★★★★★ 5
An excellent, if brief introductory survey of the defense of the reliability of Scripture!
Format: Kindle
“How can you trust the Bible? Didn’t you know there are 400,000 disagreements between all the different copies of the New Testament alone, while there are only 110,000 words in it?”
“The Bible contradicts itself, so it can’t be the Word of God.”
“Church leaders picked and chose what went into the Bible, leaving out books and letters they didn’t agree with, so how can you trust what it teaches?”
“Even the different versions of the Bible disagree with one another, so how can it be reliable?”
“Jesus is more myth than historical figure, cobbled together from a bunch of ancient sources and religions. He’s made up, so can’t be a real savior.”
Skeptical claims like these, and plenty others, are leveled against the Bible ALL. THE. TIME. On social media, in popular media, and in documentaries purporting to give the straight dope about the history surrounding the Word of God. We should not be surprised. After all, the enemies of God hate Him, and hate His Word. However, many Christians lack the ability to refute these claims. Many of us merely shout “nuh uh,” all the while wondering if there really are answers to these claims.
There are answers to these claims, Christian. There is an entire field of study, namely apologetics, which provides a defense of the faith. “Why I Trust the Bible” is a one-stop-shop of introductions to several topics which comprise much of the field of apologetics these days:
- The Historical Jesus
- Contradictions in the Bible
- How We Got the Canon (list of books in the Bible)
- Textual Criticism (making sense of textual discrepancies or variants)
- How Translation Happens
- The Supposed Contradiction of the Old Testament
In “Why I Trust the Bible” Dr. Mounce, renowned Greek language scholar, explains why he trusts the Bible, and why you should too.
As a layperson who has done a lot of study in these areas, I found the this book a great introductory survey of these topics, with a great set of footnotes and bibliography for further reading. Most skeptics tossing out the objections covered are merely repeating talking points, and this book will be more than enough to equip you to answer them. “Why I Trust the Bible” is a great introduction to all of these subjects and can provide a great foundation for further study into any and all of them.
If you have studied any of these subjects in greater depth, you may find Mounce’s treatment of them entirely too brief, but for someone who is new to apologetics and specifically the reliability of the Bible, this book is an excellent choice!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2021