I've always been fascinated by the thought process that allows an intelligent person to be a Christian. No thinking person could deny that the Bible is full of contradictions, mistakes, and concepts that really just don't jive with logic or good sense. How does one recognize the inherent weaknesses and imperfections in this book yet still believe it to be the inspired, holy word of a morally perfect, supremely powerful, omniscient God?

Some people avoid the question by declaring that it is not for us humans to understand, for the Lord works in mysterious ways. We are not to question, we are to believe without understanding. I have no respect for that. Other people come to the unavoidable conclusion that the Bible was written, transcribed, translated, and edited by human beings in their own political and cultural climate within their own limitations and is meant to be more like a symbolic link to God's word than a literal transcription given divinely to His chosen prophets. That I can respect, though I personally don't find His message to be so compelling as to make it my own religion or resource to discover the meaning of life.

This book reflects the author's own crisis of faith in discovering how imperfect God's word is in its present form today. We have no original documents to go to in order to determine how to correct the contradictions and mistakes, we have only a copy of a copy of a copy, etc. to point to what may or may not have originally been intended. He discusses the history of the New Testament in the form we know it today and explains how and why it is flawed. What I really respect about this author is that, while he himself is still a believer, he does not preach or moralize or attempt to convert the non-believers. It is a scholarly study of the subject, not a rhetorical one.

Going to pass this on to my sister.