Preface: To The Second Edition
PREFACE
The publisher’s decision to produce a second edition of Understanding the Bible has given me the opportunity to reread it and make a number of additions. Over ten years have elapsed since the first edition. During this decade the international situation has changed considerably. The worldwide student revolt at the end of the sixties has been replaced by apathy among the majority and anarchy among a comparatively small, but very vocal and radical, minority. The areas of theological controversy have shifted, as symbolized by Honest to God(1963) which denied personality to God and The Myth of God Incarnate (1977) which denied deity to Jesus. New challenges as well as new problems face Christians in these times.
I have tried to ensure that this new edition reflects this changing mood. Some fresh material has been added on religion and science, creation, evolution and the flood. I have elaborated the section which considers the interpretation of Genesis 2 and 3, and how we can distinguish between the literal and the figurative in Scripture. I have rewritten the introduction to the chapter on “The Authority of the Bible.” Echoes of the inerrancy debate are heard in several passages. My position is to endorse and explain the principle stated in the Lausanne Covenant (1974) that Scripture is “without error in all that it affirms.” I have enlarged the reference to cultural transposition and have also commented on the so-called “new hermeneutic,” emphasizing the need to go beyond the elucidation of each biblical text to its application, beyond its original meaning to its contemporary message. Further, practically all the biblical quotations are now taken from the New International Version.
My hope and prayer are that, in his grace, God may help readers of this second edition to love the Bible more and understand it better.
—JOHN STOTT
APRIL 1984