Analysis Of The Gagging Of God By Donald A. Carson

Biographical Sketch of the Author
If there is a man who is certified to write on the fallacies of exegeting a text, it is Donald A. Carson, (or as many know him, D.A. Carson). Dr. Carson has his Ph.D. In New Testament Studies from the University of Cambridge. D.A. Carson is well known in the evangelical world for his commentaries on Matthew, John, a New Testament introduction and numerous other books like, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism, a work that won the Gold Medallion award. He is also the president of the well known Gospel Coalition and continues to serve as a Research Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Needless to say, Dr. Carson should speak to exegetical fallacies that often befall the teacher
Carson say on pg. 2 of the ebook, “But if critical exegesis offers sound reasons, it must learn to reject unsound reasons. That is why this study is important. By exposing our exegetical fallacies, we may become better practitioners of critical exegesis.” Dr. Carson will cover many different errors in exegesis in this book, even showing some of his own fallacies in exegesis, so that the reader can know what proper exegesis looks like and what exegesis is. With this being the thesis of the book, you can see what Carson is trying to accomplish with his book. Dr. Carson is tackling a tough topic of exegetical fallacies, showing teachers of the Word weak exegesis so that they can rightfully exegete a passage of Scripture. The center thought of Carson’s book is this thought, that we need to “move toward unamity on those matters of interpretation that still divide us.” One line that really strikes what this book is on pg. 7 of the ebook, “In short, this is an amateur’s collection of exegetical fallacies.” This book was written for the pastor who wants to exegete the text properly, for the seminary student learning the proper way of exegesis, and for the church to know the fallacies of much of the exegesis we
Carson’s book is one that is very helpful to the church. His many examples of exegetical errors are more than enough to prove the points that he is trying to make. Carson does not only give lists of fallacies, he actually references and cites examples of the errors that he speaks of. Though his examples stem mostly from the scholarly world, reading through the examples showed me that I heard and have even committed some of these fallacies that he referenced! The vast sea of examples that Carson gives the reader really useful. The book really finds it its usefulness in the fact that it is rooted in reality. This book is not just a result of Carson showing us his endless knowledge of exegetical fallacies, it shows us how these fallacies look in practice.
One thing that this book does well is that it covers such a wide range of errors, it is very likely one can walk away from reading this book and realize that they have committed one of the errors that is covered. No one can leave this book unscathed, not even Carson, as he brings up two of his own exegetical fallacies. This book will be helpful to the preacher of the Word, as he would realize his exegetical errors that he has committed in teaching the Scriptures. This preacher would hopefully walk away sharpened by the errors he read of, committing to a deeper study of the Word to properly teach the