735 BAFFLING BIBLE
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
by Larry Richards
Witnessing to skeptics and cynics of the Bible can be one of the most formidable ordeals a Christian can face. Thanks to Larry Richards’
735 Baffling Bible Questions Answered the experience can now be far less intimidating.
The volume proceeds through Scripture, book by book, exploring its many difficult passages and purported discrepancies — excerpts that have become suitable grist for the critic’s mill. Richards responds to various objections and suspected textual problems in every book of the Bible (except Nehemiah). A brief survey of each Bible book’s author, theme and issues acts as introductory commentary for each chapter.
Prophecy, archaeology, Old Testament customs and practices, New Testament principles, and a whole lot more fill this book. The questions you know to ask are there — and some you’ve probably never even thought to ask. For example, on page 228, Richards considers the question of how many young children did were actually killed in Bethlehem by Herod’s soldiers during the slaughter of the innocents.
The paperback volume is a reissue of a work published five years ago under the title,
Bible Difficulties Solved. Fleming H. Revell should be commended for returning this excellent resource to the availability of Christians.
ANSWERING JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES SUBJECT BY SUBJECT
by David A. Reed
After devoting his last few efforts for Baker Book House to an examination of Mormonism, David Reed has returned to the subject for which he was initially known: Jehovah’s Witnesses. Reed was a full-time minister, elder and presiding overseer for the Watchtower Society during the 1970s and early 1980s.
His latest volume,
Answering Jehovah’s Witnesses Subject by Subject, is a thorough analysis of major and minor beliefs of past and current Jehovah’s Witnesses. The book contains “new and different material” from his previous offerings, covering more than 80 subjects. A few, such as AIDS and prayer, may have readers at first wondering about their relevance. While others, including birthdays, blood transfusions and voting, are more obvious.
Even longtime students of Watchtower teachings will be enlightened by some of the subjects covered. For example: What are Alcyone and Pleiades and what do they have to do with Jehovah’s Witnesses? See pages 30 and 180 for the answers.
The book comes with Scripture and subject indexes, the latter of which is helpful in finding information on topics supplementing the major entries.
One minor problem is that the book does not deliver on all the promises made on the back cover. A few subjects mentioned there (the New Covenant, spiritism and taxes) are not specifically dealt with in the book, while disfellowshiping gets only a brief mention under a different heading. Perhaps these were condensed or edited out by the publisher.
Despite this problem, the book is yet another excellent resource from one of the more productive commentators on Watchtower history and theology.
BEHIND THE SCENES
THE TRUE FACE OF THE FAITH FAKE HEALERS
written by Yves Brault
Behind The Scenes details author Yves Brault’s two-year odyssey and connection with Benny Hinn and his World Outreach Center in Orlando, Fla. Because of the small print, there is much more in this clothbound book than one would think at first glance. In many ways it is a very sad, disturbing and distressing story of spiritual abuse.
First off, it is a
behind-the-scenes peek into the life of a wealthy, forceful and corrupt religious power broker who cares little for people. Brault describes Hinn’s “power shopping” (twelve ties retailing $200 each) at the exclusive Baylerian’s in Dallas and his treatment and verbal abuse of people in his own congregation (pg. 43).
Brault shows from his own experience how the gullible are strung along and victimized.
Brault also introduces readers to Hinn’s younger brothers Chris and Henry; church staffers Nancy Pritchard, Sheryl Palmquist, Gene Polino; and several bodyguards and other insiders. You will see them in a different light than that presented on Hinn’s telecasts and in his books and magazines.
Brault also deals with other well-known “healers,” charismatic superstars and “prophets.” This book will jolt the naive and confirm the ongoing research of the discernment ministries.
There are detailed and documented comparisons between modern-day healing phenomena and manifestations and what Franz Mesmer produced through suggestion and hypnotism.
This reviewer sadly must agree with Brault when he says: “It is deplorable that the only way you can reach and touch those fake faith healers is if you expose them publicly with proof and evidence that will reveal their true face” (pp. 111-112).
DAMAGED DISCIPLES
by Ron and Vicki Burks
Ron and Vicki Burks have experienced first-hand the spiritual abuse evidenced in the authoritarian movement known as discipleship or shepherding. A deep desire to express their faith in God led to their involvement in the movement originally led Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Don Basham and Charles Simpson.
Ron is now the psychological assistant and research specialist at Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Ohio.
The Burkses describe the manipulative method of pastor-disciple relationships that holds a shepherding church together. Both major and minor decision making is placed in the hands of one’s pastor, holding the follower’s free will hostage and robbing him of his personhood. Those who question the pastor are suspected of disloyalty. Acceptance in the movement is based upon one’s commitment to it.
A section at the end of the book deals with the subject of “forgiveness” (pp. 154-159). There are a few points in these pages that miss the mark biblically. For example, their concept of “forgiving God” suggests that God, who is our standard of righteousness, needs to be forgiven. This reviewer does not agree. (A scripturally exhaustive study on the theme of forgiveness can be found in the publication by Jay Adams,
From Forgiven to Forgiving, Calvary Press.)
Nonetheless,
Damaged Disciples is appropriate reading for those wanting a better understanding of the effects of the shepherding movement. It also will help those who are now out of the movement with their confusion as they struggle to re-establish their lives.
DEMONIZATION OF THE BELIEVER
An Unbiblical Teaching Exposed
by Gil Rugh
One of the more hotly debated topics in both Charismatic and Evangelical Christian camps today is: Can a believer be demonized? Dr. Gil Rugh says: No! In his four-tape series and accompanying 55-page book, Rugh systematically and methodically examines that question from the Bible while dissecting the experientially based, nonbiblical ideas of popular spiritual warfare experts Neil Anderson and C. Fred Dickason.
Rugh’s teaching and writing have been missed by most but are a must for every Christian. His is material that needs to be studied in the light of so much paranoia and confusion today. The concise booklet, along with the four audio tapes, is one of the best inoculations against this false teaching that can be found.
In his book, Rugh cuts to the core of the issue in his seven chapters entitled: “Sin: Who Is to Blame?,” “A Biblical Survey of Demonology,” “Demon Possession and the Believer,” “The Biblical Way of Dealing with Demons,” “The Fallacy of Clinical Evidence in Spiritual Matters,” “Ancestral Demons” and “Experience-Based Theology.”
The tape series is a response to Neil Anderson’s “Resolving Personal and Spiritual Conflicts Conference” which has gained the patronage of Evangelical churches across the nation.
Rugh’s main point cannot be missed and that is that to depart from the biblical teaching regarding how a believer is sanctified is a frontal attack and a downright denial of the sufficiency of the work of Christ and the Scriptures. We do not need “experts” and “bondage breakers.” We need good theology. That is what Gil Rugh gives us.
THE DRIFT INTO DECEPTION
The Eight Characteristics of Abusive Christianity
by Agnes C. Lawless with John W. Lawless
Coming off their own experiences yet laced with much research and biblical support, Agnes and John Lawless show us the patterns of deception within even some “evangelical” fellowships and offer help to those who have been deceived to recover by laying out practical steps for the recovering.
If one wants to know how to spot an enslaving authoritarian structure, this is the book.
On page 11, in the introduction, the reader gets a hint of what’s ahead: “Today we Christians are just as blind to impending danger. Hoping for exciting spiritual experiences, we join the crowd climbing aboard the ‘cruise ships’ of evangelical ‘superstars.’ As the band plays, we sing rousing choruses. We listen breathlessly as famous leaders, dressed in designer suits, promise us health, wealth, and self-fulfillment. All for a price, of course. ... Because of our experience, we learned that we can all drift into deception if we loosen our moorings and ignore the winds of false doctrines. In this book, we want to show you how vulnerable we all are.”
The eight warning signs on pages 59-155 are in themselves worth the price of the book.
The questions at the end of each chapter are helpful and thought-provoking and could easily be adapted to a study class.
The authors have succeeded in sounding the alarm with a very timely and helpful book.
THE END OF DAYS
Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount
by Gershom Gorenberg
If there is ever a current book that everyone should read, it is this one. At times it reads like a mystery thriller. Gershom Gorenberg, who lives in Jerusalem and is a columnist for The New Republic and The Jerusalem Report, does a masterful job of giving us insight into the Jewish, Moslem and Christian views of the end times and the struggle to rebuild the Third Temple. It is not written from a Christian perspective, but it is a cutting–edge and informative book. We often talk of a "must–read" but this one is a fast–paced, must, must read.
Understanding where Gorenberg is coming from as a Jew and understanding his cynicism because of radical futuristic date–setters and cults, we can learn much from his book about the current Israeli scene and not be affected by his less–than–evangelical view of Scripture.
In this compelling analysis, we meet a cast of players familiar to us and some not so familiar: Tim LaHaye, Jerry Falwell, Hal Lindsey, Zola Levitt, Randy Price, Chuck Missler, Chuck Smith and even the red heifer are there along with all the rightist and extremist Jews plotting and planning and praying for a rebuilt temple. Gorenberg separates the fiction and mythology from the truth and helps us to fully understand why the temple complex in Jerusalem is such a tinderbox.
Gorenberg explains why the Temple Mount is so volatile an issue and gives us deep insights into current events in Israel. He helps us understand why Christians, Jews, and Moslems are so intertwined when it comes to the rebuilding of the Third Temple: "For a small but growing group of Jews on the Israeli religious right, every day since 1967 has been a missed opportunity to begin building the Third Temple. For a larger number of conservative Christians elsewhere in the world – and particularly in the United States – building that Temple is an essential condition for the Second Coming. And for many Muslims, any attempt to destroy the shrines of Al–Aqsa is a sign that the Hour is at hand" (pg. 14).
The dust jacket informs us: "Adroitly portraying former–hippies–turned–true–believers, American radio–evangelists of the End, radical Palestinian sheikhs, and Israeli ex–terrorists, Gorenberg weaves a story that stretches from California churches to West Bank settlements."
Gorenberg's aim in writing the book is squarely laid out: "Belief in the approaching End has influenced crucial events in the Arab–Israeli conflict. Time and again, it has been the rationale behind apparently irrational bloodshed, and undermined efforts at peacemaking. In the worst case, desire for history's finale has the potential to spark all–out war in the Middle East. And here's the paradox: The world's resolute refusal to end doesn't mute expectations; it turns them up. In the years to come, therefore, hope for the End will continue to exert political influence – and its potential to set off violence will only increase. That hope is more than a fantasy; it has the power to affect our world. The purpose of this book is to show why" (pp. 3–4).
While we all may want to support Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East, Gorenberg shows us things that may make us think twice before investing directly in any way in plans and efforts for rebuilding a Third Temple. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for an in–depth treatment of Middle East tensions and for an understanding of how Christian fundamentalism may be exacerbating that tension.
THE FORGOTTEN TRINITY
by James R. White
Ignorance breeds heresy. Most Christians — even those who have faithfully attended Sunday school for decades — are more likely, when pressed, to describe the triune nature of the Godhead in a way more resembling tritheism or modalism than orthodoxy. Moreover, believers seem more satisfied with their error or just passing over God’s revelation of Himself by labeling it a “mystery” than with a desire to study and enlighten their minds.
Apologist and scholar James R. White clearly understands this shortcoming. In the opening chapter of his latest volume,
The Forgotten Trinity, he writes just how important the theology of God’s nature is to the believer and notes “the doctrine is
misunderstood as well as
ignored. It is so misunderstood that a majority of Christians, when asked, give
incorrect and at times downright
heretical definitions of the Trinity.”
White emphasizes that his book is written for believers to help them to gain a “deeper, higher, more intense love” of the Trinity. Although White does periodically refer to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and their theology, he does not use this book to respond directly to arguments of anti-trinitarian sects such as the Watchtower or United Pentecostals.
Nevertheless, his efforts can and will achieve just such a goal, as truth always dispels error.
White starts readers with the basics — a simple, yet fundamental, definition of the Trinity. From there he builds to a thorough examination of the person of Jesus Christ through the opening verses of John’s Gospel and other crucial scriptural statements that attribute deity to the Son of God. Next, he moves forward to a discussion of the person and deity of the Holy Spirit. He also goes briefly outside the confines of Scripture by inspecting Church history through the statements of Clement, Ignatius and others. He brings the book to a conclusion by asking (and answering), “Does it really matter?”
The volume is furnished with extensive endnotes and its exhaustive index helps make for easy retrieval of key information. It is a welcome reminder to us of the importance of this cardinal tenet of the Faith. One which, because of our ignorance, is often so successfully assailed.
FROM FORGIVEN TO FORGIVING
by Jay Adams
In apologetics, more important than knowing what’s aberrant and heretical, is knowing what’s scriptural and orthodox. From Rebecca Brown to a host of modern day psychologists, a “forgive and forget” attitude and granting forgiveness even when it hasn’t been sought is promoted as the biblical norm. Not so, says nouthetic counselor, Dr. Jay Adams.
From Forgiven to Forgiving will provide the Christian with solid biblical answers and actions on the topic of forgiveness. Adams, with great biblical insight and wisdom, dispels today’s all-too-common misuses and misconceptions about forgiveness.
As you learn to relate and communicate principles of forgiveness in your relationships, you will experience a new freedom in Christ. This outstanding book is a worthwhile topic for group learning.
This volume is a must read for every Christian. After being out-of-print for a few years, and difficult to obtain, the publication has been reissued by Calvary Press. While it has been re-typeset and includes a new cover, the contents are just as much needed today as when it was originally produced.
THE LESS TRAVELED ROAD
AND THE BIBLE
A Scriptural Critique of the Philosophy Of M. Scott Peck
by H. Wayne House and Richard Abanes
Anyone who thinks M. Scott Peck represents Christianity in any way will be shocked and set straight by this thorough analysis of his books and system.
The authors let Peck speak for himself, quoting him extensively and revealing his subtly unorthodox views. He is ecumenical, New Age and anti-Church. His “road” leads us away from God, away from salvation, and away from the Bible.
The book is divided into sections dealing with Peck’s psychology and faulty theology. This potent exposé of the open immorality Peck teaches will surprise many.
Peck’s books are not the place to find truth. The authors conclude that: “Dr. Peck is constantly seeking after new ideas and hoping to uncover new ways to know what he conceives as truth” (pg. 246).
