\n
After a Trinitarian theologian said to me, \u201cwhen you believe in the Trinity, you have to say dumb things,\u201d I started to wonder if maybe there was an alternative way of interpreting the Bible as true which doesn\u2019t require saying dumb things. I\u2019m still working through that question, and I am immensely thankful for this book as part of my study.<\/p>\n
For context, it might be helpful to know that I read this book as an evangelical pastor with 10 years of pastoral experience. I earned a M.Div degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where I learned to study Greek and Hebrew. I accept the presupposition that the Bible is true and reliable and ought to authoritatively define our understanding of God.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what I appreciated about this book:<\/p>\n
1. Zarley directly states that he writes from a conservative view of the Bible. \u201cFor instance, I treat all of Jesus\u2019 sayings in the NT Gospels as historically authentic or reasonably representative of His \u2018voice\u2019.\u201d (p. xiv). Nowhere did I find Zarley say or even imply, \u201cwell, probably the Bible was just untrue here.\u201d His mission is to offer alternative explanations for the Biblical witness without undermining the authority of the Scriptures. I\u2019m not at all interested in someone who will say \u201cthe Bible is unreliable, and if you read these apocryphal writings, you\u2019ll discover the \u2018real\u2019 truth.\u201d Thankfully, Zarley takes the Bible seriously and does not discount it for the sake of winning arguments. He does delve into textual criticism on a few points, and I think he does so quite appropriately.<\/p>\n
2. The author interacts directly with a huge variety of scholars who both agree and disagree with his conclusions. He appears to offer the best arguments from Trinitarians that were available to him. I never got the sense that he was using \u201cstraw man\u201d tactics.<\/p>\n
3. He goes right after the \u201chardest\u201d texts for a non-Trinitarian to explain. While he does of course make a case for why the reader should consider a non-Trinitarian belief system based on some questions the Bible raises, the bulk of the book is spent exegeting the New Testament passages that seem to most clearly require a Trinitarian position. This doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s interacted with every possible text (a friend pointed out to me 1 Corinthians 8:6 as possibly a Trinitarian exegesis of Deut. 6:4), but by and large he doesn\u2019t appear to have purposely neglected any of the most familiar texts that seem to directly indicate Trinitarianism.<\/p>\n
4. This is a dense, thick, methodical read. He\u2019s not putting forth a quick conspiracy theory to sell a few books and make a quick buck\u2013there is real substance here. Most people probably don\u2019t have the patience for this kind of writing and depth, but for those who are looking for some well-thought-out positions, you will find this pretty satisfying.<\/p>\n
5. I did not agree with every argument he made, but I learned a ton from him about church history, theology, and Scripture from this book. I felt he was fair and reasonable in his treatment of the subject.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake: this is not a casual read, and it is also not likely the kind of thing a non-Trinitarian could hand to a Trinitarian friend to \u201cconvert\u201d them. However, if you like to weigh out tough questions, and are the kind of person who means it when they say, \u201cOK, make your best case for _______ from the Bible,\u201d you\u2019ll find a pretty well-developed case here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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My book, The Restitution: Biblical Proof Jesus Is NOT God (570 pp.), is available at amazon.com where it just received this stellar review from a pastor named A. Pull: 5.0 out of 5 stars\u00a0A comprehensive look at the question from a non-traditional point of view Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2024 Verified […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1477,"featured_media":17988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,22],"tags":[706,774],"class_list":["post-19008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-trinity","tag-doctrine-of-the-trinity","tag-jesus-is-not-god"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>My book, The Restitution: Biblical Proof Jesus Is NOT God<\/em><\/a> (570 pp.), is available at amazon.com where it just received this stellar review from a pastor named A. Pull:<\/p>\n