Is the Bible Intolerant?
by Amy Orr-Ewing, IVP Books, 2005, ISBN 0-8308-3351-1, paperback, 142 pages

One of the brighter lights in apologetics today is Ravi Zacharias. Dr. Zacharias has enormous academic credentials himself, and he has gathered people to work with him in his organization who also have excellent credentials. (For more information on his ministry, see rzim.org or zactrust.org on the web.)

Amy Orr-Ewing is an Oxford-educated member of the Zacharias team who writes and speaks on apologetic issues. This book is primarily a response to challenges that atheists make to the Bible. The chapter headings really do a wonderful job of telling what Ms. Orr-Ewing deals with. They are:

1. Isn't It All a Matter of Interpretation?

2. Can We Know Anything About History?

3. Are the Biblical Manuscripts Reliable?

4. Is the Content of the Manuscripts Reliable?

5. What About the Canon?

6. What About the Other Holy Books?

7. Isn't the Bible Sexist?

8. What About All the Wars?

9. Isn't the Bible Out of Date on Sex?

10. How Can I Know?

There is some unique information in this book. The sections on history are interesting because they show how history as we see it can be faked and altered by the historians. The subject of canonicity is a good summary and, since a woman wrote it, the discussion of sex and sexism in the Bible is especially helpful.

This is an up-to-date book which addresses postmodernism and biblical minimalism. We recommend it highly.


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