Not your typical Bible-story inspired book. This one makes sure you don't miss the sex, poop jokes, and weird stories you may not have heard at Sunday School.

While it should be no secret that most people, Christians included, don't know or understand their Bible, this book takes that fact and runs with it. In full, living, raucous color, Harrington shows us the ways that the humor, realism', and true lessons from this book of scripture has been missed or hidden for centuries. This book is essential for anyone who wants to know a little more about the context behind one of the most famous books ever written.

A conversation starter for those unfamiliar with Bible in this context, but also a nice example on how to consider the good book as an adult, without subtext.

Holy crap...this was no lie one of the funniest books I've read in a while. I had NO IDEA the bible was so full of this kind of wild and wacky shenannigans!

What an interesting book. This was a unique and amusing dark humorous take on the biblical stories of my younger years that I was not expecting!

Free ARC from Net Galley

The stories are basically true but I'm not sure they are truly respectful

I was never sure what the writers goal was, faith or funny, both or perhaps neither

It will keep your interest and make you look in the Bible like most haven't in a while;

Luke T. Harrington’s “Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem” is a wonderfully insightful and creative work that sheds a kaleidoscopic light on famous, or infamous, passages in the Bible. Harrington’s wit, sassiness, and profound biblical knowledge made this a delightful and informative read. I highly recommend this work!

If you like to read about that strange, violent, and explicitly sexual stories in the Bible one after the other, with modern chatty commentary then this is probably the book for you.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but as I do enjoy the antics of the Babylon Bee and their borderline irreverent humor, I thought I'd give it a try. The author is very chatty and likes to use puns, euphemisms and double entendres, but to be honest I did kinda of sign up for that.

As the book progressed the wordy chatter grew wearisome, and in every instance of questionable translation he would predictably take the more explicit or shocking by today's standards meaning, even if it seemed to be a stretch, not to say that there were times that the more shocking translation seemed to make good sense as well. There were times when I just thought that the irreverence in grasping for a weak joke definitely crossed the line for me multiple times. There were plenty of times when the author provided great context which really brought out the heart of the meaning, but there were also many others when things were just thrown in and it would but like, this miracle is weird, pointless, and unnecessary--when in context there was definitely a reason that it happened that way.

While the book started out novel and entertaining, the tone grew tiresome and I just wasn't there for it. The tone was very modern and "woke", with a tongue in cheek style humor. In my opinion if you want to read about strange, violent, or awkwardly explicit sex stories in the Bible, you are better off just reading the Bible--in context.

*I am aware that I have a lower tolerance for crude jokes than many people

I received a complimentary pre-release copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

“Maybe God just has a sense of humor.”

Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am one of the few people who has had the opportunity to read the Bible in full. I don’t know why my wholly southern Christian high school thought this was a good idea, but as part of my freshman and senior year curriculums, we were assigned passage after passage to read and ponder. While my classmates would highlight the sacred text that most inspired them, I couldn’t get past all the references to eating babies and foreskins that are so often overlooked in Sunday sermons. It was a lonely existence, sitting in the back of a classroom giggling at things no one else thought funny, but it seems I’ve finally found a kindred spirit in Luke Terrell Harrington.

Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem is everything you’d want in a book illuminating the most absurd parts of history’s best-selling book. From poop jokes to commentary breaking down exactly what types of shenanigans the characters in the King James Bible were up to, Harrington writes about Scripture in a way that illuminates and informs any reader.

Harrington does this not to poke fun at the Bible. In fact, he admits to being a believer himself.
To quote the book’s foreword, “If you believe, as I do, that the Bible is God’s message for all of humanity, then it makes sense that it would have something in it for everyone—not just the overeducated theologians, or the prudish old ladies, or the creepy homeschool kids working the Chick-fil-A counter.” In summary, Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem is written so that more people can appreciate the written word, even if those words happen to be “drank wine in front of thousands,” “pitched a tent,” and “demon-possessed pigs.”

I believe that intent is what makes Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem unique. It serves not to undermine those who love the Bible, but rather expand the book’s audience. Not everyone will ever sit down and read the book in full, nor will many sermons intricately discuss the absurd and down-right funny passages as Harrington does. However, I have to agree with the author that after reading this book, I am forced to admit “the Bible is many things, but it is not boring.”

Have you ever gone to something along the lines of Pub Theology?

You know what I'm talking about? It's typically some mid-week gathering for faithful and faith-curious adults in a casual atmosphere and, in most cases, it's at some local pub or bar and beer is nearly always involved. They're interesting events that are often filled with fellowship, friendship, theological discussions and, as the evening goes on a bit, less censored discussions around biblical beliefs and practices.

Luke T. Harrington's first foray into the world of non-fiction feels like the kind of book that would come out of an evening of Pub Theology, the kind of evening where the beer flowed a little freely and initially serious discussions about theology turned into giggly, schoolboy discussions about biblical stories we've always secretly wondered about but never actually had the guts to discuss.

Harrington discusses them. Extensively.

"Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem: Strange Stories from the Bible to Leave You Amused, Bemused, and (Hopefully) Informed" is a theological controversy free-for-all that explores the equivalent of the pitch-black comedy of cinema by examining, both seriously and tongue seriously in cheek, familiar and not so familiar biblical texts filled with murder, sex, rape, incest, outcest, contradictions and more. It's a book that will definitely resonate with more fluid theological thinkers, though more serious theological types will likely get caught up in Harrington's frequently flippant, casual, and sarcastic musings that aren't intended as a dismissal of the Bible, but more an honest and humorous look at these texts and what they really mean.

Harrington's debut novel "Ophelia, Alive: A Ghost Story" picked up several awards including a prized IPPY in the category of horror. This book is similarly adventurous. While faith-inspired humor isn't rare, it has seldom been so willing to go dark, convicting, and challenging. Harrington is a PK (Preacher's Kid for the unknowing), a fact that likely explains a lot about his willingness to explore these texts more fully and his dark sense of humor. "Murder-Bears," as I shall now shorten the title in an effort to not make this a 10,000 word review because of the title, is a generally well-researched literary effort, though there's some definite picking and choosing of that research - most of which is actually acknowledged within the text.

Basically, most of the time Harrington tends to side with the "naughtier" interpretation.

Some stories examined in "Murder-Bears" are familiar - Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ezekiel's baking of "poop bread," and others. There are other stories that have proven to be less examined over the years - Elisha and those homicidal bears and Ehud's semi-justifiable assassination of a tyrannical king as a couple examples.

"Murder-Bears" is organized by topic - poop, genitalia, weird violence, prostitution, gratuitous nudity, seemingly pointless miracles, and other topics you may have actually thought about but never thought anyone would actually discuss.

Harrington is a podcaster and an obviously curious type - his podcast "Changed My Mind with Luke T. Harrington" interviews people who've changed their minds about big stuff. I'm assuming poop is included in that big stuff.

Harrington is also a person of faith. The publisher of "Murder-Bears" is a serious publisher of faith-based works. "Murder-bears" is categorized in humor, but that humor is backed by sources and research - though, again, for anyone with a seminary background the research has an obvious slant and tends to ignore alternative research that would be less funny.

"Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem" is a unique reading experience, a book that explores challenging, controversial, and conflicting biblical texts with a unique perspective and a willingness to both question and laugh. While this may seem like a cynical, skeptical text, it's hard to imagine non-believers will appreciate it much as Harrington clearly embraces the side of faith amidst the conflict and has equal fun poking fun at folks like Richard Dawkins who would take a secular eye to sacred text.

Some books almost defy critical review. While I haven't had the privilege of checking out the also to be released audio book, my gut feeling is this is a book that will more come to life with Harrington himself reading it. It's a struggle to "rate," because for the most part I believe "Murder-Bears" is the book that Harrington intended it to be.

It's a book I respected more than enjoyed. For a book categorized as "humor," I seldom, if ever, actually laughed and barely smiled. At times, the tone is so flippant and casual that the more serious points are lost within the sarcasm. It's a "Pub Theology" type of book and that kind of setting and that kind of crowd may completely embrace it. There's value to be had here, but there's a lost balance between research and humor and "Murder-Bears," at least for me, just wasn't an enjoyable read and, perhaps because of my seminary background, I didn't end the book feeling particularly informed.

My primary goal in book criticism is not the determination of whether or not a book is "good" or "bad," but to help potential readers decide if it is for them. While I may experience "Murder-Bears" as a solid 3-star experience, somewhere in the slightly above mid-range experience, those who appreciate Harrington's approach and tone may very well embrace and be thoroughly entertained by his literary effort. It may be helpful to check out Harrington's podcast and decide for yourself if his approach and his tone resonates with you, because much of "Murder-Bears" feels conversational and as if Harrington is having a beer with you having these unpredictable, weird, occasionally entertaining, and open-minded conversations.

Who knows? "Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem" may very well leave you amused, bemused, and, just maybe, even informed.

Author Luke Harrington starts things off by making the following points quite clear:

1..) This is not a book meant to ridicule the Bible
2.) This is not a book meant to defend or apologize for the Bible

He also makes it clear that he personally is a believing Christian. As a lapsed Catholic who tends to fall rather heavily on the skeptical side of most things concerning religion, at this point I anticipated a read that would be generally self-censored, relatively super-coated through euphemisms, and would end up doing tip-toeing around the truly uncomfortable parts of scripture.

I probably would have avoided this very incorrect assumption had I not skipped over the table of comments, which among other things, has a chapter titled “Strange Flesh (Incest and Outcest).” Harrington goes all in, not only covering the “greatest hits” of peculiar, confusing or terrible biblical scenes that many of us are already familiar with, like Lot’s daughters, the prophet Elisha and the murderous bears mentioned in the title but shines the spotlight on many other notorious moments and passages that have probably escaped the notice of most of us (at least they did for me). With every scene, Harrington provides an abundance of in-depth coverage that goes well beyond simple summarizations and includes an abundance of historical context, detailed explanation, and discussion of various interpretations of translations. All of this is well-backed with citations to scholarly sources aplenty.

Likewise, there is no holding back with the comedic commentary. While Harrington states at the start that this book is not meant to ridicule the Bible, no exceptions are made for anyone else. The witty and sarcastic barbs are thrown left and right, as the following choice examples show:

“.....Then again, plenty of Christians are good at nothing if not taking random scriptural texts out of context to justify whatever they’re already doing.”

“I mean, you’re deliberately reading a book about boner jokes in the Bible, so maybe stop taking yourself so seriously.”

“I’m not a historian; I’m just a guy looking for excuses to write about donkey penises.”

And finally, something that I particularly appreciated is the utter lack of hesitation to name things for what they are. Whenever there are atrocities, sexual violence, supposed major happening with no historical evidence, or confusing instances where it's not clear at all what in the world is happening, Harrington always clearly calls them out.

To sum things up succinctly, Harrington has crafted a work that is thought provoking, incredibly informative, incredibly fair….all while discussing poop jokes, amongst other subjects. To say the least, I am impressed.

Was a bit wordy, so it wasn't as "fun" a read as I had hoped. Lot of information!

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.