Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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138 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even-handedness Is Always Persuasive, July 15, 2000
By A Customer
Habermas provides evidence that a man named Jesus really did live in Palestine in the first century, using the ordinary canons of historical research (artifactual evidence, inscriptional evidence, and literary evidence). Because Habermas concludes that Jesus was a real person in history, many atheists will be offended by this book (as evidenced by the negative reviews). However, the evidence that Jesus lived is actually better than the evidence that Mark Antony or Cleopatra lived. In one long negative review of this book, the reviewer embraced many statements by skeptics and critics exercising much less critical discernment than he used in evaluating the book. Also, the reviewer made statements like "it is virtually universal" when the statement being made actually is not. Do not be put off by negative reviews. Read this book and make up your mind for yourself. Another book on the same topic is Josh McDowell, "He Walked Among Us." Try stacking up the evidence these two books provide against, say, whether Mark Antony ever really existed. (E.g., were the ancient people that wrote about Mark Antony's life either eyewitnesses of Mark Antony, or did they at least have access to people who were eyewitnesses? This kind of corroboration in ancient history is rare indeed, but that is precisely the kind of corrobation one finds in both the Gospels and Paul). Of course, there will never be a debate about Mark Antony because there isn't as much at stake. Keep this in mind when you read negative reviews. Neither negative reviews nor positive ones are completely objective, a fact that is clearly evident in both types of reviews for this book.
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195 of 219 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let's stick to the facts..., October 11, 2000
Habermas shows the difference between honest literary/historical investigation & bias proclamations. He's not afraid to take on skeptics, meeting their hypotheses head-on. He not only details opposing viewpoints, but provides heavily footnoted sources to back up his argument that Jesus is not a myth "created" by man, but a real man whose "historical" life is "reported" with so much evidence that it's hard to ignore.In several other book reviews, I noticed skeptics (giving poor reviews) don't meet Habermas' facts head-on. Instead, they fall far short by countering his well-documented thesis with bold opinions they can't back up with evidence. For instance, one reviewer wrote "How can we evaluate the evidence for Jesus? Our best account is the Gospel of Mark, written thirty years after Jesus died. ... Once Christians started mourning Jesus, historians recorded the movement. Does that mean Jesus was real? Okay, but it doesn't mean the Resurrection was real, or that Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. All of these mythical touches were invented after Jesus died, so he could "predict" events that happened between the time he died and the time the Gospels were composed. All of this leads us to the conclusion that there is no real evidence whether Jesus actually lived or not. The story is what sold, and the story isn't true." What he fails to see is his own account contradicts his claim, and proves false itself. According to his own words, Mark, our "best account" (of Jesus' life) was written "30 years after Jesus died;" thus putting Mark written c.60-63AD, since scholars (even skeptics) agree Jesus' death was around 30-33AD. The reviewer says that doesn't prove Jesus was able to make predictions, which he claims were "mythical touches" invented after Jesus died and prior to the written Gospels. But he fails to see the mathematically logical problem with his thesis; how is it that Jesus' prediction of the Temple destruction is recorded in MARK's Gospel, which was written years before the predicted event? MARK 13:2 "And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another which will not be torn down." Even the reviewer admits the Temple was destroyed in 70AD, a known historical fact not seriously challenged by anyone, but he fails to explain why it was recorded as prophesied by Jesus in Mark, which he admits is our "best source" written in 60-63AD, at least 7 years beforehand!!! Sorry--even reviewers must back up their claims with evidence! This IS what Habermas does well. Don't just take bold statements as fact; compare it with the evidence and see if it can still stand up to the beating. Habermas confronts opposing hypotheses. He doesn't shy away from stating when the evidence is weak nor when it is overwhelmingly strong. Those who read Habermas' book with an open mind, will see and appreciate the honest research that went into this book, and maybe even come to see the historical truthfulness of Jesus. Don't let negative/skeptical reviews deter you; Read the book for yourself and decide. Personally, I've added Habermas' book to my library with other great apologetic books, which I highly recommend: Jesus, The Great Debate by Grant Jeffrey, Letters From a Skeptic by Dr Gregory Boyd, and The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel.
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Reasonable Faith, August 31, 2000
I see by some of the other negative reviewers that they do not accept the propositions by Dr. Habermas but probably accept the attested approachs by most other critics of ancient documents. If we do not accept the 'history' that is written by Tacitus, Livy, and many others, who even added their own editorial comment to the works that are certified by most historians of ancient literature, then how would we deal with history at all. History , being unrepeatable, must undergo something different from the scientific method. So one uses critical, textual and other means of certifying that a particular work is authentic. You look for evidence and Dr. Habermas has showcased for us that evidence. Dr. Habermas seems to bend over backward to not only draw a map of the past attacks on the N.T. authenticity, but then meticulously shows how the Jesus Seminar "scholars" raise questions that are never answered with any kind of evidence but dealt with out of hand. As those he sides with, the reviewer, Mr. Neece, cannot accept documents that are certified authentic within 4 decades of their origin. This is excellent evidence compared with Plato & Caesar's writings, (not counting that the teachings of Jesus probably were known & written within a year or so of His ascension)of which we have only a few copies which are a century or more away from the autographs. Yet, these works are accepted as bonifide literature. The N.T. has more than 5300 copies in Greek & thousands in other languages compared to only 7-10 copies of Plato or Caesar. So what is your problem? How much evidence does an honest skeptic need before he can accept a well documented antiquity?? Dr. Habermas deals well with the last 200 years of historical Jesus criticism before tackling the present day versions of "Search for the Historical Jesus". Habermas methodically shows that Christianity is not a blind faith, but based on the historical reality & authenticity of Jesus the Christ. Yes, one or two sources may not give reasonable proof, but Dr. Habermas shows myriad possibilities for reasonable,historical and well documented evidence for the person of Jesus, His mission, His environment and His resurrection. The historians to whom Habermas refers never said that the resurrection took place, since they were not eyewitnesses. What the historians said was that all the eyewitnesses that had been interviewed had experienced the same unique happening. It was not a mass hallucination or story. Due to the number of collabrorating stories, the resurrection could be accepted as greatly probable, taking into consideration all the eyewitness reports. Once probable, one can base their faith on the person of Jesus. So, one finds eyewitnesses that can be trusted, believes the eyewitnesses, then a person can believe the object of the believers- Jesus, then a person can believe the purpose & the teachings of Jesus. Yes, there are counterfeits that come awfully close to what Jesus did in teaching. But no one claims to have prophesied their own death and resurrection as Jesus did. Of course, Dr. Habermas' book of evidence is only one book of evidences, among many. But it is a book that plumbs the depth of physical evidence, not hoping & dreaming that Jesus was and is. The appendix of this book is a maginificent summary of Gary Habermas' objective in penning this book- that anyone can know the facts about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The three categories Habermas groups his points into are the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, the Historicity of Jesus and the Miracle-claims surrounding the resurrection. In the first, The author surveys the objections to use of the New Testament as a primary source. The second section gives an overview of ancient non-biblical sources and how they support the picture of Jesus already depicted in the New Testament as well as the reconstructions that have been attempted by some scholars. The last outline category looks at the heart of the resurrection and deals with many of the challenges by various supernaturalists scholars One of the reasons I enjoyed The Historical Jesus is the concise approach Dr. Habermas applies. Having read several of his works, I have come to appreciate his systematic approach to writing as well as its intent. There is purpose to his message here and the purpose of answering the hard questions about Jesus' historicity is fulfilled. I also was instructed about the method of historic research. All along his 'quest', Dr. Habermas is pointing out to the reader the means by which history is researched, how history can be used or abused, and how one needs to keep his objectivity about historic research. Finally, I truly gained confidence about data that can be utilized in helping someone who is sincerely looking for answers about the meaning of Christ for their life or a person who is seeking clues about Jesus' reality in this material world. The apologetic outline is a great tool to refer to, use and, perhaps, memorize. It is a concise map of categories that help answer many of the questions that examine the reliability of the Gospels, the historicity of the events in Jesus' life and the certainty of the miraculous resurrection, around which Christianity is built.
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