Book Review: When the Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible
Difficulties
Authors: Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe
Year: First Edition 1992 by Baker Books
Pages: 600
ISBN
0-8010-1142-6
Dr. Norman
Geisler has written many apologetical books and is a well known scholar and an
apologist. He has a Ph.D. from Loyola University and is Dean of the
Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thomas Howe
is an expert in Biblical Languages at the same institution.
In the Preface, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe support
biblical inerrancy by stating that: "The Bible has withstood the
criticisms of the greatest skeptics, agnostics, and atheists down through the
centuries, and it is able to withstand the feeble efforts of unbelieving
critics today." The entire book is an endeavor to proves the same.
They have divided the exhaustive
600 page book into chapters, given to each book of the Bible. With over 800
plus questions, the book also has 3 indices for an immediate and effortless
reference. Complex passages or seemingly conflicting passages are discussed,
the problem defined, and a clarification given. In the opening chapter they
take the observation that the Bible is inerrant since scriptures state that the
word of God was given to men to record through inspiration and supervision by
the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when troubles come up with interpretation of
certain passages, the dilemma lies in context and interpretation, not that the
Word is flawed. They have dealt with every book in order, right from Genesis to
Revelation.
It offers
an excellent resource to counter objections that frequently float up when it
comes to alleged Bible inconsistency or fault. I thought the book was well laid
out and logical to follow in terms of presentation. I thought that many of the
explanations were ample, some were wonderful, a few others seemed to fall a bit
short.
While I may
not agree with all of the author's conclusions and at the same time many other
crucial and controversial passages are skipped. Although they have not covered
every single complicated passage with very thorough explanations, I have found
the authors' exegesis to be incredibly sound. They reflect on the vital aspects
to interpreting a passage, particularly the text's context and historical
circumstances. I do assert that this book is not meant to be an all-inclusive
overview of Bible difficulties.
However,
the language that is used is a very simple layman's style. If anyone is looking for a high-quality
reference book to counter seemingly biblical "contradictions" then
this is the book. I discover this book to be of incredible worth in
interpreting the scriptures.
At the
end I would highly endorse this book for all sorts of readers for couple reasons.
First, it’s an amazing book on Bible difficulties for learners and critics
both, which give answers to all the key questions, commonly raised. Second, it
can also be used as a companion to bible, as a quick commentary. Third, it will
also be a great support to strengthen spiritual life of any new believer. Fourth,
this is an excellent book on apologetics (basic) so this book will be a "must reading" for anyone
who even has a bit of interested in Christian apologetics.
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