Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity) [Hardcover]

William Lane Craig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0889466165 | ISBN-13: 978-0889466166

This text draws on the evidence of Paul and the Gospels to present the case for accepting the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 462 pages
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889466165
• ISBN-13: 978-0889466166
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,377,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. With my wife Jan, we have two grown children.

At the age of sixteen as a junior in high school, I first heard the message of the Christian gospel and yielded my life to Christ. I pursued undergraduate studies at Wheaton College (B.A. 1971) and graduate studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A. 1974; M.A. 1975), the University of Birmingham (England) (Ph.D. 1977), and the University of Munich (Germany) (D.Theol. 1984). From 1980-86 I taught Philosophy of Religion at Trinity, during which time we started our family. In 1987 we moved to Brussels, Belgium, where I pursued research at the University of Louvain until assuming my position at Talbot in 1994.

I have authored or edited over thirty books, including The Kalam Cosmological Argument; Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus; Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom; Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology; and God, Time and Eternity, as well as over a hundred articles in professional journals of philosophy and theology, including Philosophia Christi, The Journal of Philosophy, New Testament Studies, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy, and British Journal for Philosophy of Science.

My CV can be read here: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer?pagename=curriculum_vitae

Publication list: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/site/PageServer?pagename=publications_main

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scholarly Argument for the Ressurection for Jesus Christ, March 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity) (Hardcover)

This book is not for laymen (which I am). In fact, it assumes you can read Greek. Craig enters into discussion in New Testament Criticism, with full awareness of the work of top scholars, to evaluate the evidence for the ressurection of Christ. His arguments are extremely logical and compelling.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broad and In Depth -- Craig Delivers a Powerful Case, October 21, 2004

By 

C. Price "Layman, Lawyer, Blogger" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity) (Hardcover)

William L. Craig is probably the leading Christian apologist for the historicity of the resurrection. He has several popular treatments available, the most recent being The Son Rises. Although I have benefitted from these treatments, I wanted to see the more detailed and in-depth research behind these popularizations. So I forked over the money and bought it. Did it live up to my hopes and the price I paid? Yes. Worth every penny.

This book is, in essence, a passage-by-passage discussion of the historicity of the New Testament passages dealing with Jesus' resurrection. Craig has spent a great deal of time conducting research in Europe and it shows. At over 400 pages, Craig uses every bit of space to cram in informed discussion. He interacts with a tremendous amount of European and U.S. research, from all sides of the discussion. You would be hard pressed to find so much ground covered with so much familiarity.

After a brief preface, Craig spends about 150 pages dealing with the Pauline evidence for the resurrection. He makes a compelling case for the early origins of Paul's formulaic recitation of the 1 Cor. 15 tradition about the death, burial, resurrection and appearances of Jesus to various witnesses. There is also a convincing and thorough examination of the nature of Jesus' resurrection body in Paul's letters--a physical resurrected body. This discussion should be enough to drive a steak through the heart of the lingering skepticism that clings to the belief that Paul believed only in a "spiritual" resurrection (which is, a Craig shows, a contradiction in terms).

After wrapping up the Pauline evidence, Craig turns to the Gospels and continues his methodical, passage-by-passage discussion of the evidence. As with the rest of the book, you will be hard pressed to find one scholar who engages so many different theories and approaches in one book. Finally, Craig wraps it up and makes his case for the resurrection. Those who have read one of Craig's popular books or even heard him in a debate will immediately see the origins of those treatments. It was nice to see how well the research and background supporting the final argument actually fit together.

Despite all this praise, I must provide a few notes of caution. The substance of the book is excellent, but the presentation leaves much to be desired. It looks like it was cranked out on an ancient type writer. The lines are sometimes wavy and the Index appears to be off by a few pages on at least some subjects. Nevertheless, I give this book my highest recommendation as a tremendous resource on the resurrection.

Note: I have learned that my copy of the book was an older edition. The print and index have been improved for later editions.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars William Craig's Detailed Defense of the Resurrection, February 19, 2007

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D. Ward - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity) (Hardcover)

This is William Craig's most detailed book containing the evidence and thoughts centered around defending the resurrection of Jesus. He has successfully debated this material with other scholars. No other Christian apologist tends to be attacked more by non-believing scholars than William Craig. They constantly look for ways to defeat him in debates without much success.

I noticed that Amazon.com lists the publication date as 1989. Don't let the older copyright date fool you. The current edition being sold here at Amazon is the "revised edition" of 2002.