Serving Up Scripture - by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw & Aaron Higashi (Paperback)

About the Book

Using the metaphor of cooking, Serving Up Scripture explains how the reader (or interpreter) of Scripture can make solid meals (trustworthy, insightful interpretations) from the ingredients (chapters and verses) in the Bible, putting the biblical text back into the hands of anyone who's ever felt it's been abused or its message mischaracterized.

Book Synopsis

An empowering guide for learning to interpret the Bible.

Have you ever seen the Bible used to hurt someone--or has it been used to harm you? Have you sometimes gotten the feeling that people were misapplying verses but been unable to explain how? Do you wish you could better understand what may look like contradictions in the text, especially those that challenge your understanding of God?

If so, you're not alone. But thankfully, better ways to read and understand the Bible are within your grasp. That's because this user-friendly introduction to biblical interpretation teaches how you can interpret Scripture, both for yourself and for those you love.

Everyone who reads the Bible interprets it, often unconsciously. Learning and practicing key principles of interpretation, however, can empower you to better understand, and to engage more comfortably and responsibly in this process. Using the metaphor of cooking, in which delicious and nourishing meals are created from the ingredients at hand, Serving Up Scripture explains how you, the chef (or interpreter) can whip up solid meals (make trustworthy and insightful interpretations) from the main ingredients (chapters and verses) in your Bible. Just as a cook learns to prepare the same basic ingredients in different ways depending on the context of the meal, you'll learn to ask different questions of the text in order to illuminate aspects of the story or passage you're seeking to understand.

You don't have to rely on other people's biblical interpretations that may feel wrong or questionable. Serving Up Scripture puts the Bible squarely back in the hands of anyone who's ever felt it's been abused or its message mischaracterized. Which is to say, in the hands of up-and-coming chefs, or interpreters, just like you.

Review Quotes

"An accessible entry point into the sometimes-opaque world of biblical scholarship . . . Church study groups will be especially edified." ---Publishers Weekly

"What is the Bible? While that question has split families and denominations, this is the latest entry into the fray, offering its answer with an unusual motif: cooking. . . . Regardless of one's leanings, Bible aficionados will find much to chew on." ---Booklist

"Bashaw and Higashi are wise and learned guides to the Bible. Even more than that, they're loving and hospitable. Their heart for liberative, life-giving scriptural interpretation shines through in this friendly, accessible book--a gift to readers who have hoped for a more healing path through the Bible but didn't think they could access the necessary tools or skills to find their way there." --Jeff Chu, editor-at-large for Travel+Leisure, teacher in residence at Crosspointe Church in North Carolina, and author of Good Soil

"With the brilliance of scholars and the warmth of friends, Bashaw and Higashi invite us to take holy responsibility for how our interpretations play out in God's kingdom, and offer the accessibility and tools to work through our questions with curiosity and care. I cannot wait to shove this book into the hands of everyone I know." --Erin Hicks Moon, author of I've Got Questions and cohost of the Faith Adjacent podcast

"If Guy Fieri took a road trip through biblical scholarship, this would be his Triple D destination--it's got all the FLAVOR! Bashaw and Higashi have created the ultimate comfort food for anyone who's ever been intimidated by Scripture study. They've managed to make historical criticism feel like a dinner party with your smartest friends, serving up exegetical techniques that are 'money' and hermeneutical approaches that are straight-up 'bananas.' The cooking metaphor isn't just clever--it's transformative, helping you understand that interpretation is an art, a skill you can develop, and a joyful practice rather than a burden. This book is going to democratize biblical interpretation in the best possible way--taking it from Flavortown to Faithtown!" --Tripp Fuller, host of the Homebrewed Christianity podcast and visiting professor of theology and culture at Luther Seminary

"A brilliant guide to the complexities and subjectivities of interpreting the Bible. In a refreshingly accessible way, Bashaw and Higashi pull back the curtain on interpretation to reveal the role of the reader and their social position in guiding the production of meaning with the Bible. Using the analogy of cooking, they place the Bible reader in the role of the chef, who works with a variety of ingredients--the various voices of the biblical texts--to prepare readings that will be meaningful and useful to themselves and to their own audiences." --Dan McClellan, honorary fellow, Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, University of Birmingham

"Scripture says that 'people do not live on bread alone, ' but understanding how the meal the Bible offers us is prepared is an essential part of the feast. In Serving Up Scripture, Bashaw and Higashi masterfully expand this meal metaphor to explain the act and art of interpreting Scripture, and our role in that process. This book is helpful, fascinating, and a must-read for anyone who wants to take the Bible more seriously." --Josh Scott, lead pastor of GracePointe Church and author of Bible Stories for Grown-Ups and Parables