Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly Disappointing
Review: As an atheist who studies the Bible I am disappointed in this book.
The Bias McKinsey holds is palpable to anyone with any knowledge of the Bible at all.
He stretches the truth of possibilties and takes far too much for granted as well as seeks to commit the cardinal sin of debating biblical errancy..he takes too much out of context in order to misrepresent the truth.
The book holds alot of interesting points and details but each and every one should be thoroughly checked and re-checked before assuming any truth to them.
Far to much money for such a biased point of view.
Rating: 
Summary: The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy
Review: C. Dennis McKinsey's book lists countless problems with the morality, text, and assertions of the Bible. He treats the Bible as any book, and since it is claimed to be the inspired word of God, this book can be held to the highest standards of accuracy; afterall, God can be expected to be accurate. Mr. McKinsey points out many problems, for example, Luke 24:46, where Jesus supposedly said that it was WRITTEN that the "Christ would rise on the third day, in fact no such sentence can be found written anywhere in the Old Testament. This is a serious problem. Mr. McKinsey's book is criticized, for the most part by those who never took the time to read it; whatever weaknesses it may have, its strengths more than compensate for it. This book is a must for those who desire to know the truth about the Bible and the assertion that it is the Word of God.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's get back to the book.
Review: For those of you who are interested in an actual evaluation ofthe book then by all means read this review. If you would prefer tosimply read about people preaching their religious views on-line then skip this review. The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy is certainly controversial. The language is clear and the author is familiar with the subject manner. Most of the Biblical quotations are honest and not out of context. The index is also very good. I generally found the organization of the book to be well done except at certain points where the author needlessly restates an alleged contradiction. The author tends to be argumentative at several points in the text especially his concluding chapter. The book probably would have received five stars if the author had not included the final chapter. [Some of] the basic premise[s] of the book [are] as follows: 1)There are statements within the Bible that when examined together cannot be believed at the same time by the same individual without a gross amount of intellectual dishonesty.... 2) There are statements within the Bible which are violations of scientific principles (besides the miracles) found in astronomy; biology; mathematics; physics; and medicine (among others).... 3) There are certain acts of the characters found within this book, especially God/Jesus, which are ethically questionable and in many cases would easily be condemned as unethical acts if they had been committed by any other individual [such as war, assault and slavery].... 4) The main character God and/or Jesus is assumed by the author to be both incapable of error or contradiction; and unwilling to have ever committed an unethical act.... 5) Based upon these various violations of science, logic and ethics, the author states that the books of the Bible cannot be considered the infallible Word of God. Since God, being incapable of error, would not have given his human instruments incorrect information. Furthermore God would not have acted in such a way that his actions could be seen as morally repulsive. A further problem develops when one considers that God admits to decieving prophets in the past. How would one know if the inspiration one is receiving is God being deceptive or telling the truth? Or if it is God or Satan doing the inspiring? [And so on.] ...Since the Bible cannot be shown in its entirety to be the Word of God. Each statement found within the text must be examined for its truth or falsity and should only be believed if sufficient evidence supports it. The author finds little if anything in the way of supporting evidence to believe the claims found within the Bible are true. The author claims that the errors are so numerous in the text that there is strong reason to doubt that there is any truth to the Bible.
Rating:
Summary: We shouldn't need this book....
Review: From the Preface -"This book and Biblical Errancy teach a kind of Sunday School in reverse by telling people all of the things they should have heard on Sunday morning but didn't. After all, if atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and humanists don't reveal the contradictions, errors, fallacies and problems in the Bible, who will?" And the next 500 pages provide a compact, well organized reference that's a great companion to Callahan's book The Secret Origins of the Bible, which shows WHY the Bible is so riddled with problems. Besides the well known errors, including self contradiction, in the creation and exodus myths, the book provides an excellent source for discussions and debates on science, math, astronomy and social issues. Most of th e book is uncontroversial among modern bible scholars; unfortunately the increasing influence of biblical inerrantist fundamentalists in American discourse requires this book.
Rating:
Summary: We shouldn't need this book....
Review: From the Preface -"This book and Biblical Errancy teach a kind of Sunday School in reverse by telling people all of the things they should have heard on Sunday morning but didn't. After all, if atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and humanists don't reveal the contradictions, errors, fallacies and problems in the Bible, who will?" And the next 500 pages provide a compact, well organized reference that's a great companion to Callahan's book The Secret Origins of the Bible, which shows WHY the Bible is so riddled with problems. Besides the well known errors, including self contradiction, in the creation and exodus myths, the book provides an excellent source for discussions and debates on science, math, astronomy and social issues. Most of th e book is uncontroversial among modern bible scholars; unfortunately the increasing influence of biblical inerrantist fundamentalists in American discourse requires this book.
Rating:
Summary: A few more Questions ; please read
Review: Hahaha What happened to the people that lived and
died way before Jesus was born and who weren't
Jews living under the Law ?( Ex : polynesians
, Native Americans ? )
Was it fair to condem them to
hell ( Hel : Norse Goddess of the Underworld )
without hearing the Good Word ? WHy didnt god send a messenger to each
major population on earth? Does anybody know that the so
called 10 commandments only apply to
the jews and that non-jews are supposed to
follow the 7 Laws of Noah and NOT the 10 commandments?
( Actually I believe there are about 613 commandments
not just 10 ) Does anybody know that the SO called
Golden Rule of Hillel is actually
an Analect of Confusicous ?
( Do unto others as they would do unto you ) Sorry about spelling.
Rating:
Summary: On-topic, factual, and blunt.
Review: I would like to note one thing, book reviews are to review the book, not list 15 other books in some vain attempt to try and debunk everything presented in the title. I found the one listing by a christian offensive and distasteful. As a Christian, (pentecostal if anyone cares) I had never really looked into my faith book for errors. This book was on a friends table, and i began to read it. I found it to be exactly that, a book dealing with errors in the bible. There was no preaching of his views, or anything. I felt it was somewhat biased in its approach, but honest nonetheless. Curious, i ordered a copy, and have read it almost top to bottom. needless to say, I was at first a bit disheartened by it, but then i realized my belief was unaffected. In fact, i felt like the pharisee in me had been washed away. I was still a Christian, but i didnt believe the bible was perfect any longer. I no longer had to feel trapped by my religious beliefs. I felt liberated, to follow love, and not some of the passages that condemn others i found so disagreeable before, but had just grudingly accepted. This book was very valuable to me. I will consider buying another copy for a friend of mine. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK, A MUST READ
Review: Isn't it funny that some of the critics of this book that give it one star when obviously by their comments have not read it. In fear they try to bring the ratings down without trusting their logic to challenge the issues addressed. Unfortunately, they only show how biased and ignorant people can be when they believe in faith (or just because). The author could present the information in a more professional manner. However, there are points he makes that prove to me that the bible is to say the least poorly written and the old testament hardly supports the new testament. If the bible is poorly written then how can that be the word of God? After reading this book, the bible can only be perceived as well written to an individual does not read it seriously from an unbiased viewpoint. One of the issues Mckensy brings up is how Jesus refers to Isaiah as refering to him (page 409). When you read what jesus says and what Isaih really says it becomes apparent that the verse was manipulated to make it appear as a prediction of jesus. When one reads the chapter it is obvious it isn't about Jesus. Jesus changes the words and adds statements of healing the blind. If this is what Jesus, authors, and christians have to do to make people believe in their belief then I want no part of it. I want the truth for real and it amazes me how people who supposedly base their life on truth can convience themselves of obvious lies. I was not sure of my faith when I began to read this book and other books by the christian author McDowell. It appears the ones who claim to have the truth are the ones who are ignoring IMPORTANT well argued issues as if they never existed in defense of thier emotional attachments to their crazy beliefs. I simply want the truth and do not see how one can be convienced the bible has it after reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book with amazing detail
Review: McKinsey's style will rub fundamentalists the wrong way. But for the rest of us with an open mind, it's a real eye-opener. The text is extensive, and the research that must have supported it is awe inspiring.
McKinsey uses the King James Version as his main source, which is the book most revered by fundamentalist Christians. Newer versions include more useful translations, but I think McKinsey really has a point he wants to make to fundamentalists.
The evidence in this book is overwhelming. I actually found myself referring to my own bible to verify the accuracy of McKinsey's assertions. They were all there, in black and white. No one can read this book cover to cover without feeling at least a little confused about the bible's message.
My only criticism is that the details are so thorough that sometimes the points made are trivial. Minor contradictions could be simply a matter of translation. But the Good Book's confusing and sometimes ghastly stands on such topics as slavery, rape, human sacrifice, and a litany of other topics are nothing short of appalling.
This book has profoundly affected how I look at our world.
Rating:
Summary: ONLY FANATICS CAN DISREGARD THE TRUTH OF THIS BOOK!
Review: Thank you very much, Mr. McKinsey! McKinsey has offered a great service to humankind in that he has made it easier to refute the nonsense of religion. True Believers a la Hoffer (THE TRUE BELIEVER) cannot be saved from their own bigoted ignorance, however McKinsey makes it almost possible. Those less then TRUE believers who claim to worship truth and have an open mind will have a hard time reading this book without throwing out the Bible afterward. Unlike many might think, I am not an atheist. And although I am an ex-Catholic and ex-fundamentalist Christian I continue to very much believe in God. But now I embrace Deism, the religion of our American Founding Fathers. Unlike atheism or agnosticism, Deism takes the enlightened position that there is a God and then shuts up and sits down. McKinsey's book obliterates Christianity, Judaism and starts to go to work on Islam and Mormonism as well. Only a bigot that cannot stand the truth can fail to agree with McKinsey's logical conclusions and reasonable arguments. Even though his distaste for the charletans that sold us "revealed religions" shows through, his logic cannot be disputed logically. Of course it may be disregarded by those it threatens. However, this book can't touch Deism simply because Deism makes no outlandish claims of miracles, contradictions and supernatural beings. And it doesn't claim to have a body of "revealed scriptures" that have been handed to it by God or one of his angels or agents. McKinsey points out the ludicrousness of this "revealeed religion" nonsense beautifully. Unlike what many Fundamentalist Christian mouthpieces might say Jefferson, Paine, Washington, et al were most definitely Deists and NOT CHRISTIANS. Jefferson even edited out the nonsense from the gospels in producing his Jefferson Bible, hardly the work of a Christian who can "neither add nor take away from the word of God!" Yet that doesn't stop Fundamentalists from dropping names in an attempt to "prove" that Christianity is the religion of America. Too bad, Jefferson simply was as much a Christian as McKinsey. McKinsey's E.of B.E. greatly simplifies the task of uncovering the many contradictions, incorrect "facts" and hypocrisy of the Bible. It is well worth the list price as it is a hardbound quality book that will last longer then the average Bible. I hope it lasts longer for more than one reason. Joseph Francione, author, HOW TO SAVE AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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