The Good Book Is Better Than It Used to Be

About the Book

Jonathan Goble (1827–1896) was the most colorful and aggressive missionary in nineteenth-century Japan. The maverick Baptist won acclaim as inventor of the rickshaw, translator of the oldest extant Bible portion published in Japan, and pioneer in the distribution of Scriptures. But he was disliked for his volcanic temper, violent acts, and shady ethics. The missionary icon became an outcast.

This book grew out of the author's 1990 work, Jonathan Goble of Japan, which earned these reviews:

"A fascinatingly colorful personality comes to life in the pages of this scholarly book."-New York History

"Outstanding study of the complexities of one missionary excellent example of the historian's craft."-Journal of Japanese Studies

"The book blends good scholarship with human interest, rich local color, and readability. It will reward any reader."-Missiology

The present work, newly written with fresh insights, offers a different perspective on an extraordinary missionary. Aimed at a wider audience, it too will reward any reader.

About the Author

While attending his first Vacation Bible School at the age of four, F. Calvin Parker consumed more scripture than Kool-Aid and cookies. His spongy mind absorbed the amazing stories of Noah in the zoo-like ark and Daniel in the lions’ den, along with proverbs and psalms that have since nourished his soul. His growing understanding of scripture was strongly influenced by the radio sermons of Charles E. Fuller and the prolific writings of John R. Rice. While in the army he joined Calvary Baptist Church in New York and sat under the preaching of William Ward Ayer, another fundamentalist stalwart. In 1951, after his graduation from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Calvin Parker and his wife Harriett went to Japan as Southern Baptist missionaries. His reading the Bible in Japanese, which differs sharply from English, revealed that he had altered or tweaked the meaning of many passages to bring them in line with his fundamentalist beliefs. As the finding of the “Book of the Law” in the reign of King Josiah sparked a spiritual revival, Parker’s rediscovery of the Bible wrought a personal transformation. With many barnacle-like accretions removed, the scriptures began to excite and challenge him as though he had never read them before. Free at last from oppressive biblicism, he basked in the liberating love the Bible proclaims. Parker taught at Tokyo Baptist Theological Seminary and Seinan Gakuin University, edited the Japan Christian Quarterly, and served as president of the Fellowship of Christian Missionaries in Japan. He and Harriett retired to Mars Hill, North Carolina, in 1989. Since then he has taught seminary extension courses and led Bible studies for many groups. Calvin and Harriett both have served as deacons in Mars Hill Baptist Church and filled many positions in the church. In 2008 they lost the youngest of their four children, an experience that further deepened their appreciation of the scriptures. This book, Parker's ninth, details a fascinating journey of eighty years with the Bible.