Customer Reviews

When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Geisler/Howe provide a good resource to respond to the kind of objections that regularly surface when it comes to alleged Bible contradictions or errors. I thought the book was well laid out and logical to follow in terms of presentation. I thought that many of the explanations were adequate, some were exquisite, a few others seemed to fall a bit short. Overall, I think it's a book that can be repeatedly referred to for guidance, since objections to the inerrancy of Scripture are always swirling around even in the midst of sound and compelling rebuttals.

I did not give the book 5 stars for 2 reasons. First, I thought that some (not many) of the explanations offered were a little hollow. But as I'm typing this, I can only think of 2 instances where I thought this. Secondly, there were a few verses in Scripture that were not dealt with in the book that probably deserved to be addressed due to their controversial or non crystal clear meaning. But again, on the whole, I thought this book was pretty thorough both in the verses it analyzed, and in the analysis itself. Not perfect, but a good solid resource.

This is one of my favorite books of Bible difficulties (the other by Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties). Although they cannot possibly cover every single difficult passage with very detailed explanations, I have found the authors' exegesis to be very sound. They consider the important elements to interpreting a passage, especially the text's context and historical situation. Also, the biblical languages are utilized in a very simple layman's style. I have been very satisfied by their answers, and I rarely look up a difficult passage that was not included in this book. (Hint: Be ready to look at the other synoptic gospel accounts if the first passage is not listed.)

If you are looking for a good reference book to answer biblical "contradictions" or out-of-context prooftexts that supposedly support a very unbiblical position, then this is your book. If nothing more, Geisler and Howe give you some ideas of the proper interpretation, and then you can go look for more information if it's not satisfactory. Nobody ever said that being a Christian would ever be easy!

I've used this book to teach a seeker's bible study. Most people seem to really appreciate the honesty. The cumulative effect of looking up entries is to realize how bible difficulties arise. This is as valuable as any particular entry. Some difficulties are treated more in-depth than others. Some can be thoroughly dealt with in a short entry, others solutions can only be gestured at. This book is not meant to be the end-all-be-all of bible difficulties but it is a comprehensive overview of Bible difficulties. At first, the size of the book might be discouraging: this is a big book. However, it becomes encouraging when you see how-time and time again-there are simple solutions or natural explanations for the Bible difficulties, it's just that it takes longer to explain a solution than it does to raise a problem. This should go next to his _Encyclopedia of Aplogetics_, _General Introduction to the Bible_, and _When Skeptics Ask_ on your reference shelf.

In my humble opinion, Geisler has written an excellent book concerning honest question biblical critics have for Christians.

With over 800 questions, the book also has 3 indices for quick and easy reference: topical, Scriptural, and unorthodox doctrines. Thankfully, the questions are also organized by the Bible (starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation) instead of by the question.

While you may not agree with all of the author's conclusions, this does not merit the low rating of some "critics". Such people have nothing better to do than to slam Christian author such as Geisler who try to help others either know more about the Bible or to think more deeply about biblical issues. What an empy existence and life these people must have!

I have heard Geisler preach on occasion and have periodically referred to the book when preparing a Sunday School lesson. While I do not worship Geisler or other authors (and I believe they also do not encourage it!), I do appreciate their efforts to better explain the difficult issues mentioned in the Bible. While he does not claim to be the sole authority on the Bible, Geisler's book will certainly challenge you on what you do believe about the Bible.

Read and enjoy and be challenged!

Highly recommended!

A great book for Christians and non-Christians alike. The Bible is a popular target of criticisms especially alleged contradictions. Are there any intelligent Christian authors that can offer anything more than "ad hoc" responses to these accusations? Yes, and this is one of them. This book is a thick reference that answers many of these allegations in a fair and systematic way. Geisler is well-respected as a theologian, philosopher, and apologist. There is no need to read the whole book: just keep it on your shelf as a resource. It is organized by book of the Bible, so it is easy to navigate. I would also recommend the larger reference work, Hard Sayings of the Bible by Walter Kaiser.

I use this book every day as I read my daily scriptures or prepare Sunday School lessons.

It is easy to use because it it in Book-chapter-verse sequence.

Norman Geisler is very well respected in his field, enough said on him.

Regarding the negative reviews on Amazon.com they tend to fall in one of two categories:

1. There are those out there whose life ambition is to post negative reviews about Christian books they clearly have never read. Hmmmm... I wonder why.

2. Those that have read the book and take issue with it for their own reasons. I can't say that their reasons are valid or not but I will say that this book is no replacement doing your own homework. Of course no one should just take someone's word for anything. However, whether you agree or not it certainly gives a good starting off point.

It is worth the money at any price.

Norman Geisler has once again done a fantastic job of defending the Bible as the inerrant word of God. Although, this book will definetly not convince most skeptics (not surprising considering nothing usually does) nonetheless it is and excellent resource for laymen to well-seasoned apologists alike.
In a very systematic fashion Geisler simply treats nearly all of the supposed "contradictions" in a head-on shoot from the hip manner. And while he doesn't claim to have all the answers, he generally offers very plasible explanations for supposed Bible contradictions and mistakes.
If one has ever been attacked by skeptics(as I have)and wasn't quite prepared to "give an answer" as the Bible commands, this book will be right up your alley. In fact, one of the most uplifting aspects of this book is that it demonstrates the near desperate tactics that critics take to discount the Biblical text. Being somewhat of an analytical thinker myself I understand the natural tendency to downgrade the supernatural and uplift 'natural"' thinking. So it was no surprise to me to find that the vast majority of the so-called contradictions listed in this book could easily have been resolved with a little more critical reading of the text. However, as I so often find, skeptics will INTENTIONALLY see mistakes simply because they are looking for a reason to disbeleive. I encourage you, if you are seeking and somewhat skeptical, this book will offer explanations for some tough Biblical texts in the Bible. If you are a flat-out critic I hope this book will urge you to rethink some of your previous beleifs.
For the rest of this review, I would like to respond to a couple of the general negative arguments I have read concerning this book. First, it seems abundantly clear that most of the skeptics simply from the tone of their review have already decided in their minds that Geislers explanations are wrong and that the Bible cannot be trusted. This is called an axiom and it is perfectly okay to have an axiom. However, an axiom must always be corroborated with strong evidence if it is to be held onto in light of plain reason. It is utterly foolish for a reviewer or skeptic to blast Geisler for holding to Biblical inerrany as an "a priori" commitment when the skeptics does the same with naturalism. Although, few admit this, it is abundantly clear that most skeptics have concluded that naturalism is a correct philosphy and therfore the Bible is not completely true or inspired by God. This is a perfectly valid assumption. Notice however, that the key word is assumption. Naturalism cannot be proven, and neither can Biblical inerrancy. However, what one can do is start with an assumption and see what assumption be fits the evidence. I would argue that the Bible's explantion of past present and future makes more logical sense than any other worldview. (read works by Francis Shaeffer if you want to learn more about the superiority of the Christian worldview).
Second, what most skeptics have blasted in reviews is a TINY sampling of Geislers explanations which they have found to be the least satisfying. If those critics intimidate you from buying this book I urge you to reconsider. Most of these skeptics are making unsound generalizations because their sampling is far too small. If one reads this book with an open mind I am convinced that one will find nearly all of Geislers explanations satisfactory. Not to mention I beleive one will note the absurdity of most of the critics claims. Which brings me to another point. Simply because not every explanation Geisler offers seems legitimate is not a reason to reject Biblical inerrancy.
The Bible is a large book, that covers a vast period of history and we as modern day Americans are not anywhere near the cultural context of the ancient middle-east. Therefore, it would be fairly audacious to presume that we would not find any Biblical text that is somewhat confusing and may on the surface seem contradictory to other parts of the Bible. In fact, the opposite is true. We should expect to find a small amount of Biblical texts that are troubling. If we didn't that would be a good reason to suggest that the text was edited so that it would look more complete. And what do we find? We find a small amount of Biblical texts that are troubling. And while yes, Geisler has listed over 800 texts, as I stated previously if one reads the book, one will find that most of the supposed contradictions exist in the overly active imagination of the critic rather than in the text itself. If one examines the text with an open mind and legitmately tries to understand the nature of the context and literary genres a in which the authors of each book wrote. Most of the "contractictions" dissapear.
All in all, this book is fantastic and I would encourage any Christian or skeptic to buy it.
A son of the King,
Joe

Just one comment on the review above, titled "Too many assumptions...". I must admit that, as a person who believes that the bible is the inspired word of God, the comment about rabbits chewing their cud threw me a little. Why wouldn't God know that sort of thing? But after doing a little research on rabbits, I found the following tidbit:

"Rabbits are chiefly nocturnal, although they are sometimes seen in the daytime. They have acute senses of smell and hearing. They feed on a wide variety of vegetation and are responsible in many areas for the stunted nature of the ground cover. When feeding on green herbage, rabbits, like hares, excrete soft pellets which they reingest; the waste products of the redigested food are excreted as dry pellets."

So, if we are willing to accept that "chewing the cud" can be taken as reprocessing pre-digested food (cows do it by regurgitating, rabbits by excreting and reingesting), then maybe God was not as misinformed as we thought...

The book provides answers to many common questions and is written in easy-reading style, free from obtuse theological or philosophical vocabulary.

A definite must for the Christian's library... if you've always wondered about that passage, or had questions about troubling scriptures that no one seemed to be able to answer, this is the book that addresses them... the critics need to sit down & read this...