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The Historical Reliability of the Gospels [Paperback]

Craig L. Blomberg
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 6, 2007
For over twenty years, Craig Blomberg's has provided a useful antidote to many of the toxic effects of skeptical criticism of the Gospels. Offering a calm, balanced overview of the history of Gospel criticism, especially that of the late twentieth century, Blomberg introduces readers to the methods employed by New Testament scholars and shows both the values and limits of those methods. He then delves more deeply into the question of miracles, Synoptic discrepancies and the differences between the Synoptics and John. After an assessment of noncanonical Jesus tradition, he addresses issues of historical method directly.

This new edition has been thoroughly updated in light of new developments with numerous additions to the footnotes and two added appendixes. Readers will find that over the past twenty years, the case for the historical trustworthiness of the Gospels has grown vastly stronger.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Craig L. Blomberg (Ph.D., Aberdeen) is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado. His books include Interpreting the Parables, Neither Poverty nor Riches, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel, commentaries on Matthew and 1 Corinthians, Making Sense of the New Testament: 3 Crucial Questions and Preaching the Parables.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: IVP Academic; 02 edition (December 6, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0830828079
  • ISBN-13: 978-0830828074
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Craig L. Blomberg is distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. A recurring topic of interest in his writings is the historical reliability of the Scriptures. Craig and his wife Fran have two daughters and reside in Centennial, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
139 of 165 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book July 30, 2000
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had just previously finished a book by John Dominic Crossan, which threw me for a loop. Not only did my mouth drop about a foot, I had this empty feeling about all the things I have believed all these years. He and Marcus Borg seem to take a real liberal approach to interpretation of biblical history, to the point of invalidation.

This book was a refreshing alternative to that previous one. It was well written and captivated my interest. I could not believe how much I used my yellow highlighter. This author has a good writing style and I have since purchased a couple of other books by him (on their way, Amazon!)

He took a thorough approach (used for his doctoral thesis, I believe) and has cited numerous other sources, which gives the reader other options for purchasing books with similar or alternate views. He effectively invalidated what numerous Nay Sayers have posited about the validity of the historical gospels, or lack thereof.

He addresses concerns over the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and how they interrelate, as well as how they relate to the gospel of John. The author addresses miracles and many other issues.

I came away from reading the book, with a new feeling of faith. I could see how the historical gospels could in fact, be truthful and still are applicable in today's age. I feel that I better understand the methods used by those Nay Sayers, who have drawn their own interpretations and precisely why their conclusions are not accurate.

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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book is an excellent examination of why evangelicals can intelligently understand what it means to view the Gospels as both theological AND historical works. Dr. Blomberg includes discussions on the use of Midrash, form and redaction criticism, and a chapter discussing miracles. I suggest one take notes while reading the book in order to fully comprehend the solutions that Dr. Blomberg offers to many questions that occur in Gospels research. It is not a soft-brained devotional but a toughminded examination for those who are interested.
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36 of 42 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction April 18, 2001
Format:Paperback
This book will probably not make a Christian of you, but it is certainly a good introduction to Gospel study. The primary focus is obvious in the title, and Blomberg makes an excellent case for it in this summation of the "Gospel Perspectives" series. All in all, I would recommend this book. It is hard going at times, but gave me a much better view of what is going on out there in terms of NT scholarship.
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186 of 232 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Blomberg distills the findings of the six volumes of "Gospel Perspectives," a work of conservative scholars. Most of those on the left wing of Biblical scholarship would argue that "conservative Bible scholar" is an oxymoron, but Blomberg proves them wrong. He gives a masterful study of the Synoptic Problem, arriving at the two (or four) document hypothesis as the most satsifactory solution. Next he engages in a cogent critique of modern methods of Biblical criticism, pointing out the worth of such methods as well as their preconceptions and limitations.

He then undertakes a study of the historicity of the Gospel stories, and turns in the most compelling scholarly argument I have ever read for the historical reliability of the resurrection narratives. So far, so good. Five stars up to this point.

Unfortunately, it is in his assessment of Gospel historicity that he goes astray. Blomberg argues repeatedly for the "camcorder exactness" of the Gospel stories. If the Gospels say it, that's exactly the way it happened, and any discrepancies from one story to the next are merely "apparent" discrepancies, which can be ironed out with enough imagination. As one who has made a career of evaluating and presenting testimony, I find that discrepancies in testimony don't equate to falsehood, and that it is neither necessary nor wise to pretend that there are no discrepancies in testimony.

Blomberg appears to begin with the conclusion of historical accuracy and to sift the evidence for arguments supporting his conclusion. That's not the way you do it. You work the evidence to form conclusions; you don't form the evidence to fit conclusions. You begin with no firmly fixed preconceptions.... Read more ›

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Survey September 9, 2010
By Ivan
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Chapter one is a general survey of how the Gospels have been traditionally approached by the Church throughout the ages. Of course, the earliest Christians dated the books much earlier than do modern day scholars. They also accepted traditional `tags' that came along with each book, and by `tags' I mean traditions that were linked to them; they accept that Mark's Gospel was the personal testimony of Peter and that, at least to Papias, Matthew was written originally in a Hebrew dialect. Many of these traditions are now, for the most part, reject by scholars. This chapter also deals with the Synoptic problem and the widely accept hypothesis of "Q", a hypothetical document that both Matthew and Luke used as a source to write their Gospels. (see pp 37-47)

Chapter two deals with new critical methods that scholars have used to understand the literary composition of the Gospels. Personally I feel this chapter is sort of a dry read, but tremendously informative. Blomberg analyses the strengths and weaknesses of form, redaction, literary, and midrash criticism. Blomberg goes on to make a great piont/argument that I wish to highlight here. Granting that Mark's Gospel was the first one written in about 70 C.E., how can we know during the 40 year period between Jesus' death and the first Gospel composition that the oral Jesus tradition wasn't corrupted, and, consequently, infected with corrupted tradition of Jesus sayings, stories and deeds?

Forty years isn't that long, comparatively speaking.
... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Changing hats and unconvincing arguments
This is one of the best compendiums of conservative thought on the gospels for the general reader, if not the best. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E.L.B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed
If you are looking for an in depth view of the history of the Gospels of the Bible then this book is for you. It is a bit of a hard read so be prepared to have a dictionary handy. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Christopher
5.0 out of 5 stars Book on Reliability of the Gospels
just received this book and started reading it (about three chapters into it), very detailed and very interesting, more scholarly than i thought it would be, this will be a book i... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Randy
5.0 out of 5 stars a scholarly work
This careful examination of the history of the Gospels is best read slowly but is full of reliable information. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joan Hyde
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !!!
Excellent work 5 stars If I could put more I would have done it but the only thing I can put is 5 stars
Published 4 months ago by Armine
4.0 out of 5 stars Good overall
There are already a bunch of great reviews on this book so I won't add much. A few thoughts:

Note that it's the historical reliability of the "gospels," not... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Matthew Windham Hillis
4.0 out of 5 stars Are the Gospels Reliable?
Craig Blomberg's book, which was first published in 1987, answers this question in the affirmative. Blomberg's work was heavily influenced by the six volume series Gospel... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Stevie Jake
4.0 out of 5 stars A Dubious Disciple Book Review
In an era when it's trendy to question everything written in the Bible, here's a scholarly exception. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Dubious Disciple
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recomended
For those who had questions about the reliability of the Gospels, well here is the answer you have been looking for. Read more
Published on November 24, 2010 by maxmillion
3.0 out of 5 stars I believe in Jesus: a bit, a lot, passionately, "à la folie",...
All standpoints mirror categories of belief or rejection and influence the authors approach to historical reliability. Read more
Published on July 27, 2010 by Chris Albert Wells
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Anti-supernatural bias?
Todd, the answer to your question lies in the aforementioned review. Read through Richard's review and his comments and see if he represents what you'd call a "normal adult intellect." Clearly, the two are not equivocal.

Honestly, when the best explanation for the data seems to be... Read more
Jun 4, 2010 by Robert J. Amend |  See all 8 posts
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