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The Bible Code: Fact or Fake?
Stanton, Phil
Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 4, 2024
AN EVANGELICAL CRITIQUE OF DROSNIN'S "BIBLE CODE" BOOK
Phil Stanton has also written 'Samson: The Secret Of Strength' and 'Suddenly Single.'
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, "When The Bible Code first came out, it created considerable interest, and not just among believers. People started talking about it, and Christians are being asked what they think... Why has the Bible Code become best-selling news? Is it really a sign that people may be returning to the true God, or is it a move even further away?
"I set out to answer these questions in the pages that follow. Although this book was written primarily for Christians, it was not so exclusively... the Bible Code raises more issues than might at first appear. It goes beyond merely the sensational, the exciting. It forces us to decide what we believe and why---and whether we are living consistently with those beliefs. So we start with the Bible Code and then move on to weightier matters---matters that none of us can afford to ignore."
He suggests, "Because the vowels make more difference in Hebrew than they do in English, there is a greater range of misunderstanding in Hebrew without the vowels than there would be in English. So using a vowel-less Old Testament in the Bible Code guarantees that it will say anything. Mr. Drosnin puts in whatever vowels he needs to make 'the Bible' say what he wants." (Pg. 37)
He notes, "Remember, the Bible Code depends on EVERY LETTER in the Old Testament being accurately written down. To do this, the [writers] would have had to make sure each writer wrote the words down exactly... They could not have allowed the slightest error, and they would have had to do it again and again over 1,000 years without the people they used to pen the Old Testament guessing... [they also] would have had to oversee the copying of the Old Testament right up to the invention of printing. After all, errors can easily creep in when you copy massive books by hand." (Pg. 23)
Later, he adds, "The whole Bible Code falls apart when we realise that the vowels are missing... The scholars behind the Bible Code know Hebrew perfectly well. They know the vowels are missing. They knew it was best not to tell us about it." (Pg. 42)
He observes, "the Bible Code discounts the Bible from time to time. It would be more logical, from the standpoint of the Bible Code, if the Bible were read with interest and respect... it would make better sense for the same Bible to be valuable as both code AND book... [Jewish Code scholar] Yacov Ramsbel supports both Bible AND Bible Code. Why didn't the system promote a book by someone like him? Why do we find the bestseller comes from Mr. Drosnin, a man with no interest in the Bible? The reason is now clear. We are being fed the Bible Code to take our minds off the Bible. So far as the system is concerned, that is the purpose of it all." (Pg. 70)
This book is an excellent critique of the Bible Code from an evangelical Christian perspective.
Phil Stanton has also written 'Samson: The Secret Of Strength' and 'Suddenly Single.'
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1997 book, "When The Bible Code first came out, it created considerable interest, and not just among believers. People started talking about it, and Christians are being asked what they think... Why has the Bible Code become best-selling news? Is it really a sign that people may be returning to the true God, or is it a move even further away?
"I set out to answer these questions in the pages that follow. Although this book was written primarily for Christians, it was not so exclusively... the Bible Code raises more issues than might at first appear. It goes beyond merely the sensational, the exciting. It forces us to decide what we believe and why---and whether we are living consistently with those beliefs. So we start with the Bible Code and then move on to weightier matters---matters that none of us can afford to ignore."
He suggests, "Because the vowels make more difference in Hebrew than they do in English, there is a greater range of misunderstanding in Hebrew without the vowels than there would be in English. So using a vowel-less Old Testament in the Bible Code guarantees that it will say anything. Mr. Drosnin puts in whatever vowels he needs to make 'the Bible' say what he wants." (Pg. 37)
He notes, "Remember, the Bible Code depends on EVERY LETTER in the Old Testament being accurately written down. To do this, the [writers] would have had to make sure each writer wrote the words down exactly... They could not have allowed the slightest error, and they would have had to do it again and again over 1,000 years without the people they used to pen the Old Testament guessing... [they also] would have had to oversee the copying of the Old Testament right up to the invention of printing. After all, errors can easily creep in when you copy massive books by hand." (Pg. 23)
Later, he adds, "The whole Bible Code falls apart when we realise that the vowels are missing... The scholars behind the Bible Code know Hebrew perfectly well. They know the vowels are missing. They knew it was best not to tell us about it." (Pg. 42)
He observes, "the Bible Code discounts the Bible from time to time. It would be more logical, from the standpoint of the Bible Code, if the Bible were read with interest and respect... it would make better sense for the same Bible to be valuable as both code AND book... [Jewish Code scholar] Yacov Ramsbel supports both Bible AND Bible Code. Why didn't the system promote a book by someone like him? Why do we find the bestseller comes from Mr. Drosnin, a man with no interest in the Bible? The reason is now clear. We are being fed the Bible Code to take our minds off the Bible. So far as the system is concerned, that is the purpose of it all." (Pg. 70)
This book is an excellent critique of the Bible Code from an evangelical Christian perspective.
August 13, 2016
The bible code is fake of course!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews