The best book to read is…

THE BIBLE THROUGHOUT THE AGES:
Its Nature, Interpretation and Relevance for Today.
Editors: Lydia Jaeger and Craig G. Bartholomew
Zondervan Academic. 332 pages. £30
ISBN 978 0 310 139 232

‘What one thinks about the nature of the Bible decisively influences the way one reads it.’ Kevin Vanhoozer

The Bible Throughout the Ages is in three sections:

1. The Bible as Revelation
2. The Bible and its Interpretation
3. The Bible in the Contemporary World.

Section 1 explores the trustworthiness of the Bible in a comprehensive and nuanced way. I especially appreciated the elegant treatment of inerrancy by the French theologian Henri Blocher, in which he forensically examines what inerrancy means and does not mean. This section also includes a helpful reminder by Henk van den Belt of the role of the Holy Spirit and the human heart in reading Scripture well.

Section 2 deals with the vital role of hermeneutics in the interpretation of Scripture. Increasingly I find that everything is about hermeneutics. It is a particular treat to read Anthony Thiselton’s remarkable compression of his vast and varied output on hermeneutics into a helpful overview of the subject. This section also includes chapters on Jewish Biblical interpretation and an interesting chapter comparing and contrasting how Augustine and Aquinas read Scripture.

Section 3 looks at how Scripture is read now. What is useful here is the exploration of how Scripture is read through the lenses of the global church. In this section is perhaps what is one of the standout chapters in the book: ‘The Bible and Modern Literature’ by Karen Swallow Prior. Her comparison of the use of the Bible in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is a very helpful way of showing the complementary roles of pre-critical and post- critical reading of Scripture. It is particularly useful to see how Prior sees this as part of the birth and development of the novel.

For anyone wanting a comprehensive and generally readable summary of the crucial place of the Bible in the church, The Bible Throughout the Ages will provide confidence in this sacred book and windows on how to read Scripture with faithful imagination.

Another helpful resource is the fascinating volume:

THE BIBLE:
A Global History
By Bruce Gordon
Basic Books. 514 pages. £30
ISBN 978 1 529 383 447

This comprehensive account of the origins, transmission and impact of the

Bible is a very good read. It is a book of sparkling narrative, studded with facts that will inform, sometimes surprise and will inevitably lead readers to appreciate the great gift we have in the Bible.

Anyone who has done some reading about the Bible will be familiar with some of this narrative, but this book will helpfully fill in many gaps in knowledge. Chapters that did that for me were those on the Bible in relation to science and reason, missions worldwide, issues of translation in China, Africa, and Pentecostalism.