Recent evangelical dialogue has focused heavily on the relationship of history to the Bible. Specifically, many have asked is it necessary that reliable historical account underlie the testimony of Scripture? Or, is historical accuracy a secondary, perhaps unnecessarily burdensome, requirement to ask of the Bible in light of its clear theological aims?
In Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture several preeminent historians and biblical scholars answer this question definitively. They argue that the Bible’s historical accounts are trustworthy, and that traditional evangelical faith requires them to be so in order to maintain orthodoxy.
Nevertheless, rather than rehearsing old arguments the contributors to this volume produce fresh and robust arguments that address the necessity of accurate history in the Bible per its authority and attempt to establish such necessity in specific Scriptural narratives. This book is required reading for anyone interested in the methodologies feeding the current discussion and the contents of arguments on specific passages.
Read the Preface & the first essay by Thomas H. McCall Religious Epistemology, Theological Interpretation of Scripture,
and Critical Biblical Scholarship: A Theologian’s Reflections
In addition to a distinguished team of contributors that includes:
- Richard S. Hess
- Eckhard J. Schnabel
- Allan Millard
- Craig Blomberg
- Graham Cole
- Michael Haykin
- Robert Yarbrough
- Darrell Bock
- Willem A. Vangemeren
the editorial leadership of this book is provided by two highly internationally recognized historians:
- James K. Hoffmeier
- Dennis R. Magary
Those blessed with an eBook device of whatever sort might also take a look at the eBook edition. Crossway, as always, has priced it aggressively at $9.59; a hefty discount off the print edition which lists for $35.00, and which CBD sells for $22.49.
Some Endorsements
To the credit of its editors and authors, this book is not so much a reaction to the recent statements of Peter Enns and Kenton Sparks on biblical inerrancy, which called it forth, but an apologetic response to their works. To that effect, it is not a monument to the doctrine, but rather an advancement of its method and intent.”
-C. Hassell Bullock,
Franklin S. Dyrness Professor of Biblical Studies Emeritus,
Wheaton College
This is a timely work, both in the sense that it addresses an emerging issue—a loss of confidence in the historicity of the Bible—and in the sense that its authors are conversant in the current state of the debate. The topics discussed include all the essentials: the foundational theological issues, the major source-critical and historical-critical questions, and matters arising from archaeology. This book will be a valuable resource for both scholars and students.
-Duane A. Garrett,
Professor of Old Testament,
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
This is a book that has been sorely needed. The Bible has long been under attack from those outside evangelical faith, and now more recently from those supposedly inside. Here in one volume the questions are addressed in a comprehensive way, including theological, historical-critical, and archaeological issues. Written with an irenic tone—and yet confronting the questions directly—this book will surely take a prominent place on the shelves of all those who love the Bible and look for solid answers to give to its detractors. The editors are to be commended for bringing the book to fruition and for their breadth of vision in organizing it.
-John Oswalt,
Distinguished Professor of Old Testament,
Asbury Theological Seminary
Standing athwart the tide of strident voices currently demanding that we abandon confidence in the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible, the chapters in this volume constitute a defense of historic Christian confessionalism on the nature of Scripture. Mercifully, however, they are not mere regurgitations of past positions. Rather, they are informed, competent, and sometimes creative contributions that urgently deserve the widest circulation. In months and years to come, I shall repeatedly refer students and pastors to this collection.
-D. A. Carson,
Research Professor of New Testament,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Tags: Dennis R. Magary, Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?, James K. Hoffmeier
