Archive for June, 2026
“The Divine Saviour In The Dark Light Of Modern Critical and Sceptical Scholarship” paperback book excerpt
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Biblical archaeology, Documentaries, My books, The Bible, Theology on June 7, 2026

“In 2012 I made the long desired step of making my first Biblically inspired documentary. I had begun a website where I was sharing my views and then we went to Paphos, Cyprus. There I was struck yet again at how historically accurate the Bible was. Here, in these places, the Bible is part of the history and culture of the land. St Paul walked here. My documentary was called “The Apostles at Paphos” and in it I explore the events of Acts 13. This documentary contained my first verbally public criticism of modern critical scholarship and shows why the events of Acts 13 can be verified by archaeological remains in Paphos. My wife and I had already visited Cyprus and my research was entirely independent and self motivated. While others were at the coffee shop, I was visiting an old church and archaeological grounds, and I loved every minute of it. I made notes, recorded details, read the Bible and explored. It was a far cry away from the little boy who was raised up on a council estate who had saved up to buy himself a Bible. O yes, I did it. In 1986, and I still have that Bible and I read from it until the covers came off. As life progressed on I often found myself at loggerheads with wrong concepts and misinterpretations of the Bible in churches. I tried to remain faithful to what is written in Scripture but there is such a thing as false teachers and they don’t care what the Scriptures say. I have preached and taught many times in churches and on more than one occasion I have had to walk away. These circumstances often leave a person feeling drained and anxious, and feelings of despair can try and crush a man when his faith is harassed. I have faced this reality many times and it is a cost of choosing to be loyal to Scripture. There I was with a Bible in one hand and a guitar in the other. O yes, I’m a musician and I made my first official solo album while I was studying for my theology degree. Even while I was trekking through Greek islands like Rhodes and Kos (Acts 21: 1), and Crete (Acts 27: 7-12) in search of St Paul and Titus (Titus 1: 5). I was creating music back in England while editing documentaries I had filmed. It had been a hard creative road and all the while, this book has had rewrite after rewrite, revision upon revision. I have carried it with me at all times, waiting for that final day when I will be happy to release it and see it in print. But as time went on, things began to change. Public awareness began to grow and a certain claim I had made came to pass. In my thesis in 2010 I had claimed that one day Biblical discoveries would be made that confirm the Biblical truth and since then the City of David in Jerusalem has been unearthed. Solomon’s kingdom has been proven. No end of Biblical discoveries have been made. Likewise, public perception and knowledge of the Bible has improved. People are raising public awareness of historical facts and places associated with the Bible. No longer are critical and sceptical university scholars and media barons ruling the roost. It’s Hollywood in your pocket, the days of media outlets and film companies controlling the narrative are over. People can freely watch YouTube videos and read articles that at one time would never have been published or made. We have witnessed the decline of Christianity in Britain, now we are seeing some changes. There is a renewed interest in the faith and Bible sales have increased. So I hope this book inspires and challenges its readers and helps people to have a renewed confidence in the authority and historicity of the Bible. To look beyond ourselves and to the lands in which it was written. Because the most important Book in the world (the Bible) is either entirely true or it is entirely false. In this book I want to communicate that these critical and sceptical scholars are the ones the British media has given rise to since the late 1990’s and early to mid 2000’s. But the battle has been happening a long time before then. The movement goes all the way back to the 18th century. It began quite moderate but, in modern times these scholars have shredded the historicity of the Bible in the minds of many people.”
“The Divine Saviour In The Dark Light Of Modern Critical and Sceptical Scholarship” is available now in paperback from Amazon