THE BIBLE
God’s Inerrant Word
By Derek W. H. Thomas
Banner of Truth. 118 pages. £5.00
ISBN 978 1 848 718 128
This little book is an early contribution to Banner’s new mini-guides series, which aim to be short, accessible introductions to key areas of Christian life and teaching for new believers, and helpful summaries for more mature Christians.
Derek Thomas has been impressively comprehensive in covering the doctrine of Scripture – every key area of the doctrine gets a look-in: progressive revelation, plenary inspiration, divine and human authorship, the role of the Spirit, the canon, inerrancy, perspicuity, interpretation… ending helpfully on the application of Scripture. There are many good, simple explanations of aspects of the doctrine – the chapter on the perspicuity (clarity) of Scripture standing out.
Perhaps a bit too mini
That said, the attempt at comprehensiveness is the book’s main weakness. In attempting to mention everything in 100 pages, very little is said about anything. Less would have been more in this case – particularly if the new believer is in mind, who will need time to have the many concepts explained and applied. Too much baggage further clogs the text – how many new believers are acquainted with the New Perspective on Paul or will understand positional sanctification from the three-sentence mention it receives? Terms are only minimally explained – ‘compatibilist’ (referring to an understanding of divine sovereignty and human freedom) is simply used without any explanation whatsoever. To try and cram so much into the book makes it feel rushed, to the extent that once or twice I found myself not clear what the point of a quotation was, as it is simply cited.
The introduction mentions the possibility of using it for an adult Bible class. This would probably be the best context to consider using this book – where someone is on hand to answer questions that the book rushes past.
