Book Review – Truth in a Culture of Doubt – Engaging Skeptical Challenges to the Bible by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, & Joshua Chatraw

Trust God & His Word

Truth In A Culture Of Doubt by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw

Synopsis:

All too often Christians, and even Christian leaders, don’t know how to deal with skeptical challenges of the Bible and the Christian faith. Few churches address the historical questions about the Bible and the theological questions concerning the God who, believers claim, has inspired the Bible. Too often Christian scholarship has been kept at arm’s length and even viewed with suspicion by the church. Speaking and writing in this kind of environment, Bart Ehrman—professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and author of four New York Times bestsellers—has found a captive audience. Ehrman’s popularity is due in large part to the fact that he is talking about things most people never learned about in church. Some have long given up on Christianity, and Ehrman is only reinforcing their decision to depart from their Christian upbringing. Others are trying to reconcile their faith with rational arguments and find Ehrman’s books both interesting and disturbing if not appealing.

Truth in a Culture of Doubt takes a closer look at the key arguments skeptical scholars such as Ehrman keep repeating in radio interviews, debates, and in his their popular writings. If you are looking for insightful responses to critical arguments from a biblical perspective, easily accessible and thoughtfully presented, this book is for you. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive response to Ehrman’s popular works. It is presented in such a way that readers can either read straight through the book or use it as a reference when particular questions arise. Responding to skeptical scholars such as Ehrman, Truth in a Culture of Doubt takes readers on a journey to explain topics such as the Bible’s origins, the copying of the Bible, alleged contradictions in Scripture, and the relationship between God and evil. Written for all serious students of Scripture, this book will enable you to know how to respond to a wide variety of critical arguments raised against the reliability of Scripture and the truthfulness of Christianity. (Taken from GoodReads page)

Review

“Truth In A Culture Of Doubt” by Andreas Köstenberger, Darrell Bock, and Josh Chatraw presents the case that one can trust God & His Word. It also deals with currently one of the most popular critics of the New Testament, Bart Ehrman. Having read some of Ehrman’s writing, watching his lectures, and listening to his debates, I agree with the authors of the book that Ehrman’s reputation is well earned. There is a reason he has become popular with the general public especially in this day of scoff at Christianity rising.

What this book does is takes the major works of Ehrman. pull out some of the main topics in each, and addresses/answers them. What the authors do is hit Ehrman from a four-fold approach of a presuppositional standpoint. They look at Ehrman’s presuppositions (and find them self-refuting or inconsistent); they look at the evidence from a historical point of view (and find that Ehrman lacks a lot of understanding in the field of study). They look at the claims from a logical standpoint (and show that Ehrman does not show the care that he should on major points that undercut his claims or are just wrong), and they look at the moral claims made by Ehrman (and find that they too don’t hold up in Ehrman’s own worldview).

This book is a great one-stop-shop for those looking for 1) a book addressing all the major claims of Bart Ehrman and 2) looking at a good primer on a lot of great areas of study that promote a high view of Scripture and confidence in the Word of God. The section of textual criticism, for instance, was easy to understand but didn’t glance too shallow as not make a good case against Ehrman. It’s also not too difficult for those who haven’t heard much about the topic.

The book offers a great study that many, MANY in the church would benefit from learning about. If they did, people like Ehrman (and really the current weak state of the church today) would disappear and the witness of Jesus Christ as seen in His Church would render even more glory to God’s Kingdom.

Final Grade