Is It Really the Good Book?

Ever surprised by the Bible? This book is for you.

Why should I allow an ancient book to tell me how to live in the 21st century?

Why is the God of the Old Testament so vengeful?

Is the Bible really a good book?

Biola professor John Marriott and ministry veteran Shawn Wicks have met a lot of people who are troubled by the Bible. Whether it is apparent contradictions in Scripture or the violence depicted in the Old Testament, Scripture presents itself as an obstacle to faith. Many former Christians consistently report that the number one reason they no longer identify as Christians is the Bible itself. Raised in the church but having only a Sunday School level of familiarity with the Bible, former Christians were shocked when they picked it up and read it for themselves. Distressed at the inconsistency of the Bible with modern science, troubled by its “errors”, embarrassed at the mythical-sounding nature of many Bible stories, outraged at the strange and even barbaric laws it contains, and ashamed that much of what it teaches is at odds with their modern moral sensibilities, former Christians could no longer accept the Bible as a wise guide for life, let alone as the Word of God.

The authors of Is It Really the Good Book? face these questions head-on in a quest to understand and appreciate the Bible better. What they discovered is assumptions matter when it comes to the Bible, and too many of us approach Scriptures with doubts and assumptions that we have picked up in our culture. Is It Really the Good Book? identifies and responds to the most common misunderstandings of what the Bible is, along with the inaccurate and harmful assumptions that distort what it teaches.

1. Opening Credits
2. Dedication
3. Foreword by Justine Brierly
4. Introduction
5. Part 1: Preliminary Matters | Chapter 1: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover
6. Chapter 2: The Legacy of the Bible
7. Chapter 3: The Church’s Book
8. Part 2: False Assumptions | Chapter 4: Once Upon a Time
9. Chapter 5: To Err Is. . . Divine?
10. Chapter 6: Easy-Peasy Lemon Squeezy
11. Chapter 7: The Case of Mistaken Interpretation
12. Chapter 8: A Fish out of Water
13. Chapter 9: Doing the Right Thing
14. Chapter 10: Behind the Times
15. Chapter 11: It's Not Rocket Science
16. Chapter 12: Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow
17. Conclusion
18. Closing Credits