Godless Wonder

Has anybody read this $98.00 book:

Biblical Errancy: A Reference Guide by C. Dennis McKinsey?

Worth the bucks?

Magus55

1) why would you want to buy a 100 dollar book detailing what you already believe anyway?

and 2) when looking on the inside of the book at amazon, the guy spelled Contradictions wrong I wouldn't spend 100 bucks for that.

Godless Wonder

Well, if there are good reasons to believe what I believe, I'd like to know what they are, and if the best reasons to believe what I believe aren't all that good, I'd like to know that too. I am willing to read books with opposing views too. Have any particular recommendations?

mike_decock

I read about a quarter of it on his Biblical Errancy website which contains most of the book. I think most of his contradictions were well argued even though I didn't agree with many of them.

-Mike...

Godless Wonder

Yeah, I read the entire Biblical Errancy site as well. Like you, I thought some parts were stronger than others. In a few places, it seemed to me the author sticks to his guns on very minor ,inconsequential discrepancies. I think it's because he knows some (very few) people hold that the Bible is the Infallible Word of God and even the slightest error is inadmissable, so he tries to be comprehensive, and perhaps errs on the side of over-inclusiveness of errors. I was just wondering how the book compared to the website, whether there were new things, etc. Perhaps I'll just break down and buy the thing.

CX

I take it then that you have never read a commentary, an apologetic work, the church fathers or anything of that nature?

Incidentally, with regard to point 2, I would also be hesitant to spend a C-note on a book about contradictions wherein the word contradictions is spelled incorrectly. Although I suppose I would be so disinclined regardless since I find lengthy discussions of contradictions tedious to begin with.

Cretinist

Check out McKinsey's homepage.

Doctor X

Godless Wonder:

Methinks you could use the $100 and buy some of the really good books on the Recommended Reading List. I am not attacking his book, but you can probably learn a lot more for a lot less.

--J.D.

Vorkosigan

Ditto. McKinsey's mag is all you really need. The $100 is better spent on something else.

Angrillori

#1)



Uhm. ROFL? Yeah! Examining your beliefs is stupid! If you believe it, you don't need to support it! If you believe it, you don't need to research it! If you believe it, you don't need to question it! If you believe it, you don't need to examine its support!

Says the xian....

unsurprisingly.

#2)

From someone who believes that examining and questioning and researching your beliefs is important, I agree with above posters who suggested the money might be better spent on other materials on the reccommended reading list, and use the web site to get the gist of Errancy.

Although, if you found a copy at 1/2 Price Books, or some other discount or book resale store, I'd probably suggest picking it up. I love to read hard copies of books, so I'm a little biased. My wife thinks I'm addicted to books, I've probably got a $100 a week habit When I'm not at work, you'll usually find me curled up reading something or another.

I've recently begun to pick up stuff by S.T. Joshi. As long as we're on the 'is this book good?' thread, anyone have any other reccommendations?