cover image Biblical Truths: The Meaning of Scripture in the Twenty-First Century

Biblical Truths: The Meaning of Scripture in the Twenty-First Century

Dale B. Martin. Yale Univ., $40 (408p) ISBN 978-0-3002-2283-8

With this incisive, illuminating book, Martin, a professor of religious studies at Yale University, engages the question needling most contemporary skeptics of a Christian background: how can anyone still believe in the Bible? He suggests that discovering truth may lie not in questioning what scripture has to say, but rather in scrutinizing how we have been reading and interpreting it. Martin uses his areas of expertise—the New Testament and Christian origins—to deliver a weighty discourse on how we know what we know about Christianity from ancient through modern times and to suggest that thinking differently might be the key to understanding. He explores faith (which he views as a gift, rather than a philosophy offering all the answers) and how various translations and previous teaching can influence interpretations about the nature of God, the divinity of Jesus, and the infallibility of scripture itself, among other things. Some of the topics that get a new look are the role of women in the church, love, sex, and marriage (including what the Bible might have to say about same-sex unions). Martin doesn’t push a particular agenda, but points out examples from history and in scripture to ask questions and determine whether there might be room for interpretation. Filled with as many questions as answers, Martin’s book will help believers and nonbelievers alike interpret or defend faith in the 21st century. (Feb.)