Customer Reviews

Is the Bible Intolerant? Sexist? Oppressive? Homophobic? Outdated? Irrelevant?

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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The Bible has long been the world's best-selling book. While it does not appear on the bestseller lists, year after year, generation after generation, it continues to sell more copies than any other book. While the Bible continues to sell, it does not appear that many more people are reading it now than in previous generations. Rather, knowledge of the Bible is reaching what is surely the lowest point since the years following the Reformation when it first became widely available. Even many who profess to be Christians know the Bible only moderately better than their unbelieving friends and neighbors.

Within our society there is a growing belief that the Bible is a book of intolerance. People regard the Bible as a book of moral lessons that are relevant only within particular situations and often fixed within a particular cultural context. The Bible is regarded as a book that is increasingly irrelevant.

It is with this mindset in view that Amy Orr-Ewing wrote Is The Bible Intolerant?. The cover of the book asks, "Is the Bible intolerant? Sexist? Oppressive? Homophobic? Outdated? Irrelevant?" These are all charges that almost any Christian has heard leveled against Scripture at one time or another. Orr-Ewing is convinced that these are legitimate questions and that a Christian should not be afraid to search the Bible and to seek out answers that will satisfy. "That is what this book is all about...I have taken the ten questions about the Bible that have been asked most frequently in my experience and have attempted to look for some answers" (12).

Is The Bible Intolerant? begins with an examination of our cultural context which goes so far as to deny that we can know what happened in history and which scoffs at our ability to know and understand the Scriptures. From there the author moves to particular issues regarding the manuscripts of the Bible and criteria for canonicity. The last few chapters deal with particular issues that cause unbelievers and skeptics to struggle with Christianity. The questions the author addresses are as follows: Isn't it all a matter of interpretation?; Can we know anything about history?; Are the biblical manuscripts reliable?; What about the canon?; What about the other holy books?; Isn't the Bible sexist?; What about all the wars?; Isn't the Bible out of date on sex?; How can I know?.

This book is an intellectually-stimulating (and intellectually-satisfying) examination of each of these ten questions. It is easy to see the influence of the thought and ministry of Dr. Ravi Zacharias within this book and, in fact, Orr-Ewing oversees the apologetics training program for the Zacharias Trust. The one unfortunate exception is the chapter dealing with sexism. While the other chapters are all quite consistent with Scripture, this one bypasses the clear teaching of the Bible regarding the role of women in ministry and makes the common error of arguing from the lesser to the greater. While paying only scant attention to Paul's teaching in the epistles, she focuses on Priscilla, Phoebe and Junias, attempting to prove from these examples that women had equal spiritual leadership in the church as men. Having examined the role of various women in the New Testament, she concludes "The apostle Paul, who is often demonized as being sexist, in fact freely ministered alongside women, and the two passages in his writings which are sometimes taken as a blanket denial of female ministry need to be seen in this broader perspective" (93). While Christians should not discount the fact that Paul did minister alongside women, it is important that we begin with what Scripture teaches plainly and allow this to shape and form our perspective. I was disappointed to see the author tacitly suggest that people suggest that Paul teaches "a blanket denial of female ministry" as this is, in my experience, simply not true. Most Christians affirm that there are many avenues of ministry open to women. The author should have clarified that the issue is not ministry in general, but those specific ministries that would require a woman to teach and exercise authority over a man.

Orr-Ewing is not completely clear in suggesting the intended audience for her book. Still, it seems that she is hoping that this book will be read by skeptics, for she concludes with a heartfelt plea that the reader will hear God's voice and open the door to Him (Revelation 3:20). And so I was faced with the question of whether or not I would hand this book to an unbelieving friend. Based on nine of the chapters I would gladly do so. Unfortunately, the chapter on sexism is so poor that I would hesitate to recommend the book since doing so would require a caveat that might only add to the confusion of one who was seeking to know more about Scripture. And it is a shame, for apart from that significant mis-step, this is a good book. It is one that may prove beneficial to a discerning believer, but I would not recommend it for wider use than that.

The past few centuries of criticizing the Bible has resulted in a culture that generally mistrusts the authenticity and authority of the Bible. Even many Christians are willing to accept that the Bible contains errors. This mistrust is often a stumbling block in evangelism since the Gospel depends on the Bible being God's inspired Word. In Is the Bible Intolerant? apologist Amy Orr-Ewing tackles the ten most common objections to the Bible.

Mrs. Orr-Ewing begins with the most postmodern objection- "Isn't it all a matter of interpretation?" She analyzes contemporary language (mostly through Foucault) and describes reader responsibility through proper interpretation. The next challenge addressed is similar- whether history is something we create or something we learn.

These two issues set the foundation for directly addressing the Bible. Mrs. Orr-Ewing looks at whether the biblical manuscripts are reliable, whether their content is reliable, why we hold only to the traditional 66 books of the Bible, and how the Bible compares to the scriptures of Islam and Hinduism. She also looks at the Bible's view of women, war, and sex. The final chapter asks the question: "How can I know?" After sharing her testimony, she explains that we can know Jesus because God has revealed Him to us.

There are a couple of points that detract from this otherwise great book. One is that readers unfamiliar with the philosophic discussion of postmodernism will likely not easily grasp some of the points in the first chapter on matters of language. Apart from the section, though, the book is incredibly beginner friendly. The other point is that in her discussion on the Bible's view of women, Amy Orr-Ewing offers some less than accurate portrayals of the biblical data and contemporary views of it. For example, she states "God is predominantly spoken of with male imagery."(97) This is a real understatement since the Bible describes God with more than just male imagery; it describes Him with male language almost universally.

These points are small exceptions to a book that does an excellent job introducing readers to a variety of issues while providing helpful answers to difficult questions. Weighing in at only 127 pages, Is the Bible Intolerant? should be the first choice for those seeking quick answers about challenges against the Bible.

This book answers the basic questions from a very intellectual and logical perspective. Ewing presents her case, defends it, and then leaves you thinking on a deeper level. Every college student should read this before engaging in any debate over his/her faith. This book even touched on some issues we talked about at my liberal arts class, exactly addressing them where I needed. This was a godsend.

Well balanced, thoughtful and well argued. It is a very straightforward apologetic in defense of the Bible being God's word.

The author does a very good job at presenting scholarly and insightful material in a way that can be used in daily conversations with folks who have objections about Christianity.

This book is a wonderful and easy to read resource that counters many of the slogans used to deny the truth claims of Christianity or the Bible. Often your garden-variety skeptic will say things like, "the Bible has been changed so many times we can't trust what we have," or, "more people have died because of religion than any other reason," and use such good-sounding slogans to ward off any serious argument. Orr-Ewing's book does a masterful job of dealing with such claims head-on, and in this way it makes a great read for both Christians and skeptics.



There is more to the book than just anti-sloganeering. Orr-Ewing also deals well in the realms of comparative religions--being especially well versed with Islam and the Qur'an--biblical criticism, and philosophy. For example, the author does a wonderful job of addressing the criticism that Scripture is homophobic. While noting the values inherent in such a charge, she speaks well to the biblical witness on human sexuality. She notes that the biblical view is far from culturally conditioned. The surrounding cultures in the times represented by both the Old and New Testaments were very open with their homosexual, and other sexual, practices. Both Testaments represent a very counter-cultural view for their times, and it just happens to be the case that the biblical view on human sexuality is again deeply counter-cultural. There was nothing culturally conditioned about its view when it was written, and there is no good reason for its view to be altered now that it is again.



This is one of those wonderful books written by a serious theologian that addresses several pertinent issues in a manner accessible to most every reader. I highly recommend this book to any skeptic honestly seeking answers to their questions and to Christians looking for a solid apologetic resource.

This book covers a lot of ground in few pages, but in the end seems to pick and choose the evidence to support the authors foregone conclusion. One gets the distinct feeling that Amy Orr-Ewing did her research soley to prove what she believed already. While she does a decent job of explaining the relative accuracy of the manuscripts, she fails to give those who don't already believe it a reason to believe that the Bible is the Word of God revealed.

I found the first chapter focussing on postmodernism to be irrelevant to the rest of what she was saying, and I believe that it could have been left out altogether.

Her misuse of studies on homosexuality, specifically those of Dr. Robert Spitzer make me wonder what else was misused if I had the time to research.

Despite all of this, the book wasn't horrible, and thus the two stars. It was a quick read and gave a good overview of the arguments Christian apologists use to convince other Christians that their faith is true.