WHY TRUST THE BIBLE?
Answers to Ten Tough Questions
By Amy Orr-Ewing
IVP. 176 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 789 741 650
There is much reason to celebrate this 2020 update of Amy Orr-Ewing’s 2005 book Why Trust the Bible?
The format remains the same: chapter titles are questions and the chapters themselves are wide-ranging discussions, explaining ideas and citing thinkers on both sides.
The questions tackled are: Isn’t everything open to interpretation? Can we know anything about history? Are the Biblical manuscripts reliable? Is their content reliable? Who decided what would be in the Bible? What about other religions’ holy books? Isn’t the Bible sexist? What about war in the Old Testament? Isn’t the Bible out of date about sex? How can I know?
Here are two tips for using this book well. First, see it not as a conversation closer, but a conversation starter. Don’t expect it to shut the mouths of atheists; use it to open your own ears and mouth when conversing. If you want a book that allows you to say ‘You’re wrong, here’s why!’, look elsewhere. If you want to be able to follow the arguments and ideas of your dialogue partners in order to reply to them, this is a wonderful book for you.
Second, don’t think of the author as the big gun to pull out when you need her. Think of the author as your role model. While Orr-Ewing is confidently Christian throughout, she is also brilliantly sympathetic to questioners and their questions. She has read and listened to the people with whom she disagrees as well as those with whom she agrees. Be like that. The ability to hold a real, respectful conversation might just recommend the gospel more than the snappy, unanswerable quip.
I recommend this book highly.
