyes, unafraid to name how it has been misused, yet determined to show how it can become what it was always meant to be: a tool of healing, not a weapon of harm.

What makes this book stand out is its grounding in Jesus, not just as a figure in Scripture, but as the living lens through which we read it. This isn’t abstract theology. It’s rooted in real, personal experience: the author’s own disillusionment as a church staff member, watching verses be used to shame, silence, and divide. His journey away from literalism, fear-based readings, and hierarchical control is honest, vulnerable, and most importantly, hopeful.

This book doesn’t throw the Bible away. It reclaims it.

Through a structure of “harmful lenses” (like literalism or moralism) and “healing lenses” (like the Jesus lens, context lens, and fruitfulness lens), readers are invited into a more life-giving, justice-centered engagement with Scripture. As someone who has also wrestled with how to hold onto faith while letting go of rigid dogma, this feels not just affirming but liberating.

What I appreciate most is the pastoral tone. This book isn’t out to attack anyone, it’s here to guide, invite, and heal. It honors how many of us inherited harmful readings of the Bible and gently helps us imagine a better way.

If our way of interpreting the Bible hurts people, then we need to reconsider it. This book helps us do just that, with grace.

I’ll continue posting thoughts as I read further. For now, if you’ve ever struggled with the Bible, or felt like walking away from it completely, this book may offer just the kind of restored vision you need.

Let’s keep walking together toward a more healing way of reading Scripture.

#BetterWaysToReadTheBible #ScriptureHealing #JesusLens #FaithfulReading

Zach Lambert’s Better Ways to Read the Bible is a thoughtful and accessible guide to engaging Scripture with greater humility and awareness. While I don’t agree with all his conclusions, I appreciate his challenge to examine the cultural and personal lenses we bring to the text. It’s a helpful starting point for anyone wanting to read the Bible more honestly and responsibly..

Like many who will pick up Zach W. Lambert's "Better Ways to Read the Bible," I'm someone who has experienced the Bible used as a weapon.

And yet, I've always loved the Bible. I've always seen through and around the weaponizing and the lenses birthed more out of fear than love.

The "Good Book" is far too often used to justify our own biases, agendas, fears, and desires. The Bible has been used to keep women submissive, amplify racism, demonize those with disabilities, excuse and even empower abuse, and so much more.

A pastor for over 10 years, Lambert has crafted a gentle and wise resource that encourages a different way to read the Bible, a way that he believes is more consistent with centering our faith around Jesus and a way, ways really, to renew our relationship with Scripture and to see even the most troubling, misused scriptures through a different lens.
If you've been hurt by harmful interpretations or feel disconnected from Scripture, this book offers a path forward to reclaim the Bible's life-giving message. This accessible resource will help you

A surprisingly quick and accessible read, "Better Ways to Read the Bible" shatters to pieces for common lenses that have done great harm. In their place, Lambert offers four new lenses. In some ways, "Better Ways to Read the Bible" is surprisingly simple in its approach. At times, it almost feels like Lambert is playing a game of "Mr. Obvious" here as he invites us into a different relationship with scripture that not only promotes healing and wholeness but feels more relational than transactional.

Even in those few spots where it felt like Lambert's argument is a bit too simplified, Lambert's compassionate boldness in opening himself up to these discussions is refreshing, encouraging, and life-giving. If you are married to your Christian nationalist views, "Better Ways to Read the Bible" will challenge those exclusionary views and will open the door to a different relationship with the Bible and with our faith.

I was deeply moved by Lambert's frequent inclusion of disability here, a topic and a population far too often considered an afterthought by Christian leaders and writers, and I greatly appreciate the almost matter-of-fact way that Lambert challenges us to view the Bible differently and to be present with one another through our theological disagreements and different practices.

As someone who grew up in what amounts to being a cult (Jehovah's Witnesses) and who has been kicked out of two churches, one because I was gay (I'm not) and one because I attempted suicide (I did), I felt the healing of Lambert's words and Lambert's literary presence here. I practically wanted to book a trip to visit his church and bask in his community.

Don't worry. I didn't. Yet.

Ultimately, Lambert creates a literary world where the Bible is a tool of liberation and not harm, a book of love and not of hate.

If you've grown tired of a weaponized faith, this book is for you. If you love the Bible, but you don't love how it's used this book is for you. If you've longed to find the words to express a different way to read the Bible, then this book is most definitely for you.

It's okay to wonder. It's okay to question. It's okay to challenge. It's okay to doubt. As Lambert paints time and time again here, it's okay to fall back in love with the Bible and Lambert helps us find the path to doing so.

This was a fine entry-level introduction to a variety of hermeneutical topics, but only had space for one or two Scripture examples of each. The first half highlighted a handful of unhealthy lenses, while the second half introduced the "better ways." Even in the first half the author was trying to suggest better alternative interpretations, so I would have appreciated reading earlier on the author's thesis of what makes the better interpretations better, perhaps laid out in an introductory chapter.