Book Review: Searching for the Serpent by Dan Bruce
In Searching for the Serpent, Dan Bruce offers a thoughtful and courageous examination of the assumptions that quietly shape modern Christian belief. Rather than attacking faith, the book calls readers back to the biblical text itself, asking whether certain popular teachings truly arise from Scripture or from traditions that have slowly “vitiated the Word of God.” Bruce writes not as a critic standing outside the church, but as a Bible-believer concerned for its health and integrity.
The essays move across a wide landscape—science and religion, the age of the earth, the nature of life, spiritual gifts, politics, sexuality, and the prosperity gospel. In each topic Bruce follows the same method: return to what the Bible actually says, compare it with what is commonly taught, and invite honest re-examination. His tone is firm yet pastoral, shaped by the Expositor’s Prayer he quotes: “Lord, forgive what is mistaken…and bless what is true.”
Readers are free to not agree with every conclusion, but they will appreciate the author’s respect for Scripture and his refusal to rely on slogans or denominational habits. Particularly helpful are the chapters that untangle long-standing confusions—such as the supposed conflict between science and faith, or the modern practice of speaking in tongues—by carefully tracing the biblical record rather than emotional experience.
This is not a book for casual skimming. It asks the reader to think, to test, and sometimes to let go of comfortable ideas. Yet it rewards that effort with a renewed confidence that the Bible can speak for itself when we have the courage to listen. For pastors, teachers, and serious lay readers who love the Word of God, Searching for the Serpent will be both challenging and clarifying—a call to seek truth with humility and with open Scripture in hand.
Where to Get a Copy
Download a free copy of Searching for the Serpent in PDF format …
or, a print edition is available on Amazon.com here