In light of Primer Issue 01’s focus on the doctrine of Scripture, here’s an annotated list
of recent books on the Bible, from the basic to the more stretching.
Primer itself is written for pastors. The first four of these books would be great to give
to anyone interested, the first couple are especially suited to read and give
away, the third and fourth great to recommend to believers. The last three would
be a great help for pastors to dig deeper…
Andrew Wilson. Unbreakable: What the Son of God
Said About the Word of God. 10Publishing, 2014. (78 pages)
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A nice
compact version of the argument John Wenham made years ago (see his Christ
and the Bible): the best way for Christians to know how they should treat
the Bible is to see how Jesus treated his Scriptures. Admirably draws out quite
a full doctrine of Scripture from Jesus’ teaching: the Bible is clear,
authoritative, coherent, sufficient and so on.
Barry Cooper. Can I Really Trust the Bible?
The Good Book Company, 2014.
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Similar
length to Andrew’s (81 pages), but broader in scope. Starts where Andrew does
with Jesus’ view of Scripture, and branches out to look at questions around the
formation of the canon, the transmission of Scripture etc. Lots of fantastic little
asides on questions people ask/objections they raise.
Kevin DeYoung. Taking God at His Word.
Nottingham: IVP, 2014.
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Like Andrew,
Kevin works through the attributes of Scripture: it is authoritative, sufficient,
clear. The differences are: this one is more in depth (138 pages) and aims to
see what the whole Bible says about the Bible, rather than simply what Jesus says
about the Bible. Less suitable for non-Christians, ideal for Christians who
enjoy a read.
Michael Ovey and Daniel Strange. Confident: Why
We Can Trust the Bible. Christian Focus Publications, 2015.
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A book
of two halves: The first half (Dan) has some very helpful reflections and ideas
on how to make an authoritative Bible plausible and appealing in a sceptical culture.
The second half (Mike) carefully meditates on the Gospels and what they reveal both
about God’s word and about human nature and our posture towards Scripture. That
is, if Andrew shows us what Jesus says about the Bible, Mike adds in what Jesus says
about us. The result is that we are rightly encouraged to be more
self-suspicious and humble before God’s word.
Ward, Timothy. Words of Life: Scripture as the
Living and Active Word of God. Nottingham: IVP, 2009 (186 pages).
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Tim’s
book gets round to the attributes of Scripture (ch3) but starts by thinking
about the foundational role God’s word plays in salvation history (ch1) and by arguing
that the Bible is best seen as God at work, it is his speech-act (ch2).
The pay-off is that the attributes of Scripture become inevitable: God’s
word is true, coherent, authoritative and clear because God doesn’t lie
or contradict himself but is the sovereign Lord who communicates perfectly.
Frame, John M. The Doctrine of the Word of God.
Phillipsburg, N.J: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2010.
- Kevin de
Young describes this as beginner level (unusual for a book that is 684 pages
long!). Mike and Dan put it in the advanced category. They’re both right in a
way. Frame writes beautifully clear books, but the size and some of the detail and
quirks are more stretching, so it’s probably somewhere in the middle along with
Tim Ward. Comprehensive and
comprehendable. Definitely one for the pastors shelf.
Coming soon:
Don Carson ed., The Enduring Authority of the
Scriptures. (1256 pages)
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Take John
Frame, double it, and you have this book, coming out in April 2016.
According to the blurb: In
this volume thirty-seven first-rate evangelical scholars present a thorough
study of biblical authority and a full range of issues connected to it. Recognizing
that Scripture and its authority are now being both challenged and defended
with renewed vigor, editor D. A. Carson assigned the topics that these select
scholars address in the book. After an introduction by Carson to the many
facets of the current discussion, the contributors present robust essays on
relevant historical, biblical, theological, philosophical, epistemological, and
comparative-religions topics. To conclude, Carson answers a number of
frequently asked questions about the nature of Scripture, cross-referencing
these FAQs to the preceding chapters.
You can browse much of the book here. The FAQ, starting at page 1157(!), looks terrific.