The question of the Bible’s origin is absolutely essential. As Christians, we maintain that the standard for understanding and evaluating all truth is the Bible. This is because we trust that God, our good Creator and King, the ultimate authority for all things, has written this book. Dan Hayden’s task in this Did God Write the Bible? is to tackle this issue.
The author spends the first half of his work outlining several reasons he believes we should conclude that God wrote the Bible. Hayden begins by examining the Bible’s impact on a diverse group of individuals’ lives. He then examines the internal claims of scripture pertaining to its origin. Next is a discussion of the Bible’s uniform message despite great diversity in style, time, languages, and human authors. Hayden then turns to the Bible’s prophetic track record. Finally, he concludes this section with a chapter comparing the Bible to other religious writings throughout history. I found the chapters on the claims the Bible and prophecy to be most interesting.
The second section is more focused. The author spends his time presenting how the Bible came to us today. He quotes scripture to explain the reasons the Bible was written and the method God used to communicate it (inspiration). He then walks through Jewish and Church history discussing how the books were collected, copied, and translated. For me, this section made the book worth the effort and it has spurred me on to dig deeper in understanding these matters.
Strengths
Hayden maintains a conversational, lucid style. His obvious intention is to present a case for the Bible to those who are unfamiliar with it. He is careful to use understandable language and to define unfamiliar terminology as he introduces it.
More importantly, Hayden appeals to his readers throughout his work to read the Bible for themselves. He is committed to its inerrancy and God’s power to transform lives using it. He is sensitive to the different genres and symbolism in the scriptures but takes a literal view. He explains that we need to understand the scriptures literally in context and with the author’s intention in mind. Hayden is also committed to God’s sovereignty, citing God’s intention as the ultimate reason the scriptures are in the form we have them today.
Weaknesses
On the flip side, Hayden has a tendency to try to illustrate every concept with an analogy. Regrettably, several of these fall flat. Most notably, he repeatedly compares our English translations to video games, simulating the reality of the original languages, but not representing the real thing. I understand his point, but the illustration seems far too extreme.
Moreover, while the author discusses some useful topics when defending the Bible’s origin, there is a striking lack of clarity and emphasis in the initial chapters when it comes to the gospel. This is especially frustrating because he spends a lot of ink trying to convince us how it is logical for us to take the Bible seriously, quoting Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell along the way. I find some of his arguments affirming and even biblical (e.g. the argument that fulfilled prophecy is a reason to depend on the scripture). Still, a work that holds itself out as an apologetic for the Word of God is no place to presume its central message! From reading the whole book, I do not doubt that Hayden believes the gospel. He refers to redemption and conversion many times before eventually sharing part of the gospel in the second half of the book. However, the early discussion just seems out of step with the example Paul set forth in 1 Corinthians 1-2, where he affirms that salvation does not come through the wisdom of men or well structured argumentation. It comes through trusting Christ and Him crucified! Even when we share the undiluted gospel as Paul commands, many of the hearers will see it is foolishness. Should we think people will come around because of our convincing rhetoric? Even if they do, will they be Christ’s converts or just ours?
Ranking up there with this issue is the absence of a clear discussion of faith. When Hayden does get around to presenting the gospel on pages 99-103, he lays out the problem of sin and the solution of Christ’s sacrifice well, but fails to explain the necessity of personal faith in Christ and repentance from sin for salvation. He also neglects to make the connection between believing this specific message and the conversions discussed in the rest of the book.
Additionally, despite all the evidence and logic presented here, Hayden neglects to explain that one’s view of scripture is fundamentally a matter of faith. Though my faith is affirmed through the extra-biblical evidence presented in this book, it is not dependent on that. It is dependent on the God who saved me and now tells me to trust His word. Though it is helpful to understand how the Bible came to us today and I want to be wise in choosing an accurate translation, my faith does not rest primarily in the careful work of the scribes and translators through history, but in our sovereign God who promises that His word will not pass away. Some of this is strongly implied by what Hayden says about God’s sovereignty, but especially in an apologetic book, I was longing for him to spell it out more clearly.
Conclusion
I found this read to be an exercise in discernment. I learned much from the second half of the book but was bothered by issues of emphasis through much of the first section. For the reasons discussed above, I might lend it to a discerning friend, but I probably would not sell it in a church bookstore, and I would not use it to introduce someone to the Bible. I would recommend instead that they take Hayden’s advice and go directly to God’s Word, where they can get the gospel firsthand, clearly, and completely.
[This review was written by Matt Holloway. Matt is the leader of the Jr. High Ministry at Omaha Bible Church]