Customer Reviews

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(4)

 

 

To be candid, I am not a fan of most popular apologetics -- especially on the resurrection. But when I saw that this book was 384 pages long, I thought it was perhaps an exception and would cover the issue in more detail than others. I was wrong. So why do I still rank this book so high? Because it does what it intends to do effectively.

This book effectively equips Christians to witness to their friends, neighbors, and families using the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Habermas and Licona begin with a discussion about the importance of the resurrection of Jesus to Christianity. Though this seems obvious, the discussion is helpful because it wisely recommends focusing on the resurrection without getting bogged down in, presumably, issues such as inerrancy and a complete harmonization of the resurrection narratives. This is a common failing of Christians trying to share their faith. The authors' emphasis on keeping the eye on the ball extends throughout the book.

After the opening chapter, the book turns to the core of the issue, the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The strength of this section is that it distills down, accurately, a high level of scholarship on the issue. Habermas and Licona present five "minimal facts." That is, they focus on five historical facts that are accepted by most scholars:

1) Jesus' death by crucifixion;
2) Jesus' disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them;
3) Paul, a persecutor of the church, has suddenly changed to faith in Jesus;
4) James, skeptical of Jesus during his ministry, was suddenly changed to faith in Jesus; and,
5) The tomb of Jesus was empty.

No. 4 is perhaps more disputed than Habermas and Licona discuss (and by far the least important of the five), but the rest of the discussion accurately represents the state of historical scholarship. Although their discussion will not supplant the more probing discussions of N.T. Wright or William L. Craig, it will equip the reader to accurately present to their friends, neighbors, and family the persuasive historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. They fit their "minimal facts" together effectively to present a strong case for the resurrection of Jesus.

Most of the rest of the book deals with various objections to the resurrection. This includes the usual suspects, such as the hallucination theory or the forgotten grave site. But it also includes others that scholars tend to ignore but which actually pop up in real conversation, such as whether Jesus could have been an alien (don't laugh, I've heard that one) and how do we know that even if there was a resurrection that God had anything to do with it. Their response effectively focuses on the context of Jesus' ministry and claims about himself.

There are a few sections that appear out of place, such as the discussion of near death experiences and even the section about the existence of God. But the book closes with its strength, a helpful discussion of how to take the knowledge conveyed by the book and convince others about the resurrection of Jesus.

Christians wishing to share effectively the core of their faith with those they care about will find this book very helpful. And for that reason, I recommend it.

Knowing why you believe what you believe is one of the hardest parts of being a Christian. Just as parents answer a child's endless supply of "why?" questions and usually run out of answers, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas ensures that we Christians don't. It begins with "why" it is important for us to know the information provided in this book. The answer is found in God's Holy Word, I Peter 3:15, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

This book takes several arguments disputing the resurrection of Christ and tears them to shreds. It demonstrates that the very sources used against the resurrection are biased and partial. The amount of information and biblical knowledge contained within is astounding. It includes a CD-ROM which is pure genius, educating the public about the resurrection.

Habermas dissects common questions that argue against Jesus' resurrection, making it an easy reference for the future. For example, say the person you are witnessing to says, "The disciples stole the body;" it is easy to find the information to refute that false belief. Every known argument for why the resurrection didn't happen is accounted for in this book, and proven wrong.

This book is an excellent learning tool for every Christian. I recommend it for pastors as a reference tool and a study guide, regardless of where they are in their walk with the Lord. All of life is a time to learn, and learning never stops. We can never know too much about God.

With the inclusion of a detailed outline of the arguments contained in this book, the notes taken to write the book ( listed by individual chapter),and the bibliography of other reference books used in this one, there is an limitless supply of Bible studies and/or sermons. What pastor could not use this book? This book is by far one of the most useful books on the Christian faith. -- Tammy Hornbeck, Christian Book Previews.com

This is the best book I've seen for introducing people to the evidence for Jesus' resurrection and preparing them to answer objections. I've never seen a book address such a large variety of objections and alternate theories: the disciples were hallucinating, the disciples stole the body, Jesus survived the crucifixion, He should have had more of an influence on the ancient world if He did what the New Testament claims He did, miracles in other religions count against Christian miracle claims, Jesus was a space alien, the sightings of the risen Christ are comparable to Elvis sightings, etc. Some of these arguments aren't made by scholars, but this book is directed primarily to laymen, and laymen will come across such arguments on the Internet and in other places. I would think that at least the large majority of objections to the resurrection that most people will come across are addressed to some extent in this book.

The book is well-written and well-organized, with many charts and an interactive CD that tests the reader's knowledge of the material. Basic issues of the nature of historical evidence and evidence for the existence of God and the supernatural in general are addressed, so the reader will be knowledgeable of more than just the resurrection itself.

People who are already highly informed on these issues should still find the book helpful. It does contain some significant new material, such as the results of Gary Habermas' recent survey of modern scholarship on the resurrection and excerpts from the authors' personal correspondence with other scholars. Although the main body of the text is easy to follow and is aimed primarily at laymen, the notes go into more depth (more than 80 pages) and have a goldmine of information and sources.

The authors of "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" are both skilled Christian debaters who regularly take on committed atheists in arguing for the resurrection. Their book
reflects this background: it utilizes a top-down approach of first
presenting each major argument, then delving into every objection with
the refutations that can be made. Even with a lot of data it is easy to follow, since
they lay out everything in an orderly progression and make use of
copious, clear diagrams to keep the information straight. It covers in
detail the alternative naturalistic theories to the resurrection (body
theft, apostolic hallucinations, "swoon" theory etc.) and then touches
on other evidences for God's existence and how a resurrection might be
consistent with this. The authors do NOT assume the inerrancy/inspiration of the new testament documents, the deity of Jesus, or other remarkable assumptions that would invalidate their arguments with a skeptic before the exchange of ideas even began.

The book also includes a CD that contains two in-depth quizzes of the
presented information. The CD is professionally designed and
first-rate, with a humorous talk-show host, and the questions are
challenging! The quizzes by reviewing the material help to cement the
facts, conclusions and refutations.

The case for Jesus' resurrection is astonishingly strong and will shake a naturalistic world view (the view that this universe is all there is). This book is a self-study course on the evidences for Jesus' resurrection and how to
use these to present your faith. And if you are not a believer read it
with an open mind. You might be surprised.

I have used the "minimal facts" approach several times since I finished reading "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus." Three weeks ago I used it to witness to a Muslim, and she granted that Jesus could have risen from the dead, but she argued this would not mean Christianity was true. However, I pointed out that Jesus' resurrection would have served in confirmation of the claims He made, and she agreed with me.

I also used the "minimal facts" approach while witnessing to and debating three agnostics at once this past Saturday night. The approach was extremely effective against their objections, and the best they could come up with was that the disciples were subconsciously predisposed to believe Jesus rose from the dead, grave robbers stole Jesus' body, and that Paul was just sick of his job so he converted to the Christian faith. However, I pointed out that the disciples were not in the right frame of mind to believe Jesus had risen from the dead, because they had just seen their leader, and friend die a horrible death. I also explained how the grave robber theory could not account for the resurrection appearances to Paul, nor James. Regarding Paul's conversion I reminded them of Paul's own words stating that he was an excellent Pharisee, and he apparently loved his job before his conversion. The agnostics also tried to negate the four minimal facts by pointing out that many people sincerely believe they have been abducted by aliens, and that more people have claimed to have been abducted by aliens than those who claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. However, I pointed out that this objection failed to address the minimal facts presented.

Needless to say, I found "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" to be a very powerful, and effective witnessing tool.

(...)

New Testament scholars Gary Habermas and Michael Licona have produced quite possibly the most comprehensive book on the market, at the popular level, in regards to examining the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Habermas and Licona build the case for the resurrection around 5 data points accepted widely by New Testament scholars, 4 of which are accepted by virtually ever scholar: 1) Christ's death by crucifixion; 2) The disciples' sincere belief of Christ's post-mortem appearances to them; 3) The conversion of the skeptic James; 4) The conversion of Paul; 5) The empty tomb.

Following a discussion of some of the evidence that establishes these data points on very solid historical ground, the authors discuss a wide range of alternative theories to Christ's resurrection touted over the centuries by critics (e.g. The Swoon theory; Fraud theories; Hallucinations), demonstrating each to not satisfactorily account for all of the widely accepted data. So thorough is the authors' treatment of alternative theories that they cover probably about anything, no matter how outlandish (e.g. Jesus was a space alien), that has ever been reasonably popular, in some detail.

Included within this book is a helpful discussion of the nature of the resurrection body (i.e. spiritual vs. physical); a brief chapter on Christology; a brief chapter detailing common apologetic arguments for the existence of God; and very informative data in their end-notes section. What makes this book truly unique is its design, however. The authors' intent is to prepare the reader to be able to share with others the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Helpful flow charts are presented throughout the book; the last chapter is dedicated to suggestions regarding how one should approach a spiritual seeker with the data; and an outline of the main points of the book are placed in an appendix at the end. The book even comes with its own CD with quizzes for the reader on material presented!

While the authors could have added other widely accepted historical facts regarding Christ's resurrection to augment their case, they still compellingly debunk all alternative theories and established that the only reasonable fit for the data is a bonified resurrection. This book should be of value to all students of the resurrection of Jesus on a beginners and even intermediate level.

In The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Gary Habermas and his protégé Michael Licona have produced an amazing resource for presenting and defending the historic Christian faith. Case for the Resurrection presents Habermas's "minimal facts" approach to arguing for the resurrection of Christ - a method that avoids appealing to sources that only Christians would find compelling. To encourage readers to really assimilate the material, a quality video game is included on a CD-ROM in the back of the book.

It is divided into four parts. Part One is an introduction to the whole book that explains why Christ's resurrection is so important, gives an overview of the historical method, and previews the main points that will be discussed. Part Two delivers the minimal facts approach itself (see below). Part Three demonstrates how the approach can be used to handle common objections to Christ's resurrection. Part Four compliments part three by including many secondary objections that might be brought up, as well as a section on people skills. Nearly one third of the book awaits, however, as the main body is followed up by a series of sample conversations, an outline of the entire approach in (this alone is worth the price of the book), extensive notes, and a bibliography.

The book's strengths are many. The minimal facts approach "considers only those facts that are both strongly supported by evidence and are conceded by almost every scholar, even those who are skeptical" (p. 220). There are five facts brought to bear on the issue: (1) Jesus died by crucifixion, (2) Jesus' disciples believed that he rose and appeared to them, (3) the church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed, (4) the skeptic James (brother of Jesus) was suddenly changed, and (5) the tomb was empty. The authors note that point five is not technically a minimal fact because it only has about 75% acceptance by scholars rather than the vast majority required by the others, but there is enough evidence and agreement to include it anyway. Each of these is given plenty of supporting arguments and evidence.

The evidence and arguments are presented in an easily understood manner, even for the layperson. Memory aids are found throughout in the form of helpful acronyms, graphics, and summaries. These permeate the book to such an extent that even a cursory glance will deliver more useful information than an average Sunday school class. The writing is casual and friendly, which serves as a constant reminder that this is how the authors intend the material to be used. More than most apologetics texts, the authors show a great concern for the manner in which this information is communicated - they often stress the need for listening and responding to the objector's points without simply bulldozing them with facts.

I was not really planning on reviewing the CD-ROM game included with the book because I assumed it to be a mere add-on for promotional purposes, but to the degree that I expected this I was completely wrong. The game is actually a high quality trivia game with a humorous "host" who encourages the player (sometimes through playful ridicule) as he goes through the game. It was quite entertaining and really lets the reader objectively evaluate how well they truly grasp the material.

Case's weaknesses are few and minor. The book is entry-level without appearing "dumbed down" and so some of the more difficult scholarly objections were handled rather cursorily, but to offer much more would have weighed the book down. Further, the notes and bibliography can point the reader to more detailed refutations. There is quite a bit of repetition that was appreciated for aiding the memory and driving home how well the minimal facts approach can be used in numerous situations, but it could have been lightened considerably and still served its purpose. The weakest section of the book was chapter eleven which dealt with God's existence. It comes in section four (secondary issues) because it is not a direct objection to the resurrection itself, and is treated only briefly (less than ten pages), offering only two arguments (intelligent design and first cause). Both arguments use primarily scientific data for support rather than the considerably more powerful philosophical versions of the arguments, and many classical arguments are not mentioned at all. (Unlike, for example, William Lane Craig - another debate heavyweight - who uses the same basic evidential method when dealing with the resurrection, but includes the powerful Kalam cosmological argument for God's existence - supported by both scientific and philosophical evidence - in his overall case). Due to the evidential nature of the book (which reflects Habermas's apologetic methodology) this was not necessarily unexpected, but as an "armchair editor" I would have had that chapter expanded - possibly into a more robust appendix.

If there is a second edition, (or, better, a sequel!), more space should be devoted to theories being expounded in recent books like The Empty tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave (Robert Price and Jeffery Jay Lowder, eds.), and ideas being promoted by other up-and-coming critics like Richard Carrier who has taken up the "spiritual resurrection" gauntlet. While some of these theories are briefly dealt with in Case for the Resurrection (and more thoroughly refuted in other works such as Norman Geisler's The Battle for the Resurrection: Updated Edition and N. T. Wright's The Resurrection of the Son of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God)) they will become less "academic" and more "popular" as the internet continues to close the gap between the two.

This is a great introductory resource for Christians who want to defend the hope that is within them. Habermas and Licona outline and defend a strong "minimal fact" argument for the resurrection of Jesus. In short, this historical argument argues for certain facts concerning the events surrounding the resurrection such as Jesus dying on a cross, the disciples claiming to have seen him risen, and Paul having a transforming experience of the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, etc. After arguing for all these alleged facts, the authors argue that a bodily resurrection fits the evidence better than any other theory. The strength of this argument is that it relies on multiple points each of which has a good body of evidential support. One can still claim agnosticism on the resurrection I suppose but I think that if one is honest (and philosophically open at least to be possibility of God acting in history via miracles) he or she would have to conclude that Jesus rose from the dead.

As I said above, this is a great introductory work. Someone who wants to delve further should read N.T. Wright's The Resurrection of the Son of God, and works by William Lane Craig on the subject. Read the other side as well both online at Internet Infidels and through books by Christian deconverts. Both authors quote other prominent New Testament scholars to back up their points while citing the original sources behind their alleged facts, ensuring that one who is earnestly seeking can check their work and investigate the matter for herself. The book also contains charts that visually summarize the points being made in the text which makes the material easier to remember. The book deals with alternative theories and then discusses the philosophy of Naturalism. I have read better critiques of Naturalism but this book does a good job of refuting pop-Naturalism I suppose.

The next part contains brief chapters defending the bodily resurrection view against the heavenly appearance view and that Jesus claimed divinity. I think these sparse chapters could have been lengthened, especially the chapter on Jesus' self-understanding to make a stronger case. The next chapter on Intelligent Design is really out of place in this book and should have been left out. If the authors wanted to give props to ID they should have done so in an Afterward or an appendix. The book is mainly about Jesus, what he was about and what happened to him, not about ID.

Lastly, the book has many endnotes which I much appreciate along with an extensive bibliography which I appreciate even more. Overall this was a very edifying read and can help you when someone challenges you about the evidential basis for your faith.

From a historical point of view, Habermas does an exceptional job of conducting research and then distilling it down into a very readable format. He does it so well, in fact, that anyone who has never been through genuine historical research wouldn't have a clue what went in to this book. This was extroardinarily researched and then whittled down to perfection due to Habermas' constant tour of the debate circuit. This guy has been to some serious college campuses (i.e. Duke and the like) and NO ONE will challenge him on the historicity of the Resurrection. Pretty cool. Worth your time to read.

The book is easy to read which is one of it's strengths it also challenges people to look into the issues for themselves.

Anyone who has an enquiring mind and is honest enough to admit that they don't know if miracles are possible (as experimental science is incapable of providing evidence either for against miracles) would find this book very helpful.

For those who begin with the assumption that miracles are not possible and therefore reject all evidence to the contrary, don't bother buying this book. You've already made up your mind.

I had a look at the review Paul Doland posted (5th July 05) as well as Paul's reviews for other books and found them interesting. Paul if you are reading this and you like a challenge you would enjoy the CD

"Secularism and the Illusion of Neutrality" by Ravi Zacharias (in my opinion the best Christian apologist today).
[...]

The message was given before a secular audience at Penn State University.

Given some of the books you've read and your obvious distaste for Christianity you might like to turn some of the methods of argument Christians use back on them. No doubt you would find the following interesting

"Tactics in Defending the Faith"

[...]