Can We Trust the Gospels?: Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John [Paperback]

Mark D. Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2007

Attacks on the historical reliability of the Gospels—especially their portrayal of Jesus Christ—are nothing new. But are these attacks legitimate? Is there reason to doubt the accuracy of the Gospels? By examining and refuting some of the most common criticisms of the Gospels, author Mark D. Roberts explains why we can indeed trust the Gospels, nearly two millennia after they were written.

Lay readers and scholars alike will benefit from this accessible book, and will walk away confident in the reliability of the Gospels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Can We Trust the Gospels? is quite simply the best effort I have ever read by a serious scholar to communicate what scholars know about the Gospels and why that should indeed encourage us to trust them and thus to trust Jesus Christ."
—Hugh Hewitt, nationally syndicated radio talk show host; Professor of Law, Chapman University

"There is a crisis of confidence about the Gospels, fueled by sensational claims about supposedly new Gnostic Gospels with a 'revised standard' view of Jesus. As Mark Roberts makes clear, the earliest and best evidence we have for the real Jesus is the canonical Gospels, not the much later Gnostic ones."
—Ben Witherington III, Professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary, author of What Have They Done with Jesus?

"This book not only makes a compelling case for trusting the Gospels, it illuminates the creative ways in which God worked to bring us His Word. Roberts's brilliant little book deserves to be widely read by both skeptics and believers."
—Joe Carter, Blogger (www.evangelicaloutpost.com) and Director of Communications for the Family Research Council

"What F. F. Bruce did for my generation of students, Mark Roberts has done for the current generation. Any student who asks me if our Gospels are reliable will be given this book, and then I'll buy another copy for the next student!"
—Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, North Park University

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (June 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581348665
• ISBN-13: 978-1581348668
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #369,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifacted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before then, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles).

Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Mark writes an "almost-daily" blog, found at www.markdroberts.com. He also writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His "Daily Reflections" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email (www.thehighcalling.org).

Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column "Lyrical Poetry." Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 63 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Conservative Harvard Perspective on Gospels June 22, 2007

By B. D. Weimer

Format:Paperback

Mark Roberts received his Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard University. Since he is fairly conservative theologically, you might expect this book to represent a disavowal of his Harvard training. The truth is more interesting.

Dr. Roberts does distance himself from some of the secular and skeptical assumptions of his professors at Harvard. But he puts the tools of critical scholarship to use in a manner the public is not accustomed to seeing -- demonstrating the reliability of the four traditional Gospels.

Dr. Roberts' scholarship is subordinate to his fluid, plain-language dissection of common doubts about the Gospels. In many cases, he dispatches modern skeptics with amazing brevity. For example, in about two pages, he pretty much demolishes Bart Ehrman's popular book Misquoting Jesus. Roberts quickly shows the contradiction at the heart of Ehrman's book. Ehrman argues that intentional scribal modifications have rendered the original Gospels unknowable, producing numerous disparities in the thousands of ancient Gospel manuscripts. But, in the process of explaining how these changes were introduced, Ehrman produces convincing arguments for the language of the original texts. Thus, while attempting to highlight modern discrepancies, Ehrman inadvertantly shows that the multitude of manuscripts enables the modern critic to work back fairly easily to reconstruct the original texts.

Roberts presents these types of arguments in such a calm and clear manner that it makes you wonder why the traditionalists have had so many difficulties responding to modern skeptics. Where have these traditional arguments been hiding all this time? Apparently they have been lying dormant ... in the New Testament program at Harvard University!

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love New Testament Studies August 14, 2007

By C. Price VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was drawn to this book because one of its endorsers compared it to F.F. Bruce's invaluable The New Testament Documents, Are they Reliable. Published decades ago and now in its sixth edition, The New Testament Documents is a masterpiece of condensing a wealth of scholarly knowledge into a readable guide for the layman. Mark Roberts' Can We Trust the Gospels is a different kind of book. Although Roberts has respectable academic credentials and writes with extensive knowledge, his approach is more pastoral. The fusion of academic knowledge and pastoral insight makes this a different kind of book than most apologetics works. It is not an extended argument for the most conservative positions possible about the Gospels. Although arguments for conservative positions are present, they are not the unique focus of the book.

Can We Trust the Gospels is really a collection of FAQs as one might find on a website (which Roberts states is intentional). It addresses the usual issues, but not necessarily in the usual way. The traditional case is made adequately in each chapter, though other recent treatments offer more thorough defenses of the varied topics. This does not detract from Robert's book because it is clear that he did not intend to make extended arguments for each position. He regularly refers his readers to lengthier and more scholarly discussions. What this book offers is more of the broad strokes of good arguments, which is likely all that many of his readers desire, and something more. Roberts often explains why the existence of questions about issues such as authorship and dating and contradictions should not damage Christian belief.... For example, although Roberts' gives "good reasons" for accepting traditional authorship of Matthew and John, he concedes that "we can't be certain." Rather than end there, however, he proceeds to explain why--from the more established evidence--we can trust the Gospels despite that lack of certainty. This approach is characteristic.

Indeed, an alternative title could have been, "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love New Testament Studies." Rather than simply argue for the earliest possible date of the Gospels, Roberts spends more time explaining why the gap between Jesus and the Gospels does not diminish the latter's accuracy given the nature of oral tradition and available sources. Rather than argue each apparent Gospel contradiction in detail, Roberts provides some helpful broad guidelines in dealing with them. This includes, in Robert's opinion, understanding the literary intentions of the authors. For example, Roberts discusses Mark's reference to digging through a roof and Luke's reference to removing tiles to get through a roof and notes that they are telling the same story but that Luke has made the story more understandable for his more gentile audience who would have found the concept of digging through roofs somewhat odd. Roberts seeks to reassure his readers with the knowledge that alteration of such details are not really a problem and served to make the truth more, not less, understandable.

If you want a less combative and more pastoral, though informed, book about the accuracy of the Gospels, you will like this book. It is also suitable for the student taking a secular religion or New Testament class who will face just these kinds of questions or the Christian who finds himself or herself discussing these issues with a more skeptical acquaintance. But when dealing with more informed or determined opponents, check the footnotes and dig deeper. Read more ›

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blogger's Breadth, A Scholar's Depth and a Pastor's Heart in One Important Book June 23, 2007

By Tod Bolsinger

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

With the scholarly skills honed by earning a PhD from Harvard, and the connection to thousands of readers each day in his award-winning blog, Mark Roberts is uniquely qualified to address the issues that are currently being batted about the airwaves and bestseller lists questioning the credibility of the New Testament Gospels. But what makes this book most helpful (besides its pithy brevity!) is that Dr. Roberts writes for the pew and the pub more than the academy. This book is written for the lay reader who is interested in more than attention grabbing sound bites, but doesn't have the time to master the original languages (like Roberts has.) He also writes in a style that address biblical critics questions without (thankfully!) resorting to ridicule and hype. It is a model of good, edifying scholarship that is useful in the real world.

Roberts reinforces the confidence that a Christian can rightly have when reading the accounts of the life of Jesus and he dispels a number of long-discredited criticisms that have been making a comeback. An excellent resource for pastors who want to equip their members with facts, straightforward analysis and helpful illustrations for truly trusting the biblical gospels.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Roberts Fires Both Barrels September 4, 2007

By Corey Layne Wilkins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

While I was anticipating some wussified, Harvard, upper-academia pot shot at the Synoptic Gospels strung out in a multi-plex of footnote mania, what I got was quite the opposite. Roberts takes the complex and makes it readable and understandable to a lay guy like me that just wants to know if Dan Brown is a blow hard?! After seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls in Seattle last Winter, I wanted to read more about the canonization of the Holy Bible. This book lays it all out there in a cool FAQ format that coherently dovetails each chapter into the next. He leaves no stone unturned and articulates his thoughts and points with brevity, wit, and oftentimes humorous personal stories. He's Harvard turned Fuller (odd combo?) and one of my new favorite, contemporary minds. This book is a well-thought out, short read that will paint you a convincing picture of the Gospels and their formation. For the Christian, atheist, agnostic, scholar, or simple lay guy like me; this one is worth the time and scholarship. Thanks, Mark! Sorry...Dr. Mark.