Why God Gave Us a Book

Basics of the Faith

by Gene Edward Veith Jr.

Many people look within themselves, mining their thoughts and feelings for "the voice of God." And yet God has already spoken. The incarnate Word makes himself known in the written Word, and this communication keeps us personally connected to him. We need nothing else.

Gene Veith makes this clear as he examines not only the sufficiency of God's Word, but also the flawed thinking of those who try to add to or detract from it. This passionate, personal booklet is a call for all of us to return to God's Word as our one and only authority in faith and practice.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2011

About the author

Gene Edward Veith Jr., is the Culture Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE. He was formerly Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, and God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.

Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”

Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[Dan Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a faithful, helpful and therefore valuable little booklet about the Bible as the divinely inspired and written Word of God and its importance for the Church. My wish list for a pamphlet of this nature would include a brief discussion on the importance of choosing a good translation in our day of innumerable translations, many of them bad, as well as a brief discussion of the benefits of an essentially literal translation over a dynamic equivalence translation/interpretation. Unfortunately this had neither. Also, it would have been helpful if the mere act of translating the Bible were defended and it be shown that the Bible itself condones faithful translations as the New Testament authors quote the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) in nearly all their quotations and all the while being inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit.

If this booklet had contained even a paragraph or two on each of these areas, I would have given it 5 stars. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to give this to Christian or non-Christian alike who would like a quick answer to the question of why the Bible is such a big deal. This little volume is especially good in addressing the fact that Scripture is the main way that God speaks to and leads us by the Holy Spirit and that waiting on private and particular revelation from the Spirit in the lives of individual believers rather than reading, searching and studying the Scriptures is effectively ignoring the leading and revelation the Spirit has already given and which he would in no way contradict if he did speak directly to each believer in the manner that many seem to think he ought (dreams, visions, voices, feelings, etc.).

[Kyle Tomlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic short read! In this book, Gene Veith explains why God gave us the Bible. To put it simply, God gives us the Bible in order to speak to us. He gives us the Bible in order to give us His Word, Jesus Christ. In this sense, the Bible is the place where God comes to us with His two words -- Law and Gospel -- to do the work of repenting us and bringing us to faith in the living Christ who encounters us through the words of the Scriptures. Along the way, Veith also addresses issues such as authority, inerrancy, interpretation, and sola scriptura. This is a great resource for both new Christians and seasoned Christians. (This was my second time reading through the book, and I've recommended it in the past to the Bible study leaders in my parish.)

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good little book - easy to read in a single sitting if so desired - that examines the sufficiency of the written Word of God.

It is a good starting point to what is a more involved topic - and I appreciate that the Author has included a good list of books for further reading (and many of them are ones I also would recommend).

This book is quite Lutheran in its outlook - not that I have a problem with that. I do feel that some of the comments about Pentecostalism are a bit dated. Whilst I don’t disagree with the Author’s use of Inerrancy, I was disappointed that he didn’t examine its misuse. I would’ve also appreciated a better coverage of the human side of our Scriptures.

[Seth Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet and to the point, this is a helpful little book.

[Ian Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful little tool. If you do not read the entire booklet you might misunderstand what he means in his introduction.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Travis Doig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book beautifully explains why Christians still feel a void in themselves when they look to other means to find God. In a crisp, clear, and pointed manner Dr. Veith demonstrates God has truly already spoken in his word. Faith comes by hearing the word and studying it carefully. I also appreciated his candor in addressing the role of visions from the Holy Spirit and Scripture. He points out that technically, if one were to receive a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit today, then that should stand on the same authority as Holy Scripture (p. 36). Yet it does not. Dr. Veith notes that even those apostles who received visions were directed to someone to receive God's word (p.37).

[Mark A Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christians hold that God has communicated to us through means of the Bible. Veith asks why God might choose to reveal Himself through the written word and examines the ramifications of such a decision in this short booklet. Central to his position is the reality that God has created humanity to communicate through language, both verbal and written. Yet Veith wisely cautions against viewing the Bible as mere information, seeing it instead as God’s living self-revelation.

[Marguerite Harrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a quick easy reading booklet to read. Very interesting to read.

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid, and brief, explanation of the authority, clarity, inerrancy, and necessity of Scripture and what it means for someone to know God more deeply through reading His word.

[Jeremy]

Related video here.