Can We Trust the Old Testament?

by William Neil

Book Overview

From the text:This book is a companion volume to John Robinson's paperback called 'Can We Trust the New Testament' published in 1977. It would be surprising if the first reaction of the average... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816404356
• ISBN13: 9780816404353
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: The Seabury Press
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Meaning of the Bible

My title isn't meant as an overstatement of Neil's work or a presumption on my part, but an assessment of the book's point: getting to the heart of what the Bible is trying to say in its meaning. That doesn't mean that Neil is trying to outline every detail, but he is trying to provide the arch of the Bible's significance. It's a short work, and actually reminds me of N.T. Wright's "The Last Word" (which I also have a review of). Even though this book focuses on the OT, the last three chapters (which were printed in a collection of essays on the NT) tie together the Bible as a whole. Neil's goal is to set aside the literalist views of the Bible which try to read it one dimensionally. He stresses that we must read the Bible not as an infallible historical document, but as a theological document. Neil fully accepts the critical research of the past century (I don't mean that he isn't discerning), and feels that rather than destroying faith, it should be used as a means to bolster faith in the things that matter: the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the *meaning* of faith for those who wrote the books of the Bible, etc. The last three chapters are *especially* good and revealing. He succintly captured the struggle and solutions of issues that I have been wrestling with personally. I gave it four stars because the book assumes too much for an uninitiated reader. The simplicity and brevity suggests that it was written as an introduction; for the average Christian who holds to the infallibility of the Bible (and is basically unaware of critical viewpoints), this book would be a shock. I was also disapointed in the publishing quality (at least the edition I have). Internally, there are several typos in the text; externally, the jacket provides practically no context for this book: no details on who Dr. Neil is and no provenance for its occassion. However, I bought it at a used book store, and I think I got one of those cheap reprint editions (like the kind you can get at Barnes and Nobles).