Blinded by the Truth: How Our Theology Obscures Biblical History
The devil may mislead Christians, blinding to them to the truth by the truth. How does that happen?
In his book, Mark Horne begins by examining how the devil uses the truth of Scripture to deceive as well as how Jesus responds to this tactic by appealing to other Scriptures. If Christians concentrate on only one aspect of Scripture’s testimony rather than the whole counsel of God, haven’t they narrowed their vision?
And yet, as Horne contends, the phenomenon where certain biblical truths result in blindness to the truth witnessed by all Scripture can occur in theological discussions or exegesis, where fixation on a particular theological construct overrides the historical testimony of all Scripture.
While affirming the Bible’s witness as history, Horne questions whether all of Scripture’s testimony has been brought to bear on topics including views of atonement, the order of salvation, soteriology in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the wrath of God in Romans 9, the Book of Job as history and more.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:
“The thesis of Mark Horne’s Blinded by the Light is simple: The Bible is a history book. If you’re an orthodox Christian, you might be tempted to nod in agreement, close the book, and go back to scrolling for something edgy on your social media Platform of Preference. Beware. Mark’s simple thesis contains profound depths.”
Peter J. Leithart, President of Theopolis Institute in Birmingham, Alabama.
ABOUT THEOPOLIS EXPLORATIONS
The Theopolis Explorations Series builds on the four volumes of the Theopolis Fundamentals Series. Each Explorations volume brings the Theopolitan vision to bear on a particular biblical, liturgical, cultural, or missional topic. Theopolis Explorations are well-researched but not academic, elegantly but not popularly written, thorough but not exhaustive. The authors do not claim to speak the final word on the issues they examine, but aspire to offer a helpful word to strengthen and embolden the church as she carries on the mission of King Jesus in today’s world. For more information about Theopolis, visit our website, TheopolisInstitute.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Horne is the executive director of Logo Sapiens Communications and is an assistant pastor at Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church. He is the author of Solomon Says: Directives for Young Men (Athanasius Press 2020), a guide to understanding Proverbs. His other books include J. R. R. Tolkien: The Mind Behind the Rings (Thomas Nelson, Christian Encounter Series), The Victory According to Mark: An Exposition of the Second Gospel (Canon Press), and Why Baptize Babies: An Exploration of the Theology and Practice of the Reformed Churches. Mark earned his M. Div from Covenant Theological Seminary and has pastored in Washington state and Oklahoma. His previous seminar topics include Romans, the Gospel of Mark, Ephesians, and Proverbs. He occasionally writes on Substack as Solomon Says.