The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms

I don't think Mike can produce anything below 5 stars. In his recent Christmas episode on the Naked Bible Podcast I was a bit wary of listening to it. I realize this is a review of his book here, but let me make my point. The problem with not wanting to listen to his Christmas episode is that I don't really care if Christmas was/is a pagan holiday. So, honestly, it wasn't appealing to me. Somehow I ended up listening to it, and I'm telling you the amount of information he crammed in there was FASCINATING. I'm not kidding. I was so tired of hearing that subject (because I've been born and raised into Christianity), but Mike and Trey did their thing and it had me on the edge of my metaphorical seat the entire time. If you listen to that episode (Naked Bible Episode 195) you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. And what's the point of all that I just said? It's that Mike doesn't do anything half way. All that he puts out is serious work that is worthy of much consideration. No Hillary v. Trump fact checking here (though I'm sure he'd encourage you to research what he's saying). The point is, however, that not everyone has the training that he or his contemporaries have. And THAT is exactly why it is paramount that we rely upon scholars who have said extensive training.I challenge you with this (something I've challenged myself to accept): You essentially know nothing about the Bible if you don't have not just Heiser's background, but other scholars such as John H. Walton. There are many to list, but Walton would be a good companion to list next to Heiser. If you're the lay-person, do yourself a favor and pick up this work, or The Unseen Realm (or both!) and any of Walton's work. Open up your mind and challenge yourself to realize that unless you are incredibly familiar with the Ancient Near East's way of life and thought processes, then it's highly likely that you don't actually understand what is going on when you read the Bible.Enter "The Bible Unfiltered."Considerations for the seminary student:This is a great book for those who need a quick reference on a particular subject. Heiser's name is well known, and thus to reference this book in one's papers, even for a one-liner, is to reference legitimate scholarship. I'm not advocating that one does one's entire paper off of just one chapter from this book, but my point is more-so that with Heiser's reputation it will be known that you're not quoting Joe Scholar who earned his PhD in I Do What I Want. If you know Mike then you know that he's done a lot of work to present to you CONTEXTUAL research on any given listed topic. For that alone the price is worth it (though it undoubtedly cost him more to do the research that it does for us to purchase the book).Considerations for the lay-person:1. On p. 7, Heiser says, "If Bible study doesn't seem like work to you, you aren't really doing it." Yes, that's harsh, but so was Phinehas, Peter, Paul, and Jesus. (Even Bonhoeffer was harsh in his "The Cost of Discipleship")! Over and over again Heiser says on his podcast that Bible reading is not actually Bible STUDY (not yelling, I just don't have italics in this comment box).2. This book is great for having a quick reference for subjects. You do not have to read the book in order to understand the content of any given chapter. I use this book to help direct me to other scriptures that I can't seem to remember. Here, Heiser treats topics with brevity, yet with depth at the same time--depth that stems from years of immersing hisself in the original cultural context, the surrounding culture's contexts, and original languages of the Bible. In other words, this book will act, for the lay person, as an appetizer that gets you excited for the full meal and subsequently spark a desire within you to finally take seriously contextual Bible study. If you've never read Heiser's stuff before, this is a great place for you to get introduced to his work. From here I'd recommend getting The Unseen Realm, and then Reversing Hermon. Follow all his other works at drmsh.com, nakedbiblepodcast.com, and moreunseenrealm.com (I'm not getting paid to say all of this).Considerations for the scholar:Rid yourself of your presuppositions, get with the times, and adopt the supernatural worldview of the Bible's authors, because yours isn't supernatural enough. (Can that be considered speaking the truth in love?...)(Pictures won't rotate for some reason. Sorry!). My hand on the book next to the Schuyler Bible shows the size of the book.

The book is a series of short pithy chapters on various biblical topics. Easy to understand and cuts to the chase.

I love this book, can I tell you "I love this book "?Dr Heiser's opinion on our Christian walk in life is so amazing and right on.Pointing out that...God inspired people to assert the fact of a Creator (YHWH) and our accountability to Him and not to make the Bible what it is not - a defense of science and whatnot.Pointing out our misconceptions of how we, as Christians, are to relate to the poor (doing our work to/for the poor and not passing it on to government). How Marxism and Capitalism have misinterpreted the Bible.I could go on and on even though I'm just at page 62I have purchased several of Dr. Heiser's books (and now I have to wait on my granddaughter and daughter) to finish reading so I can have my turn. "The Unseen Realm" "Angels" "Supernatural", etc.Please purchase Dr. Heiser's books; for yourself, family and loved ones.You'll be adding to their spiritual bedrock.

I love Dr. Heiser books, but I wanted to step back from the spiritual realm and reconnect with scripture again. This book is light, easy to read, and like all his content, so eye opening. I am alway slapping myself in the forehead and wondering how I didn't know or notice things. "I Dare You Not to Bore Me With the Bible" is another of his books that I'm reading simultaneously. If you want to go deeper in Bible Study, this is the book. It's helped me forgive a lot of the Bible "hangups" I have that were very cultural or significant for reasons I missed. Get those 2 books (this and the one I mention above), and then when you're ready to really have your understanding of G-d and the Bible blown out of the water, move on to Unseen Realm, Reversing Hermon, Supernatural, and all of the others. If you desire to understand the Bible, and not just show up on Sunday, read everything by Dr. Michael Heiser, his website is a great resource too. So grateful for the work he does.

It's just not a book I like, I didn't even finish reading it! Not my taste.

Good read from Heiser. I like his stuff, but the organization of the book was a bit hard to get into because the chapters were so short. It was like getting started only to change gears to a new topic in just a few minutes. Again, the content was stellar, though.

Excellent book that will lead one back to God's word with a sense of purpose and those that have never read the scriptures in an unfiltered way and who had their desire to read the Word curbed because they were not or had lost the fire for the True Truth found in God's word. One discovers they had a hard time connecting the dots in what God is doing, what He has done and how He is working to bring His true family into the Kingdom already but not yet - unfiltered reading of your bible to re-ingnite your desire to think about God's word with passion and fire and give the reader an heightened new desire to read the scriptures through an unfiltered lense...instead of tangling themselves up in most of modern translations available today.Return to the 2nd temple period by understanding the culture of an ancient time period regarding the "Ancient of Days" declaration, the dead sea scrolls scripture and literature that can be better understood and receive a blessing by being pointed to and understanding THE scriptures through unfiltered eyes. Thanks Dr. Heiser, God has declared that knowledge and understanding would increase and run to and fro as the season of His coming gets closer, His word stands and His promises are being kept!!!

This book helps me in reading my Bible. Nor only to read it but study it. I am so thankful for men that I am sure that God uses to help me in my studies.

I really like how the author can get you out of your head & look at scripture without our own filters & ideas about the Bible get in the way. It is a very worthwhile read!

Insightful book worth reading.

Excellent book.

Top quality resolution of many of our misunderstandings which we get through our modern Western worldview.

As with all of Michael Heiser's work, you won't be disappointed with the content. If you are looking for Bible centered writing, you will find it here. Covers great topics.