Difficulties In the Bible (1996 Edition) by R. A. Torrey, Book Review
Reuben Archer Torrey
(1856-1878) is one of the greatest evangelists of his time - probably, also of
modern times. I love reading classic books by great minds such as Torrey. It
seems like old Christian writers like him, C. S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, D. L.
Moody, John Bunyan, etc. have greater depth and appreciation for simplicity
than most popular authors today. This book, for example, although dealing with
difficult issues (just read the title) never seems to be a problem for Torrey
because he truly believes that, “The Bible contains nothing but the truth,
and it contains more truth than all other books put together.” He
didn’t write, “I know the answer to every
question...” but acknowledge his own ignorance in some parts and never
attempt to conceal the fact that there ARE difficulties exist in the
Bible.
I’m a self-study student
of the Bible. But the more I study it, the more questions I have (if you want
to be a good student - value questions!). The more questions I ask, the more
understanding I get. Very few times it creates doubt. Often, it increases my
faith. Yes, I found difficulties in the Bible but in comparison with the many
clarities I get, it reduces to non-essentials-for-salvation-and-growth for me.
How to deal with
difficulties in the Bible? Torrey offers 7 bits of advice: 1) Expect difficulties. “When
the infinite tries to understand the infinite, there is bound to be difficulty”;
2) Difficulties do not equal falsehood. “The whole difficulty arose, as almost all of
those in the Bible arise, from man’s ignorance of some of the facts in the
case”; 3) There are greater difficulties exist. “There are many more - much greater -
difficulties in the doctrine that holds the Bible to be of human origin, and
hence fallible, than there are in the doctrine that holds the Bible to be of
divine origin, hence infallible.” For this point, Torrey gives examples of
the unity of the Bible, the power to save men from sin a.k.a. changed lives,
the peace, and hope and joy it brings, etc. 4) Solutions do not
depend on us. “The fact that
you cannot solve a difficulty does not prove it cannot be solved, and the fact
that you cannot answer an objection does not prove that it cannot be answered”;
5) Difficulties are exceedingly insignificant in comparison
with the many and marvelous excellencies of the Bible. This is just
what I already explained; 6) Superficial reading vs. profound
studying. “To the man who is
reading [The Bible] through for the
first or second time, there are many things that perplex and stagger”; 7) The role of careful study. “At first, they go by ones, then by twos, then by dozens, and then by
scores. Is it not reasonable, then, to suppose that the difficulties that still
remain will all disappear upon further study?”
Torrey also outlines 10
general classes of difficulties: imperfect manuscripts, inaccurate
translations, false interpretations, wrong ideas about the Bible, the original
language(s), our lack of knowledge, our ignorance of the background, our
one-sidedness, our finite minds, and our dull spiritual perceptions. For each
class, he explains briefly what he means. There are top 24 questions of difficulties that Torrey deals in the
book, such as Is Genesis chapter one
historical and scientific? Where did Cain get his wife? Does God of truth and
love send us lying and evil spirits? Are there contradictions in Jesus
‘genealogies? Did Jesus go into the abode of the dead? And more.
Currently, I’m doing a
podcast teaching series on The Gospel of Matthew (in Bahasa Malaysia #InjilMatius). Last week I was in
Matthew chapter 12:40 where Jesus predicts that He will “be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” I was
not sure about this passage and so I delayed the podcast so that I can study
this verse further. At the same time, I just finished reading a book and
thinking of what book next. And you know what? I chose (my will, God’s divine
timing) this book. And guess which chapter I randomly read? On this topic - “Was Jesus really three days and nights in
the heart of the earth?” Wow! What perfect timing! Praise be to God 😊🙏⚡
#1Book1Week #ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain
#DifficultiesInTheBible #Torrey
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
