Ring of Truth: A Translator's Testimony

J.B. Phillips, best known for his translations of the New Testament, wrote Ring of Truth out of a deep concern for many Christians whose simple faith was being eroded by the widespread dissemination of views of certain modern scholars challenging the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. Phillips' experience in translating the New Testament convinced him that what is written in the Gospels, however much modern scholarship may try to explain it away, has indeed "the ring of truth." In this personal statement of faith he shares the exciting discoveries he made in the course of translation, and his delight in them; he communicates the fruits of his scholarship and his intimate knowledge of the New Testament; but even more he offers his spiritual certainty to those Christians who may be bewildered by destructive tone of much writing about the Bible. The average Christian dismayed by such arguments will be reassured by this testimony of a New Testament scholar who is still convinced of the validity of the Bible and its relevance to contemporary life.

J. B. Phillips was a canon of the Anglican church and the author of The Newborn Christian, The New Testament in Modern English, Ring of Truth: A Translator’s Testimony, and an autobiography, The Price of Success. He died in 1983.