I think Viclyn raises an interesting point that I certainly have also encountered when she says that her new acquaintance "isn't sure about the validity of The Bible". When people say this they quite often stump well meaning Christians who are so used to proof texting that they are not sure where to go next! I'm not sure recommending Christian books is necessarily helpful as they too tend to proof text a bit too much (although Philip Yancey, Rob Bell and Steve Chalke are probably all exceptions who really get to the heart of the gospel).
My personal approach in such a situation is a) get to know the person but then b) discuss the topic in a fairly rigorous manner as two equals trying to "find the truth". If you are confident that your opinion is correct then you have nothing to fear. I would invite this person over to dinner and then over a glass of wine discuss the issue (who knows you might learn something as well)!
Just quickly, regarding Phil and Sambekzx's comments - the gospel does indeed transcend culture, however in the words of John Stott contrasting fundamentalists with Evangelicals:
As for biblical interpretation, fundamentalists seemed to suppose that they could apply the text directly to themselves as if it had been written primarily for them. In doing to they ignored the cultural chasm which yawned between the biblical world and the contemporary world... however, evangelicals struggle with the task of cultural transposition, in which they identify the essential message of the text, detach it from its original cultural context, and then re-contextualize it before applying it to our situation today.
ie we must always be aware that the bible was written in one culture and we are applying it in another. That doesn't make the bibel less relevant, but does warn us that we need to be careful in our interpretation and also in assuming that our interpretation is the ONLY interpretation.
Simon
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