Is the Bible Intolerant?

Amy Orr-Ewing (InterVarsity Press, 143 pp., paperback)

Has someone ever questioned you about your belief in the Bible and its reliability? Amy Orr-Ewing had that experience, only it wasn’t from her acquaintances; it was from her theology professors at Oxford. They weren’t simply checking her biblical knowledge; they were challenging her faith. But she stood firm in her faith and her belief in the inspiration of Scripture. Orr-Ewing is currently the training director for RZIM Zacharias Trust.

Over the years many people have asked Orr-Ewing questions about the Bible. She believes, “A conviction that the Bible must be wrong, held by those at the highest level of academic excellence, seems, in turn, to have been embraced at a popular level by many people who have barely glanced at the Bible but who feel sure that it is not to be trusted.”

Much of Orr-Ewing’s book deals with the reliability of the biblical manuscripts. The author clearly explains why we can have full confidence because of the way today’s Bible has come to us. The sheer number of manuscript copies available today compared with the number of manuscripts from other ancient writings is amazing. That fact alone has provided scholars with a plethora of opportunities for manuscript comparisons.

Concerning these biblical manuscripts, she answers the question: Has the Bible been changed in transmission? Many people have pointed to the variants in the available manuscripts as a sign of textual corruption. But Orr-Ewing effectively refutes that argument.

The author also deals with other topics concerning the Bible: What about all the wars in the Bible? What about the holy books from other religions? Isn’t the Bible out of date on sex?

In the concluding chapter, Orr-Ewing rightly states, “This is where we come to the heart of the matter: God is a real, personal being, revealed to us in the person of Christ. Whatever questions or arguments we may have, in the end it all comes down to whether this is the case. Is Jesus real? Can I know Him? Can He really deliver me from my own sin?”

This book is a valuable resource for teaching believers about the inerrancy and reliability of Scripture. It needs to be in every Christian’s library.

Reviewed by Richard L. Schoonover, associate editor, Enrichment journal, Springfield, Missouri.