Book Review: “Has God Spoken?” by Hank Hanegraaf

Has God spoken?

Manuscript evidences say “Yes”.

Copyist practices resulted in a Bible that shows significant harmony in manuscripts spanning up to a thousand years. The way many teachings (especially Jesus’ teachings) were organized for an oral culture ensured accurate transmission of Christ’s words to the authors of the Gospels. The enormous volume of Biblical papyri and parchments and their close proximity to the original autographs makes the Bible the most reliable of ancient manuscripts (that is, the least likely to be contaminated by legend or heresy). The internal evidence of different but compatible eyewitness testimonies is a remarkable testimony to the power of the book. External evidences from credible early AD historians buttress the historical details of the New Testament. And the science of textual criticism allows us to carefully evaluate and identify what the original autographs said.

Has God spoken?

Archeology says “Yes”.

Steles (large stone monuments containing written records of events) and stones corroborate the Biblical stories of the Exodus, of King David and other Israelite kings, and of Pilate’s authority in Judea. Archeology has unearthed the Pools of Siloam and Bethesda, both of which turn out to be just as they are described in the New Testament. Assyrian archeology corroborates the Biblical tale of the Israelite Exodus. The Dead Sea Scrolls resolve the most commonly cited inconsistencies between Biblical record and archeology. And the Epic of Gilgamesh shows clear parallels with the Biblical account of the flood, while setting up a contrast between a clearly mythical and a clearly historical retelling.

Has God spoken?

Prophecy says “Yes”.

The succession of nations turned out just as prophesied by Daniel. Typological prophecies fulfilled in Christ bring together the whole of Scripture (with its multiple antitypes) into the person of Christ. The abomination of desolation predicted by Christ happened “before this generation passes away” just as Christ had said. The prophesied resurrection of Christ can be seen (through many proofs laid out in this book) as having come true. And seven specific prophecies regarding the Messiah definitively pinpoint Jesus of Nazareth as Israel’s Messiah.

Has God spoken?

Yes, He has. And we must listen

Hanegraaff’s apologetic on the inspiration of Scripture takes the reader through his famous acronym M-A-P-S (manuscripts, archeology, prophecy, and Scripture) with subacronyms for each point, all to demonstrate that God has indeed spoken through Scripture and that we have a responsibility to be obedient to His word.

Hanegraaff does a great job of demonstrating some of the best apologetics for the inspiration of Scripture–and does it in an utterly readable style. I have only two beefs with this book: First, the acronyms that can be very helpful for memorizing information are not always the most helpful way of arranging information for understanding. As such, individuals who lack familiarity with some of the basic apologetic arguments presented in this book may feel that they are jumping around from one thing to another quite a bit. Second, Hanegraaff references modern politicos, pundits, and scholars who pooh-pooh the inspiration of Scripture. If he were only referencing scholars, that would be one thing. But he also refers to President Obama and Bill O’Reilly (among others) as anti-inspirationalists. And so they are, but I feel that including them in this book as examples makes what could be a timeless reference work into a period piece that will quickly appear dated.

Nevertheless, I feel that this is a valuable apologetic work and I highly recommend it to those interested in apologetics or Scripture or archeology–or, actually, I think most Christians could benefit from reading this book.

This book was provided to me at no cost via Thomas Nelson’s “BookSneeze” program. My opinion, as always, is my own.

Rating:5 Stars
Category: Apologetics
Synopsis:A detailed apologetic (using easy-to-remember acronyms) for the inspiration of Scripture.
Recommendation: A valuable resource for the Christian library, especially for those who enjoy apologetics or desire to learn more about the Bible.