Customer Reviews

The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

J.P. Moreland's quote on the back of the book pretty much says it all:

"...a careful, accessible analysis and critique of the various approaches to the historical Jesus... I don't know how someone could read this book without concluding that Jesus Christ was who the New Testament proclaimed Him to be."

I went into this book expecting the same cliched responses that I've read in other apologetic books on Jesus. (for example, a parroting of the MAPS approach). Rather, I found a thoughtful and thorough examination of both biblical and extra-biblical information on the subject followed by reasonable conclusions drawn from both types of sources. Habermas also refutes various arguments put forward by members of the Jesus Seminar and liberal scholars who deny the authenticity of Jesus's claims and actions. For those who would readily dismiss the book on the basis that it was written by a 'fundamentalist', I simply ask that you read it with your brains wide open. Don't worry, they won't fall out.

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.

To fully understand this book and the reviews posted here one must comprehend that in modern day world there are three distinct groups that research the bible they can be broken down as follows

1 The Christians (Those people who believe that the bible is the word of god of which Gary Habermas would fall under)

2 The Liberal Scholars (This group is made up of people who are trying to show that the bible is completely wrong and man made and in some cases that Jesus was not a historical figure.)

3 The Secular Historians (The largest of the three groups whose goal seems to be historical accuracy without commenting on the theistic aspect, they virtually unanimously agree that Jesus Christ did exist and probably preformed miracles although they label them as magic and was considered to be either the son of god or a great prophet.)

What is surprising about this book is that while it is written by a Christian to help forward his Christian beliefs it is quite obvious that the author has stuck mostly to the work of the Secular Historians. In some cases he has erred on the liberal side of the secular historians sometimes not presenting the cases as strongly as one would think he could.

This raises an interesting point in reviewing this book. While I would think that he would rely solely on Christian sources he does not, instead he proves his point in a highly convincing way using Secular sources. I applaud the author and I hope that more of the naysayers and negative reviewers could be so truthful. It would be interesting to see if a liberal scholar could uphold their position using only secular sources. I doubt it, but I don't think they would even try.

Anyhow back to this book, I found it fair, historically accurate, slightly dated, but then again any book dealing with history is dated as soon as it is written and best of all enjoyable for those who are non-Christians but enjoy history.

This is an excellent assessment of the historical facts surrounding the historical person Jesus. Habermas' work is a storehouse of historical evidence for the validity of the truth claims that surround Jesus. Habermas deals with those scholars who have flatly rejected that Jesus was truly a historical person by demonstrating the absurdity of such a claim. Moreover, Habermas spends much of his time in this work refuting Michael Martin and G.A. Wells and their assertions that Jesus in fact was not a historical figure who lived in the first century. Furthermore, Habermas gives extra-biblical evidence from historical authors of the first three century who demonstrated that Jesus was indeed a real figure of history by mentioning Jesus in their own works. Thus, Habermas has developed a very impressive critical overview of the historical evidence that is available to any honest searcher. This book is a great text for those interested in taking on a study of the person and life of Jesus.

Wow! Great book, Great author! This man is awesome, I have seen some of his debates with top atheists, they can't seem to counter his arguments. I have read some of the more negative reviews of this book and they make me wonder if they read it at all. I don't think that Dr. Habermas would exactly tremble at any of the objections raised in these reviews! If you want to listen to some of these debates I was talking about paste this: http://www.johnankerberg.com/TV/ankjasrd.html Then look for 'Did Jesus raise from the dead' this particular debate is with one of the top atheists, Dr. Antony Flew. I must say, Dr. Habermas did quite well in this debate and after listening to him I think you might realize that some of the objections raised here might not have as much validity as you think, but if you do still cling to them I suggest mailing them to someone who is going to debate Dr. Habermas and see your objection lasts 2 minutes.
I'm sorry if I seem harsh,it's just that I'm sick and tired of people who don't know what they're saying, taking cheap shots in their reviews of books written by very smart men who could tear their arguments to shreds! PLEASE NOTE I'm not just talking to Atheists/Skeptics ect., but Christians, when you review, say, an Atheist's or a Muslim's book, do it honestly! I know this is should be a review, not a lecture. I'm sorry. But at any rate, read this book honestly and give it an honest review with your biases out of the way! God bless you all

Concerning a review found below, I see that the author has used the "Jesus Seminar" as a way to confirm his beliefs. Thats mistake number one. Any opened minded person, indeed, any open minded Christian will be able to look at one thing about the Jesus Seminar and discover what their motives really are. If you want BIASED information, turn to the Seminar, a group of so-called "Scholars" that say that anything supernatural is impossible. I wonder what they do with the issue of creation? Either this universe was created and designed Supernaturally, or it caused itself. But the Jesus Seminar does serve one purpose: Atheist LOVE to quote their words. As a point of reference, anyone that wants to see just how bad the Jesus Seminar's ideas and beliefs are, get the book Jesus Under Fire.

And what about Habermas? The reviewer below seems to think that Habermas has used illogical and flawed sources. You know, its kinda sad. Another man thought the same thing about Habermas, and his name is Antony Flew. Flew is one of the worlds most foremost philosophical atheists. Habermas and Flew held a debate on the topic: "Did Jesus Rise From The Dead?" For the debate, five independent philosophers served as judges. To make this short, at the end of the debate, 4 of the judges said that Habermas had won. One judge called it a draw. None voted for Flew. One judge even went on to say: " I was surprised to see how weak Flew's own approach was. I was left with this conclusion: Since the case against the resurrection was no stronger than that presented by Antony Flew, I would think it was time I began to take the resurrection seriously."

Truth is rock solid and absolute. Many will fight against it, use flawed logic, and outright lie to tear Truth down. For the atheist reviewer below, I suggest you look at the historic EVIDENCE for Jesus, and do it with a open mind. Many atheists refer to themselves as "free-thinkers", when in fact the term should be "close-minded thinkers." Or maybe ask any of the thousands of atheists that set out on a journey to disprove Jesus life and resurrection, and now those same "atheists" are Christians. For some good books on the subject: The Case For Christ, Jesus Under Fire, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, The Stones and the Scriptures, and Did Jesus Rise From the Dead.

The Historical Jesus will inform readers of just a few of the evidences for the life of Jesus. Although much more could have been addressed in the book, when you put this book with others written on the subject of Jesus' life, you have a foundation that cannot be shaken.

This book by Prof. Habermas is largely an expose' of the references of Jesus contained in non-NT sources. These include pre-Pauline, pagan, and Christian sources. From this survey, Habermas collects 129 facts about the historical Jesus. In the appendices, Habermas provides an outline for doing "historical apologetics" and an article on historical methodology.

I would have given 5 stars if I weren't such a novice on the subject of historical apologetics. Dr. Habermas provides extrabiblical evidence for almost every part of Jesus' life as told by the Bible. Dr. Habermas shows the errors in many re-interpretations (e.g., the Jesus Seminar) of Jesus' history.