A Book Review: Can I Really Trust the Bible?

I found Can I Really Trust the Bible? by Barry Cooper to be a helpful little book.  Its purpose is to explore questions concerning the authenticity and reliability of Scripture.

Cooper uses a helpful outline derived from the experiences of the great Bible scholar Whinnie-the-Pooh.

It had HUNNY written on it, but, just to make sure, he took off the paper cover and looked at it, and it looked just like honey.  "But you never can tell," said Pooh.  "I remember my uncle saying once that he had seen cheese just this colour."  So he put his tongue in, and took a large lick.  "Yes," he said, "it is.  No doubt about that."

Cooper then asks three questions: 

1. Does the Bible claim to be God's Word?

2. Does the Bible seem to be God's Word?

3. Does the Bible prove to be God's Word?

This approach takes the reader on a journey to discover first what the Bible says about itself.  The author then seeks to determine what the external evidence says about the Bible.  Finally, the call from Cooper is for the reader to taste and see that the Bible truly is the Word of God.  This tasting and seeing only happens as we commit ourselves to knowing God through His Word.

The work is far from technical, but it is also faithful to deal with the difficult questions related to the subject matter.  Cooper does a good job of maintaining a conversational tone throughout the book that will make this work a good primer for anyone initially interested in considering the authenticity of the Scriptures.  I will like recommend this book to others in the future.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this review as a part of the Cross-focused reviews program.