In his new book, Wrestling With God Without Getting Pinned, Rev. Dr. Watkins tackles the foundation of Christian religious teaching, the Bible. Through his commentaries on Bible stories, some obscure and some Sunday School classics, Watkins teases out logical lessons from what can be rather fantastic narratives. Often, the lessons that Watkins, a rising star in progressive Christian scholarship, offers differ radically from those that most Christians have heard over the years. Watkins does not pull his punches. Where a contradiction is stated, a fact of science is ignored, or a biblical hero is presented in a less-than-heroic manner, Rev. Dr. Watkins refuses to circumnavigate reasonable thinking and take the easy way out by calling it a 'mystery' to be revealed by God at some later time. In Rev. Dr. Watkins' religious viewpoint, there is dignity and honor in a lowly donkey, there is courageous feminism in a list of 'begats', and there are times when God's example is not the one to follow. Although this is a work of thoughtful biblical study, it is written in a conversational tone that is very accessible to the lay reader. Christians of all varieties will discover the challenge Watkins offers them to accept a Bible with few easy answers, but also with an appreciation for the richness of experience found in the modern life. Those who may have in the past felt as if they needed to check their brains at the church doorstep can find in this book the encouragement they need to explore their religious roots in a way that doesn't disregard their intellects or ethics. In writing Wrestling With God Without Getting Pinned, Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins has reclaimed the Bible as a resource for liberal, progressive, thinking religious people." (Review by Shawna Kennedy, Dallas, TX)