Why We Can Believe the Bible

God Has Spoken: Proof of the Bible’s Divine Inspiration by Hank Hanegraaff

Hank Hanegraaff has done it again. Over the years I’ve struggled with many of the issues that he addresses as to the origins of the book we call “The Holy Bible”. Some of the questions concerning reliability arose when something didn’t make sense to me; other questions have been posed to me by parishioners who wonder why and how we’ve come to accept certain things as gospel and left other things out of the canon. Most of the questions I’ve had to deal with, as well as many more are addressed in this book.
Although I don’t do well with memorization, and as such acronyms aren’t all that helpful to me, for many people this will be a helpful tool. The book is divided into 4 sections, M (manuscripts) A (archeologists) P (prophecy) and S (scripture). Each of the 4 sections within the overall MAPS is broken down further and additional acronyms are provided to remind the reader of where he is going.
At times it seems that the author is directly responding to the claims of Bart Ehrman, and I would have liked to see a little more interaction with others involved in the criticism of Scriptures.
Some theological issues can be discussed in a way that invites enthusiastic participation, but this topic is one that leads either to emotional discussions, or a somewhat staid and dry presentation of the facts. It seems obvious though, from looking at the extensive notes, bibliography and indices that Hanegraaff has done his homework.
This is definitely a welcome resource for use with those who have doubts about the origin of the Bible and are wondering whether it is indeed God's inspired word or just a guide for leading a good life. There are those who view scripture as a collection of made up stories so the historical evidence provided will help them see the Bible as much more than they had previously thought.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing an unbiased review.
Four out of five stars

review of a Huber Hill and the Dead Man's Treasure by B.K. Bostik

A fun and quick read with a little bit of all the stuff that makes us want more. Huber Hill is the classic misfit, but he learns to overcome some of what life has thrown at him, and his big heart takes him in the right direction. In this first book of the series, Huber,his twin sister and a long time enemy turned best friend set off on an adventure of a lifetime after Grandpa Nick passes on and passes along a box full of papers. A bit of local folklore proves to be more than just a myth, and along the way, the three young people learn more about themselves and others then they would ever have imagined.

I'm trying to decided if Bostik's story telling skills and insight into the adolescent mind are what made him such a popular teacher and great junior high counselor, or if he took what he learned from his students and turned it into such a fun book. And just for fun, you get to practice your Spanish, which will come in handy when the "aventura continuara en España".

The only downside is that we have to wait until next October for the next book in the series to come out.

5/5