Inerrancy and the Gospels is a treasure trove of theological wisdom. Readers will find that Poythress sprinkles theological and exegetical insights onto almost every page, which makes reading this book a joyful task. For example, Poythress offers apt advice on the synoptic problem when he states that “the meaning of a discourse . . . consists in what it says, not in the history of its origin”. Therefore “we do not have to solve the synoptic problem” to read the Gospels well.

Vern Poythress, Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-Centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. 240 pp. $17.99.

Is another book on the harmonization of the Gospels really needed? Usually I would answer that question with a resounding “No!” But Vern Poythress’s Inerrancy and the Gospels has convinced me otherwise. This sequel to Inerrancy and Worldview is a fresh contribution to the question of how the Gospels harmonize with one another. Poythress’s work is not so much a case-by-case study of episodes in the Gospels that warrant harmonization as much as it is a theological framework for thinking about harmonization, inerrancy, history, and interpretation.

Inerrancy and the Gospels consists of seven sections that generally alternate between principles of interpretation and the application of those principles. Part 1 discusses the problem of harmonization, particularly as it relates to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible. Part 2 unpacks the principles of harmonization and also the theological framework for reading the different perspectives of each Gospel account. Poythress reminds his readers that the Gospels are not “brute facts” but “events with meaning according to the plan of God” (37). Thus these narratives “have theology inherent in them” and are God’s own interpreted retelling of the events and their significance. In this light, Poythress particularly attacks what he calls “The Mental-Picture Theory” of truth, which “expects that a true account will produce in readers a mental picture in direct correspondence to the actual events” (49). He argues, instead, that language by its very nature is “sparse” and therefore allows for variation (50). Therefore, while the narratives in the Gospels are not exhaustive retellings of every detail of certain events, they are nonetheless truthful retellings of those events. This distinction, Poythress says, keeps us from expecting an “artificial precision” the Bible never promises in its communications (62).

Part 3 explores the attitudes interpreters must have when reading the Gospels. Poythress demonstrates the impossibility of analyzing a text with pure neutrality and instead submits that good interpreters engage in the enterprise as faithful disciples of Christ. Only those humble enough to admit their limitations in knowledge and who are committed to the authority of God’s Word will be able to read the Bible as it is meant to be read. In part 4, Poythress discusses special issues in harmonization, namely the synoptic problem and the chronology of the life of Jesus. Part 5 applies the principles and theological framework articulated in the previous sections of the book to individual cases, as when Jesus cleansed the temple, cursed the fig tree, and commissioned the twelve.

Part 6 addresses the thorny issues relating to differences in speeches in the Gospels. Here, Poythress again establishes principles and theological frameworks for wrestling with a particular issue. He focuses on the relation between meaning and intention in reporting speeches and also discusses how the Gospel writers may have summarized dialogues and speeches in their retellings of the events. Finally, part 7 looks at two more case studies and illustrates the type of reading Poythress is advocating.

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