Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

If you are even remotely serious about the resurrection of Jesus Christ this book is a must have! This is one of my favorite books I own. This is Craig's masterpiece. Although this is not for a lay person, as he frequently uses Latin, German, Greek, and some Hebrew. The German is mostly in the footnotes as sources he's used, but he does use Greek when dealing with the New Testament accounts and Paul's quoting of an earlier Christian creed in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 3-5. I can't stress how important this book is if you're searching to find out if Jesus' resurrection was an actual historical event. Definitely recommend this one!! Well worth the high price tag.