Keeping Faith in an Age of Reason, by Jason Lisle [A Quick Book Review]
This is not really the kind of book that one should approach thinking that it is going to be an enjoyable read. It’s the only title by Jason Lisle that I have read (and I think I’ve read all except his new introduction to logic), that I didn’t find particularly engaging. But I don’t think that was his fault so much as the nature and intent of the book—refuting alleged contradictions in Scripture. In order to get the most out of this book, one would really need to sit down with a Bible, read every verse cited, think about the critic’s claims, and then digest Lisle’s rebuttals (he indicates as much on page 14 in the book’s Introduction). While such an approach would no doubt aid in retention, it would also take a significant amount of time to complete—time that I simply cannot afford to spend on one book. Instead, I read to become familiar with the material and its arrangement so that I might refer to it later.
For anyone who has spent any time at all addressing allegations of contradictions in God’s Word, this book will likely not reveal anything new—there is, after all, nothing new under the sun. What we see repeated ad nauseum is that critics’ faulty reasoning is manifest fairly consistency in the following ways:
Failure to read the text carefully and/or ignoring context
Bifurcation (either-or) fallacies
Equivocation fallacies
Specious reasoning (i.e., sloppy thinking)
In sum, Lisle found approximately 615 errors committed in 420 allegations of contradictions.
Pros & Agreements
I found only four errors in spelling or grammar; the book appears to have been fairly well edited (much more so than other books I’ve read recently), though I have seen better from Master Books (I have a rather sizeable collection of their publications).
Lisle’s analysis of Cainan son of Arphaxad (#97) in Luke 3:36 as an early scribal error is in agreement with the research that I have done on the topic (documented in my presentation “Wherefore Art the Begats?”).
I found the answer to “Who raised Jesus from the dead?” (#151) to be helpful. I’m sure I’ll be referring back to this in the future as it’s a concise answer with ample scriptural support given.
The answer to “Has there ever been a righteous person?” (#387) was helpful to me. Lisle explains the three different senses in which our word “righteous” is used: sinless perfection, positional perfection, and practical obedience. Of course, his explanations are well documented with Scripture.
Cons & Disagreements
The index
The index is nigh onto unusable, as it only lists the book and chapter, with a (sometimes lengthy) list of page numbers that follow. When I attempted to look up a particular verse I was asked about, I spent a considerable amount of time looking up each page listed, only to come up empty-handed in the end. Good luck finding what you’re looking for. (Incidentally, I shared my thoughts about this with the author, and he’s well aware of the problem.)
Is divorce ever permissible?
I do not endorse Lisle’s answer to the question “Is divorce ever permissible?” (#197). In my estimation, Lisle commits the fallacy of ignoring historical context and audience in his citation of Matthew 5:32 as support for the position that divorce is warranted in the case of fornication.
A full exegesis of this doctrine is beyond the scope of this review, but Lisle’s analysis does not seem to take into account the fact that Matthew was written to a Jewish audience (to demonstrate that Jesus is the rightful heir to Israel’s throne, i.e., the promised Messiah) and that his audience would have understood marriage in a decidedly Jewish context, which involves a year-long betrothal period during which the couple is considered married, but are not permitted to consummate the marriage. We see evidence of this in Joseph’s intent to “divorce [Mary] quietly” (Matthew 1:19) when she was found to be with child during this betrothal period.
I do have a detailed outline laying what I believe to be the correct biblical position on marriage, which I’ve posted on my blog as Do I have Biblical Grounds for Divorce? It’s also a long-held desire of mine to write a book about this topic, since it comes up so frequently...maybe one day.
Is it okay to test God?
While I agree with most of Lisle’s response to “Is it okay to test God?” (#408), I do have a minor disagreement about something he said in closing. He reasons that “Gideon wanted to be sure that he was following God’s voice, and not his own imagination.” I do not see support for this position in Scripture.
In Judges 6, we see God personally commissioning Gideon. The angel of YHWH (a Christophany) appears and speaks to Gideon in verse 12. When Gideon expresses doubt, YHWH tells him to “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (14). YHWH responds to Gideon’s query in verse 15 with “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together” (16). Gideon says “If I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back…” and then goes off to fetch a sacrifice. YHWH said He would remain (and He did). After this, Gideon realizes to whom he has been speaking, “Ah Sovereign YHWH! I have seen the angel of YHWH face to face!” (22)
In my estimation, there is no excusing Gideon’s subsequent fleece test as wanting to be sure he wasn’t making stuff up—God Himself commissioned him, commanded him, and even accepted his offering in a spectacular manner (21), thus confirming to Gideon beyond a shadow of a doubt who was speaking to him. This was Gideon doubting the clear commands of God, and disregarding (or forgetting) the confirmation that God gave him. The amazing part to me is that despite all of this, Gideon is still listed in the “hall of faith” (Hebrews 11), which I think is a testament to God’s extraordinary grace.