The Old Testament Without Illusion

by John L. McKenzie

FIRST EDITION, published 1979 by Thomas More Press. Publisher's "While, for many, the old and destructive controversy as to whether the Bible is to be taken literally has long since been resolved, modern research and scholarship has progressed far beyond this debate. The point of research has not been to destroy the credibility of the Bible but rather to understand Scripture better. In the process many popular and traditional certainties have fallen by the wayside. Scholars doubt that Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea or into Sinai; that David is the author of the Psalms, or indeed that Solomon was even wise. These and dozens of other illusions are being stripped away--and more will surely follow. Beyond this there are even larger contradicitons which exist between the law and spirit of the Old and New Testaments. The modern believer needs both to know of these findings and put them into a perspective which will enhance rather than diminish understanding of the Scriptures. In this authoritative but superbly readable book, the eminent scripture scholar John L. Mckenzie re-examines key passages and incidents to put them into just such a clarifying perspective...As he says, "The Old Testament contains many statements of Doctrine which Christians cannot believe and of morality which Christians cannot practice. It is contrived to say that God changes his character or his teaching--or--as many have said--adapts both to the human condition...The Bible may become both more intelligible and more meaningful if it is understood less as a record of what God said than as a record of man's response to the presence and activity of God." 264pp

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979