In Brief: Overdue Heresies: And the Search for Truth

By Malcolm Bell. Self-published, 2024. 210 pages. $15.95/paperback; $6.99/eBook.

The author recounts his previous dream of retreating alone to Iona, an island off the coast of Scotland, to read the Bible and write. Marriage changed his plans of solitary reflection, but writing this book enabled him to express his faith convictions:

While my views are mostly simple, one reason that I dare to venture them is that the views of many eminent theologians strike me as being so encrusted with tradition, received wisdom, and excess logic that they often miss the mark.

Bell notes that atheist authors such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins used scientific discovery to highlight factual errors in Scriptures, but he uses such knowledge to show the majesty of God’s creation.

Bell’s reflections range from single sentences to short paragraphs, grouped by topics such as God, religion, and the Bible. Bell describes God as a mystery and says that he does not know if he believes in the Quaker view that there is that of God in each person. He observes that God often does not prevent suffering and premature death yet affirms that “Love is a palpable element of God.”

Some of Bell’s reflections draw on his career as an attorney. He notes that trial lawyers often try to discredit a witness by catching them in a single lie, which leads a jury to reject their entire testimony. Many readers apply a similar method to reading the Bible, but Bell describes this approach as erroneous.

This volume offers readers a source of thought-provoking daily readings drawn from the spiritual life of a convinced Quaker.