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.

My Heavenly Daddy

I haven't blogged in a while, but a trip to the beach is always good for some blogging inspiration.

Matthew 7:7-11 says…

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"

When my son Hudson was born on November 28, 2012, I began to think about my relationship with God as my Father in a deeper way.  As Hudson grows older and my relationship with him develops further, I feel that I am continually growing in my understanding of my heavenly Father.  My trip to the beach last week was no different.

I had a great time playing with Hudson on the beach.  He loved every minute of it.  He ran from the ocean to the dunes and back to the ocean again.  He chased seagulls and dug in the sand, exploring all that there was to see.

As he ran and played though, I was reminded afresh of how much he needs his daddy.  He does not know that he cannot just run into the ocean with reckless abandon.  The boy has no fear!  As the waves crashed against his little legs and the sand shifted under his small feet, he needed his daddy to help him stand and not fall.

I was reminded that I need my heavenly daddy.  As the waves of life crash against me, I must cling to my Father in heaven through the indwelling Holy Spirit and the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible study.

Romans 8:15-17 says…

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

What a privilege it is to not only call the God of the universe my Creator and my God, but to call Him dad.

I am an evil father in the sense that I am a sinner and sometimes (even often) fail at being a godly father.  My heavenly Father never fails.  He loves me perfectly as His son.

My prayer for Hudson is that through the love of his earthly daddy, he would come to know my heavenly daddy as his daddy too.