Title: God’s Hammer – The Bible and Its Critics
Author: Gordon H. Clark
ISBN: 0-940931-99-0
Copyright: 1987 The Trinity Foundation pgs. 224
Gordon Clark’s writings are philosophical in nature. He places a strong emphasis on logic and runs in the same (while these men certainly had their differences) vein as Van-Til in this regard. The use of pre-suppositional apologetics is at the heart of Clark’s approach in reasoning for the existence of God and things theological and in particular the area of study in this review – The Bible!
The book before us is Clark’s defense of the Bible and its inerrancy. I’ve found some philosophical arguments a bit too miry for me, but I waded through and to my surprise I pick up a little here and a little there. In my opinion we should try and read beyond our normal comprehension anyway. It may go slow, and seem tedious at times, but the benefits will outweigh any of the difficulties encountered when reading.
This book on the defense of the Bible was no different and very much in Clarkian style. By using logic Clark lays out a systematic approach on why we can trust the Bible, its inerrancy, authority and the short comings of pitting man’s wisdom against God’s.
An apologetic for the Bible is something I believe must be addressed in today’s Christianity. The constant attacks made upon the word of God, not just from unbelieving skeptics, but from within the body (if I can even say that) itself. As Clark points out in the Preface –
The Devil, with diabolical wisdom, continually returns to attack the first principle, the starting point, the axiom of Christianity: the Bible. He knows that if he can destroy, distort, or smother that Word, then he need not confuse men’s minds about the Trinity or the Incarnation. By destroying the foundation for those doctrines, he destroys them too.
The Bible is indeed foundational to the Christian and what we believe about its inerrancy, inspiration, infallibility will determine what we believe about Christ, the Atonement, man and the future state of humanity. What we believe about the Bible in these areas should come from the Bible.
It is ours not to question the inerrancy of God’s word, but to receive it as God intended it to be received, .”… as it is in truth…”
The book while technical and sometimes over the top does have something for everyone. He stands rock solid on the inerrancy of scripture and using scripture and sound logic gives a reasoned defense on why we should believe and take a stand for it.
Happy reading all!
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