But is it really honey?

Christians are Bible people.

It's a book we listen to. It's a book we love. It's where we find out about Jesus and the good news of his saving work. It's where we discover the history of the world, and our place in it.

But that doesn't stop us having questions about it. Just how does it work that a book written by scores of people over a thousand year span can claim to be literally the very words of God?

And at a time when the central ideas of Scripture are more and more out of step with the spirit of the age, we are tempted to doubt the Bible as reliable and trustworthy.

That's why I'm delighted that Barry Cooper has written Can I really trust the Bible? - the latest in our Questions Christians Ask series. Barry uses a simple example to ask some key questions about the Bible. If you see what looks to be a jar of honey on a shelf - how do you know that it is genuinely honey inside? Three simple steps:

1. It claims to be honey - read what is says on the label
2. If looks like honey - you open the jar and see that its colour, texture and smell are all very "honey-like"
3. It tastes like honey - when you actually experience the taste you can be absolutely sure that what you have got is the genuine article.

So Barry works through these stages in this short, engaging read, asking -

• What does the Bible claim for itself?
• Do those claims stack up from what it looks like?
• Do those claims work out in experience - does it "taste" as it claims?

And along the way, the book addresses a clutch of knotty problems and questions about the Bible that have confused Christians about their book down the ages.

This is a terrific resource to read and enjoy for yourself, and to share and talk about with other believers and even those who are thinking about the Christian faith. It's a well-reasoned, witty, practical and honest guide to word of God that is sweeter than honey.

Taste and see!

You can order Can I really trust the Bible? by Barry Cooper HERE.