Bock

Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture

I do not often note books to which I have contributed on this blog, but this work is an exception. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (Edited by James Hoffmeier and Dennis Magary) explores issues tied to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. This series of essays covers an array of issues from the Old and New Testaments.

I do not often note books to which I have contributed on this blog, but this work is an exception. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (Edited by James Hoffmeier and Dennis Magary) explores issues tied to the authority and inspiration of Scripture. This series of essays covers an array of issues from the Old and New Testaments.

Issues tied to the Pentateuch, Genesis 1, the religion of Israel, the authorship of Isaiah, prophecy, issues of accuracy in the New Testament, the authorship of the Pastorals are all topics of focused discussion. And there is much more than this.

The essays address questions that are often raised in ways that challenge the accuracy of Scripture. Here is how Crossway describes the book:

Is historical accuracy an indispensable part of the Bible’s storyline, or is Scripture only concerned with theological truths? As progressive evangelicals threaten to reduce the Bible’s jurisdiction by undermining its historical claims, every Christian who cares about the integrity of Scripture must be prepared to answer this question.

Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? offers a firm defense of Scripture’s legitimacy and the theological implications of modern and postmodern approaches that teach otherwise. In this timely and timeless collection of essays, scholars from diverse areas of expertise lend strong arguments in support of the doctrine of inerrancy. Contributors explore how the specific challenges of history, authenticity, and authority are answered in the text of the Old and New Testaments as well as how the Bible is corroborated by philosophy and archaeology.

With contributions from respected scholars—including Allan Millard, Craig Blomberg, Graham Cole, Michael Haykin, Robert Yarbrough, and Darrell Bock—Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? arms Christians with fresh insight, arguments, and language with which to defend Scripture’s historical accuracy against a culture and academy skeptical of those claims.

In sum, I would say that if you run into challenges to Scripture, this book is an excellent resource for many of those questions.
 
Let me know what you think.

3 Comments

  • Scott Cunningham

    preview Darrell’s contribution

     

    Darrell's contribution is: "Precision and Accuracy: Making Distinctions in the Cultural Context that Give Us Pause in Pitting the Gospels against Each Other."

    For those that want a preview of Darrell's essay, you can take a peek here: http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Matters-Matter-Faith-Postmodern/dp/1433525712

    Very impressive TOC, Darrell.

    Writing here on Palm Sunday, provides a great backdrop for discussing matters of faith and history.  Can we dispense with the crucifixion of Jesus in space and time, and still maintain the essence of what God is doing in bringing the world to Himself?  I think not.

  • JasonS

    Progressive?

    Why is it that we call liberals progressive? I've long wondered about that, because they're not taking us forward in a good direction.

  • Darrell L. Bock

    Progressive?

    Not sure I know the answer to that one. It may have to do with how they advanced us on certain social issues in the 19th and 20th centuries (some of which we all appreciate today- like race, child labor laws, and the woman's right to vote ).