That seems to be a mistruth that can only be corrected by the reader's personal engagement with the text). For instance, it's difficult to believe that a mistruth such as 'David wrote the Psalms' or 'The Old Testament is a Boring History Book' substantially impacts one's engagement with the OT (except, perhaps, if it leads you to completely avoid it-but then, I'm not so sure that someone's explanation of why it's not a boring history book would change anyone's opinion. There are two reasons for the three-star rating: (1) Not all of the mistruths seem worthy of inclusion in a book like this. In easy-to-follow, conversational prose, Strawn guides the reader to a fuller and more theological informed appreciation for the Old Testament by debunking ideas that typically lead Christians either to a skewed reading of the OT or total avoidance. Thanks to NetGalley for a free digital copy for review, all opinions are my own.īrent Strawn, professor of Old Testament at Duke University, gives the reader a tour of ten common 'mistruths' about the Old Testament that are frequently passed around in Christian circles. Use this book as a start to your own study - don't just take his word as gospel (not that he'd want you to anyway!). I will give credit where it's due though: he also spends time acknowledging his biases, which covers a lot of the stretching. I think he goes a smidge too far sometimes, including a reference at the end of the the chapter of Mistruth 4 (still the best chapter though!). Especially because he very quickly explains that he's not 'really talking about lies', and then uses the term 'mistruth' for the rest of the book. He spends some time explaining it in both the introduction and conclusion, but it still doesn't sit right. (Spoiler alert, God's not mean!) I have not dedicated my career to the Old Testament as Strawn has, but have long felt the need for more OT study and application in church, and this is a great launch pad!

Strawn addresses this topic from an angle I've not heard before, and gives clear and concise reasoning for his answer. The highlight for me was 'Mistruth 4 - The Old Testament God is Mean.REALLY Mean'. He also writes to the lay person (though I know many clergy who would do well brush up on these topics too), without dumbing down the information.

Strawn covers 10 topics in this short book, giving a good start to further study, as well as a great notes section at the end with more resources about each topic. Really solid book addressing many false misconceptions about the Old Testament.

Book review lies my teacher told me