Difficulties in the Bible (Book Review)

R.A. Torrey. Difficulties in the Bible. Chicago: Moody Press. ISBN 0-8024-2214-4.

The book deals with those objections which the modern infidel makes the most about, and which are most puzzling to many Christians. Torrey puts it plainly, “Difficulties are to be expected.” When the finite seeks to understand the infinite, there is bound to be difficulty. But one must keep in mind that a difficulty in a doctrine, or a grave objection to a doctrine, does not in any way prove the doctrine to be untrue. Torrey takes up each difficulty and breaks it down in order to show that there is no real problem at all. Careful and prayerful study will show it to be true. The seeming defects are exceedingly insignificant when put in comparison with its many and marvelous excellencies.

The book has twenty-four chapters. The first three form an introduction while the remaining twenty-one are the difficulties addressed individually. Some of the difficulties are: Where did Cain get his wife?, Joshua commanding the sun to stand still, David’s Sin, Jonah and the whale. Torrey is a bible literalist and he goes full length to prove that the Bible is inerrant and any difficulty one may find is a problem of interpretation, copying, translation or rash reading and judgement. There is no doubting his love for scripture but I think he takes it a tad too far. His exegesis appears sound but a knowledgeable Catholic will not always find it satisfactory.

It will benefit students of scripture to take this book in hand. Caution must be exercised to not get carried away with the language or force of conviction. An ordinary Catholic may get influenced by Torrey’s exegesis and hence must seek guidance from a knowledgeable Catholic or priest. Torrey is a Pentecostal and hence, his views are not the same as Catholics. Seminarians will find much to discuss and it will enable them to strengthen their convictions, besides learning to dialogue with a Pentecostal.