Customer Reviews

Conspiracies and The Cross

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I read this book in it's ARC form, and actually read it a few times. Dr. Timothy Jones has created a readable yet thorough examination of the most common challenges that are made against the authority of the scriptures.

This is a valuable resource... for decades preachers have been working to demonstrate that Scriptures are relevant. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. However, the debate has shifted-- our culture wants to know if scripture is reliable. This book is a fantastic handbook to advance that argument.

In "Conspiracies and the Cross", Timothy Paul Jones has written a defense of Christianity against ten of the more popular attacks on Christian faith. These range from some of the scholar Bart Earhman's textural inspired doubts to ideas of other scholars such as Elaine Pagels (Gnostic texts) and John Crossan (idea Jesus may not have been buried) to less serious (but possibly just as influential) attacks such as the Talpiot Tomb and the Jesus Myth ideas. First of all, I should point out that the author is a generally theologically conservative Christian and is writing an apologetics book so don't be expecting a down the middle type of deal. That said, I think the author generally utilizes good arguementation and is obviously well read on the subjects. Many readers may also enjoy Jones's writing style which goes a long way in covering at times complicated material in a manner fit for a lay reader. He also cleverly but non-distastefully utilizes humor. I think this is an excellent introductory book to Christian apologetics and can be quite interesting to those who have already been reading in the field as well. Don't expect a schollarly answer to all of your potential questions, but I can honestly say that this book was both enjoyable to read and has even been rather helpful in a recent internet forum discussion I was involved in. Some of the footnotes are interesting as well and the author offers suggestions of different books to read to further one's studies (he suggests titles on both sides of various issues). Overall, I recommend it.

Sincerely,
Jason Kyle Richie

A great book for every Christian to own as a valuable resource. In today's times it seems like we are surrounded by skeptics and bound to have them ask us quesions that are meant to pose doubt to what we believe. This book will enable you to have answers for such questions, and it is always reaffirming to know, and to be able to tell other, what and why we believe.

This book does a wonderful job of refuting some of the most prevalent conspiracies being propagated today by unbelievers. Sadly, I have met even a couple of Christians who have embraced aspects of some of these theories, such as the idea that the Bible is incomplete: that many books that should have been included in the biblical canon have not been. Dr. Jones dispels such myths. Besides the wealth of historical information in the book that is useful for discussion with believers and skeptics alike, Dr. Jones saturates his book with entertaining humor (I was laughing outloud frequently!). All in all, the book is an excellent historical defense of the Christian faith as the Holy Scriptures have defined it and orthodox Christians have affirmed it throughout the ages. I also recommend Christian History Made Easy, which is also by Dr. Jones. Both of the books are excellent for Sunday school or Wednesday night Bible studies!

If you are looking for a fair and balanced rebuttle to the emerging "conspiracies" (as this author so condescendingly dismisses any idea that does not agree with his own) this is not it.

Start by reading the jacket flap. This book was written by a man who has committed a significant part of his life and more than likely his finances to a particular religious worldview. While this is all well and good, he is not going to simply say, "Wow. Those people are right. I've been barking up the wrong tree my entire life!" No. He will come out fighting to defend his life's choices at all costs - and this book reflects that.

Most appalling is how flippantly he dismisses concepts from Gnostic texts. In one example, he quotes text attributed to Jesus from the recently discovered Book of Thomas and then dismisses them as Jesus chasing lions and kicking stones. Completely missing the metaphorical nature of the teaching - that the wisdom and energy of God is in everything and everyone and not accessible through only one person or belief structure - this author reduces the text to a literal translation and thus dismisses it as irrelevant.

There's even a point where he refutes an argument of another author, but leaves nothing but a blank space where that individual's name was to be. Such an enormous typo at the foundation of an entire argument would have been caught by any editor worth ten cents commission.

At another point in the middle of the book when talking about the Holy Grail, he dismisses any contending perspectives by simply stating that knowing Jesus in your heart is the only way to know God and the Holy Grail.

One can only make such an absurd statement once he or she has established a reasonable level of evidential support. This book does nothing of the sort in any convincing manner, and therefore such a statement only reveals this individual is still rooted in a need for a hierarchical structure and therefore predisposed to dismiss the wisdom being revealed through gnosticism.

The sooner believers of this nature stop defending belief structures that do not align with it simply to protect their worldview, the sooner we will end war, poverty, greed, bigotry... all the values at the heart of Christ's teachings - and awaken as a civilization to our potential to each live and function as Christ did.

Books of this nature do not help at all.