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Inspiration: Hard Questions, Honest Answers
Book by Thompson, Alden
332 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 30, 2023
First intended for Seventh-Day Adventists (esp. in the first edition: Thompsen, Alden. Inspiration. Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1991.), but re-written now for a general Christian audience, to help serious readers accept the contradictions, errors, and impermanent mandates and practices of the Bible, while still making it possible to accept the Bible as authoritatively inspired by God and still meaningful for people today.
Elden Thompson's casebook over codebook, non-fundamentalist approach makes the individual reader responsible for extracting and exacting in an a posteriori way his or her own meaning for devotion, thought, and behavior - over and against a priori tradition and ecclesiatically-sanctioned notions about these - an approach that keeps the reader from "throwing out the baby with the bath water," while honestly respecting the problems that the Bible poses.
I vigorously recommend this book. In experiencing the Bible as both human and divine, I recommend three other titles by an Evangelical:
-Enns, Peter. How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That's Great News. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
-Enns, Peter. The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It . New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
-Enns,Peter. The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
Elden Thompson's casebook over codebook, non-fundamentalist approach makes the individual reader responsible for extracting and exacting in an a posteriori way his or her own meaning for devotion, thought, and behavior - over and against a priori tradition and ecclesiatically-sanctioned notions about these - an approach that keeps the reader from "throwing out the baby with the bath water," while honestly respecting the problems that the Bible poses.
I vigorously recommend this book. In experiencing the Bible as both human and divine, I recommend three other titles by an Evangelical:
-Enns, Peter. How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That's Great News. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
-Enns, Peter. The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It . New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
-Enns,Peter. The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
April 8, 2011
Whoa. Good book. Real good book. Challenged my thinking and outlook on scripture in a lot of ways. But, he also very well articulated things I believe but had a hard time putting into words. Still processing all of this though, and probably will be for a while. Worth the read, but be prepared to be challenged. Wouldn't recommend it for everyone because it can be disturbing depending on where you are at in regards to philosophy and spirituality.
January 22, 2011
I always star my books very strictly, but I wish I could give this one a 6 out of 5! Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews