Do historical matters matter to faith? : a critical appraisal of modern and postmodern approaches to Scripture

443 Pages·2012·3.86 MB·English

by  Darrell L. Bock

“Standing athwart the tide of strident voices currently demanding that we abandon confidence in the
truthfulness and reliability of the Bible, the chapters in this volume constitute a defense of historic
Christian confessionalism on the nature of Scripture. Mercifully, however, they are not mere
regurgitations of past positions. Rather, they are informed, competent, and sometimes creative
contributions that urgently deserve the widest circulation. In months and years to come, I shall
repeatedly refer students and pastors to this collection.”
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“Few Christian convictions are of as pervasive importance as the absolute perfection of Scripture—
and few convictions fall under more perennial criticism. Hence the need for this volume, which seeks
to defend the evangelical doctrine of biblical inerrancy against scholars who argue that in
accommodating his truth to human understanding, God has made his Word susceptible to error. Here
James Hoffmeier, Dennis Magary, and a broad range of learned colleagues take seriously the self-
witness of Scripture and respond to some of the latest, hardest objections to inerrancy by providing
clear, comprehensive, persuasive, and charitable answers. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? is
an invaluable resource for any student of Scripture who doubts the doctrine of inerrancy or has
serious questions about the historical reliability of the Bible.”
Philip G. Ryken, President, Wheaton College

“Whether in a university open forum or in the church, I am consistently asked about the
trustworthiness and authority of Scripture. I am therefore delighted that the authors have engaged the
critics’ challenge as well as the Bible afresh and met the arguments head-on with insightful
scholarship and the historicity of Scripture. I commend this unique and timely volume and believe it
will be an important work for decades to come.”
Ravi Zacharias, Founder and President, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; author, Jesus Among
Other Gods

“To scholars unconvinced of the classical Christian doctrine of Holy Scripture, Do Historical Matters
Matter to Faith? offers a challenge both substantive in its argumentation and respectful in its tone. To
scholars convinced of this doctrine, this volume models how to advance the argument on a
multidisciplinary, evidentialist basis. We owe the editors and authors a debt of gratitude.”
Ray Ortlund, Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee

“The debate over biblical inerrancy is a crucial issue for evangelicals. Do Historical Matters Matter
to Faith? is an important response to this challenge, and its essays, written by leading evangelical
scholars, present a robust defense of the reliability of the historical narratives of the Bible. The book
makes a compelling case that holding to inerrancy does not mean one must avoid examining the
issues raised by critical scholarship, but rather the accuracy of Scripture can itself be the conclusion
of a reasoned and critical examination of the evidence.”
Michelle Lee-Barnewall, Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, Biola University;
author, Paul, the Stoics, and the Body of Christ

“This is a book that has been sorely needed. The Bible has long been under attack from those outside
evangelical faith, and now more recently from those supposedly inside. Here in one volume the
questions are addressed in a comprehensive way, including theological, historical-critical, and
archaeological issues. Written with an irenic tone—and yet confronting the questions directly—this
book will surely take a prominent place on the shelves of all those who love the Bible and look for
solid answers to give to its detractors. The editors are to be commended for bringing the book to
fruition and for their breadth of vision in organizing it.”
John Oswalt, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary

“James Hoffmeier and Dennis Magary have assembled a first-rate team of evangelical writers to join
them in exploring the historical issues related to the interpretation of Holy Scripture and the
formation of Christian theology. Each chapter makes a significant contribution to this comprehensive
and focused volume—which both affirms and defends the complete truthfulness and full authority of
the Bible while fully engaging the questions and challenges raised by modern and postmodern
approaches to biblical interpretation. Informative and winsome, this impressive work will be
immensely helpful for a generation of students, pastors, and scholars alike.”
David S. Dockery, President, Union University

“How evangelicals view the Bible has been, and continues to be, under attack. This volume effectively
defends the Bible’s historicity and adeptly explains why it matters. Any pastor or person teaching and
defending the Bible will be greatly helped by this book.”
Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor, Parkside Church, Cleveland, Ohio

“Today, some so-called evangelicals have questioned and outright denied the full extent of the
inerrancy, authority, and trustworthiness of God’s Word, claiming it may apply to faith and practice
but not to history and science. As disturbing as these claims are against the Scriptures, I give thanks to
God that they have prompted an excellent response, so that we now have a much stronger foundation
for affirming the inerrancy of God’s Word, including matters of history. Do Historical Matters
Matter to Faith? is one of the best and most thorough treatments in defense of the Bible as completely
true and trustworthy in the realm of history. It is a much-needed antidote to some so-called
evangelicals’ unhealthy (and inaccurate) view of inerrancy. In matters relating to the doctrine of the
Scriptures, this will be the book I recommend to pastors and leaders. It will serve them and the church
well, and deserves the highest of commendations!”
Gregory C. Strand, Director of Biblical Theology and Credentialing, Evangelical Free Church of
America

“Here is a collection of first-rate essays written by an international team of scholars, each affirming
what must be called the historic Christian view of Holy Scripture—that the Bible, God’s Word written,
is trustworthy and totally true in all that it affirms. Rather than simply rehearsing platitudes of the
past, this volume advances the argument in the light of current debate and recent challenges. A
magisterial undertaking to be reckoned with.”
Timothy George, Founding Dean, Beeson Divinity School; General Editor, Reformation
Commentary on Scripture

“In recent decades evangelicals have felt increasing pressure to abandon their high views of Scripture
—a pressure that comes not only from scholars outside their circles, but also from some inside. This
volume represents a welcome response to both, but especially to the latter. The contributors represent
evangelical scholarship at its best as they address critical challenges with clarity and conviction, even
while keeping their tone civil and charitable. This book will serve as a handy reference tool for
students, pastors, and scholars who need a fair and responsible treatment of the evidence and clear
declaration of their conclusions.”
Daniel I. Block, Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College; author, The
Gospel according to Moses: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Book of Deuteronomy

“Twenty-first-century hubris insists on immediate answers from a Book of great antiquity that is
fundamentally about God’s intervention in human history. Yet even with advances in scientific
archaeological method and modern scholarship, there is still much to learn about the Bible’s ancient
setting, language, history, and sociopolitical context. This book engages honestly with a number of
thorny issues concerning the history and evidence for key biblical narratives. Its propositions are
robustly defended in a clear yet scholarly fashion, making it accessible to informed lay and academic
readers alike. I commend it to anyone seeking an orthodox evangelical perspective on the flash points
in current debates about the historicity of the Scriptures.”
Karin Sowada, CEO, Anglican Deaconess Ministries Ltd.; Hon. Research Associate, Macquarie
University

“Singapore Bible College was founded in 1952 to uphold the authority of God’s Word when the
Scriptures were under severe attack from the liberals of that era. Today, we are a living testimony to
the effectiveness and authority of God’s Word as we expound a Bible-based theological education.
The mocking of the Word of God did not liberate people from what the liberals claimed to be
superstition or outdated scholarship. But it did destroy the faith of many poorly grounded believers,
confused the church concerning her mission and purpose, created tension in the mission field, and set
the church backward on many fronts in Asia and elsewhere. James Hoffmeier and Dennis Magary
have assembled an able team of evangelical scholars to address and defend the issues of the authority
of God’s Word from theological, biblical, and archaeological perspectives. They are not afraid to
face the issues head-on in a comprehensive and thorough manner, yet with the right spirit. I hope this
book will help many students of the Scriptures to have a deeper conviction of the authoritative and
inerrant Word of God.”
Albert Ting, Principal, Singapore Bible College

“This volume well documents the analysis and evidence integral to understanding the role of
historical data in biblical understanding. The authors are to be congratulated for writing a book that
would withstand rigorous cross-examination!”
Mark Lanier, President, Christian Trial Lawyers Association; author of numerous legal books and
articles; owner, Lanier Theological Library

“To the credit of its editors and authors, this book is not so much a reaction to the recent statements of
Peter Enns and Kenton Sparks on biblical inerrancy, which called it forth, but an apologetic response
to their works. To that effect, it is not a monument to the doctrine, but rather an advancement of its
method and intent.”
C. Hassell Bullock, Pastor, Warren Park Presbyterian Church, Cicero, Illinois; Franklin S. Dyrness
Professor of Biblical Studies Emeritus, Wheaton College

“This is a timely work, both in the sense that it addresses an emerging issue—a loss of confidence in
the historicity of the Bible—and in the sense that its authors are conversant in the current state of the
debate. The topics discussed include all the essentials: the foundational theological issues, the major
source-critical and historical-critical questions, and matters arising from archaeology. This book will
be a valuable resource for both scholars and students.”
Duane A. Garrett, Professor of Old Testament, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author,
A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew and Amos: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text
“This is a brilliant response to evangelical skeptics such as Peter Enns and Kenton Sparks, and, in a
broader sense, also to mainstream skeptics such as Philip Davies, Keith Whitelam, or Robert Coote.
The list of contributors is a stellar lineup of first-rate scholars in their disciplines who defend the
traditional, orthodox view of Scripture as historically reliable in sophisticated and convincing ways.
Even those who might remain unconvinced of the book’s main argument will have to rethink their
positions. I highly recommend this work.”
David M. Howard Jr., Professor of Old Testament, Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota

“This book takes us to the front lines of many of the contemporary confrontations in critical
scholarship, addressing the skeptics head-on. A host of able defenders contend for the trustworthiness
of the Bible in the face of critical challenges and fairly criticize some of the ‘assured results’ of
biblical criticism—opening the way for a more confident faith. Only the Holy Spirit himself can fully
confirm the truth of God’s Word, but he can use books like this to confound the doubter and affirm
the faithful.”
Bill Kynes, Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church, Annandale, Virginia; author, A
Christology of Solidarity

“This is a thoughtful and heartening response to Sparks and other progressive evangelicals who
believe the time has come to move beyond what they perceive to be an outdated view of Scripture’s
inerrancy. Those seeking to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) will find here
methodological, philosophical, theological, archaeological, and geographical resources for
navigating the historical context of Scripture that call attention to its divine origins. Hoffmeier and
Magary have provided a great service to the academy and church in this scholarly compilation of
evangelical writers who conserve the tradition of the plenary inspiration and inerrancy of the Old and
New Testament Scriptures. Soli Deo gloria.”
Laura C. Miguélez, Adjunct Professor of Theology, Wheaton College

Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?
A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture

Copyright © 2012 by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary
Published by Crossway
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Tobias’ Outerwear for Books
Cover image: Getty Images
Interior design and typesetting: Lakeside Design Plus

First printing 2012
Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The
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permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright ©
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Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from The New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1989 by
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the U.S.A.

Scripture quotations marked TNIV are taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version.
TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All
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All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the authors.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-2571-1

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2574-2
PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-2572-8

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-2573-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Do historical matters matter to faith? : a critical appraisal of modern and postmodern approaches
to Scripture / edited by James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary ; foreword by John D.
Woodbridge.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4335-2571-1 (tp)
1. Bible—History of biblical events. 2. Bible—Evidences, authority, etc. I. Hoffmeier, James
Karl, 1951–
II. Magary, Dennis Robert, 1951–
BS635.D56 2012
220.6—dc23
2011037802

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
SH 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In Memory of Donald J. Wiseman
October 1918–February 2010
CONTENTS

Foreword by John D. Woodbridge

Preface

Abbreviations

Part 1: Biblical, Systematic, and Historical Theology

1 Religious Epistemology, Theological Interpretation of Scripture, and Critical Biblical Scholarship:
A Theologian’s Reflections
THOMAS H. MCCALL

2 The Peril of a “Historyless” Systematic Theology
GRAHAM A. COLE

3 The Divine Investment in Truth: Toward a Theological Account of Biblical Inerrancy
MARK D. THOMPSON

4 “These Things Happened”: Why a Historical Exodus Is Essential for Theology
JAMES K. HOFFMEIER

5 Fundamentum et Columnam Fidei Nostrae: Irenaeus on the Perfect and Saving Nature of the
Scriptures
MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN

Part 2: The Old Testament and Issues of History, Authenticity, and Authority

6 Pentateuchal Criticism and the Priestly Torah
RICHARD E. AVERBECK

7 Old Testament Source Criticism: Some Methodological Miscues
ROBERT B. CHISHOLM JR.

8 Word Distribution as an Indicator of Authorial Intention: A Study of Genesis 1:1–2:3
ROBERT D. BERGEN

9 The Culture of Prophecy and Writing in the Ancient Near East
JOHN W. HILBER