Is the Bible the Word of God?
An Essay on the Authority of the Bible
- Apologetics
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2025
FritzSearch.com earns a commission on purchases made through Bookshop.org links.
Publisher's Description
Are there any good reasons to regard the Bible as authoritative, as divinely inspired, and/or as a revelation from God? This book provides a thoughtful discussion of the difficulties in establishing that the Bible is a divinely authorized collection of writings. Recent philosophical contributions by Alvin Plantinga, Richard Swinburne, William Abraham, and Edwin Curley receive special attention. Do problematic moral passages in the Bible undermine any attempt to show that it is a revelation from God? For example, what about the divine command to exterminate the Canaanites? Or the divine command that Abraham sacrifice his son Isaac? In addition, what about apparent factual errors in the Bible? Can the Bible be divinely authorized if it contains errors? A case for the authority of the Bible is proposed and defended, while well-known difficulties are tackled head-on.
Endorsements (4)
“Christians believe the Scriptures to be authoritative. But what would justify this belief, especially if the Scriptures themselves contain numerous errors and morally problematic views? In this wonderfully accessible yet sophisticated book, Steve Layman addresses this question head-on: the Scripture’s authority is grounded in Christ’s authority. The discussion both stimulates and sparkles. I am so impressed by how much it accomplishes in so few pages.”
“What exactly do we mean when we claim that the Bible is divinely inspired and why do we believe it truly is the word of God? In this superb study, Steve Layman carefully examines all the major views. I have never read a discussion as clear and philosophically informed. No matter what your position, you will achieve new clarity and depth if you read this excellent book by a first-rate Christian philosopher.”
“Despite the unquestionable import of Christianity’s commitment to the authoritative status of the Bible, perhaps few everyday Christians are familiar with the arguments for and against assigning it this status. In Is the Bible the Word of God?, Layman addresses this deficit by carefully reproducing, in his characteristically lucid prose, the key tenets of the debate in a way that is simultaneously illuminating and accessible.”
“What does it mean when Christians call the Bible the word of God? Given the many troubling passages in the Bible (such as commands to murder innocent people, prophecies that remain unfulfilled, and passages that seem to conflict with other passages), how can it make sense to claim that a good God stands behind such passages? Further, how does that claim fit with the statement in the Gospel of John that Jesus is the Word of God? Layman squarely faces many of the problems Christians face in calling the Bible the word of God, while also calling attention to the moral beauty of many biblical teachings. In the end, Layman argues that the Bible is generally reliable and that we should interpret the Bible according to the principles of love and justice. If you want to confront some of the toughest questions at the heart of Christian belief in the Bible, led by a thoughtful guide, then this book is for you.”
See something wrong on this page? Report a problem