Monarch Books, 2006, 192 pp. $13.99,
www.lionhudson.com
The main thrust of The Books the Church Suppressed is not to bash the The Da Vinci Code. Instead, it uses some of the The Da Vinci Code’s ludicrous assumptions as its starting point as it defends the historical development of the New Testament canon. In the first few chapters the author succinctly describes the very complex way in which the canon of the Bible came into existence. It then details what Gnosticism was and goes on to explain the reasons why Gnostic “gospels” like The Gospel of Thomas were excluded from the New Testament canon.
The book concludes with a helpful glossary of people, events, and texts that will help you make some sense out of all the things going on during the first three centuries of the church. If you are planning to teach apologetics to your students, this is a substantive resource that is deep but not overwhelming.
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Review By: STEVE CARLSON, Student Ministries, Woodmen Valley Chapel, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
