Customer Reviews

Jesus: The Evidence

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wilson is a master of delivering the most information in the fewest words. His style is fascinating and clearly credible. I simply had to read this book in two settings. I came away with an excellent understanding of the short version of remarkably complex research material. My only problem with the work is I could not understand how such an objective and factual work could be written by a person who is seemingly so devoted to promoting the case for the existance of Jesus. The reader is treated with total respect throughout the book...no spoon feeding here. Yet, the material is so well documented and presented the reader can honestly draw his or her own conclusions. Thank you Mr. Wilson...I Greatly enjoyed your work and must read more.

No matter what religion or creed you are, or aren't, you cannot deny the fact that Jesus: The Evidence is a thoroughly-researched, well-written book.

Ian Wilson, who tells us that he is a practicing Christian, sets aside his bias to write a very authoratative book on this subject. In it, he examines the gospels and their supposed and suspected writers, archaeological sites in Jerusalm and Nazareth and a myriad of sources both pro-Christian and anti-Christian.

His views and findings are unique and he expresses them well. His theories are very intelligent. Mr. Wilson has established himself, with this book, as an authentic biblical scholar.

This appealingly objective book by a Christian author explores certain major themes about the life and message of Jesus of Nazareth. Wilson attempts to find the answer to timeless questions like whether Jesus really existed, who he was, what he really taught, if he would have endorsed the Nicene creed, how he might view contemporary Christianity or if he would feel more comfortable with modern Judaism.

On every issue Wilson marshals a wide spectrum of opinion including that of atheists and extreme skeptics, which make the book really interesting. He even considers the mushroom cult angle of John Allegro! In addition there are fascinating snippets about the discovery of early manuscripts, the development of Greek writing styles and various episodes from history.

Wilson is entirely honest about the fallibility of the Gospels, measuring the contradictions between the four accounts and the geographic and historical anomalies within them, all against the Jewish culture of the time. He frequently refers to the work of the respected scholar Geza Vermes whose books The Passion and The Nativity I have found very informative. The various and possible source/s of the gospels are discussed in great detail.

He approaches the question of the existence of Jesus from many perspectives, looking at the possible dates of birth and death via astronomical postulates about the star of Bethlehem, what we know of history, references in Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Tacitus and the Hebrew Mishna. There are passages on Jesus the Jew and the nature of Judaism at the time with reference to Honi the Circle Drawer, Hanina ben Dosa and the Essenes.

The information on John the Baptist is quite enlightening, as well as the words of Jesus viewed in the cultural/religious context of the time. Much emphasis is placed on the parables and Wilson attempts to explain some puzzling gospel verses whilst allowing other scholars to speak on some truly enigmatic ones. In this regard, I strongly recommend Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin.

The miracles or magical acts of Jesus are investigated in detail, considering the possibility that hypnosis played a part in the healings. The idea of deeper mysteries with adepts or initiates is thoroughly covered. In this regard, the interested reader may find Kabbalah of Yeshua by Zusha Kalet of great interest. Subjects like the identity of the earliest disciples and followers, the crucifixion and the resurrection are investigated by taking into account every shade of opinion.

The chapter titled A Faith Is Born deals with the spread of the religion, different groups in early Christianity (Lost Christianities by Bart Ehrman provides much more information on the bewildering variety of early Christian movements), similarities between Christianity and other religions, Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicea and the creed formulated there. Some prominent participants afterwards expressed their regret and unease with the formulation.

In the final chapter: The Real Jesus, Wilson sets out his conclusions. He argues that there may not be any formula or any one view of Jesus that can adequately explain or encompass him. I found this section to be particularly moving because of the author's genuine faith that is leavened by intellectual honesty. Lord Jesus Christ, an extensive scholarly work by Larry Hurtado is a most valuable and accessible book on how Jesus was viewed by the earliest Christian communities.

There are beautiful illustrations, including works of art and photographs plus comparative tables and maps of the Levant and the larger Mediterranean area. The book includes bibliographic notes and references arranged by chapter, an extensive bibliography and an index. Jesus: The Evidence is an enjoyable read and a balanced text; I recommend it to believers and agnostics alike.

The author, Ian Wilson, must truly be commended for investigating, and furthermore putting together a book about the proof and lack of proof for the numerous aspects of the life of Jesus Christ, which has no bias in it. Normally such books relating to Christian matters with the word "evidence" in the title tend to be nothing more than biased, mindless and self-indulgent in their own beliefs. As an atheist/agnostic, I was glad to find that the author kept an open mind on both ends, leading neither towards skepticism nor theism, leaving the reader of the book to discover their own answers about the "evidence" for Christ.

Although many reviews will say that this book allowed them more evidence for the proof of Christ's existence and divinity as God, I would have to say that the text leaned rather the other way. While it does establish that Christ was more than likely a flesh and blood human being who lived and taught in the first century, many references, scientific pieces of evidence, and even passages as stated from the Bible which are brought forth tend to take Christ off the pedestal that modern day Christianity has stuck him upon. After reading this, my questioning of Christianity and my lack of belief has only been fueled even more.

Chapters such as "The Fallibility Of The Gospels", "Did Jesus Even Exist?", and "Man Of Miracles" establish some basic scientific, historical, and modern leads to show that Christ was a teacher and a devout Jew who was only trying to put a new twist of forgiveness on his religion, not trying to start a revolution or whole following. Christ's miracles are also explained through various processes of hypnosis and other mind-body connections, showing that Jesus was more of a magician and hypnotist rather than a miracle worker being guided by the hand of God.

For the Christian reader seeking evidence of Christ, this book will only go so far to show that he probably existed as a human being. As an atheist/agnostic, I have never doubted the existence of a human and physical Jesus Christ in history. However, the fact that he was God in human form has always seemed ludicrous to me, and this book has not proved me wrong or changed my mind about the matter. Historically this is a great piece of work though, outlining how the various evidence was discovered, and thankfully stating the fact that the Bible has numerous flaws and historical errors in it, many of them serious ones, which many modern-day Christians don't like to accept in their weak minds. I would recommend this for either side of the debate, skeptic or theist. But the theist had better be prepared to see that Christ wasn't necessarily all he was made out to be, and the full-blown skeptic might have to accept that humanly, Christ was real.

God will not be proven or disproven. That is why the subject is a debate and not scientific fact. However, in my mind God has been everything except completely disproven. Either way, the author must be commended for presenting the evidence without bias and altogether writing a great book.

Whereas the information in this book was well established before it was published, a bare bones assesssment of the gospels had not been broadcast on British television until this programme came out for that is what the book is - to follow a TV series released around 1984-5. Sadly, since this book was published, Wilson has tried to recant from his position of being something of a sceptic or heretic (which he never was anyway) and this probably explains why the book is out of print - because Wilson has since disowned it and become more of a believer as attested by his eulogies to biblical history published recently.

The book attempts to cast a skeptical eye on Jesus but actually it is soft skepticism. Jesus is shown very much as a saintly figure with mysterious aspects. Some ambiguous areas are examined. Jesus' miracles are explained largely on the basis of hypnosis. Crucifiction and ressurection are explained very well.

Gospel scholarship has been lucidly explained to a layman including most of the evidence for Jesus from non Christian sources, possible datings and areas of controversy.

I was especially touched at the way that James the brother of Jesus was cast out from Gentile Christianity and how Peter was emphasised as the key disciple on which the Roman Church was established. The complexity of Jesus' family in that Mary was not really a virgin and probably had about 6 children is brought startlingly to light.

This is a very easy book to read and casts a critical eye on the formation of the Gentile Church, especially after emperor Constantine. It is clear that much has been lost from the original teachings of Christianity, largely in a Jewish form to begin with.

This book is a Christian perspective on Jesus, echoing "Honest to God" which the author mentions. More critical books have since been published.

Up front, Wilson informs the reader of any personal bias he may hold (he is a believing Christian) and why he produced a second edition (in response to those who think him too skeptical and recent archaelogical evidence that has since become available for analysis). Wilson examines key questions surrounding the life and divinity of Jesus in a particular form. Chapters are geared toward answering a single question, such as "what do we know of Jesus' birth or upbringing?" Each chapter begins critically with skeptical arguments summarized, followed by what Wilson views as contradictory evidence. Most importantly, chapters conclude with a summation which invariably reveal Wilson as the Christian that he is. I can see this format as lending itself well toward "Jesus: The Evidence" being a handy reference source should a specific question about Jesus' life pop up at a future instance. At the very least this book worked for me in establishing Jesus as a true historical figure.

Wilson's book is well written and well illustrated, with lots of pictures of the early founders of the Jesus Quest movement (e.g., David Strauss, Wilhelm Wrede, Hermann Reimarus, Rudolf Bultman) as well as early Christian artwork. The book does not attempt to cover every aspect of Jesus' life, but instead focuses on a few major issues (e.g., did Jesus exist, did he work miracles, who was responsible for killing him, was he resurrected, etc). It's a reasonable list of topics, but personally I would have preferred more. Also, the documentation is relatively poor (e.g., he quotes from many sources, but almost never gives the exact citation) and the bibliography is relatively short given such an undertaking.

Generally speaking most of his conclusions appear to be supported by the evidence. His orientation appears to be relatively neutral, not wanting to push a Christian agenda nor invoke conspiracy plots. He does have some notable errors, claiming, for example, that in Early christianity there was "...intense rivalry between two major factions (p. 150)" whereas most scholars recognize that there were many and diverse rivalries in the early years (e.g., James' Jerusalem group vs Paul's group vs Gnosticism vs Docetists). I suspect Wilson accepts Paul's portrayal rather than the evidence. He also seems to think that Acts and Luke were written by the same person, which is the traditional point of view but cannot be sustained by anyone who reads the two (or is it 3?) works. Curiously enough he offers us artwork showing that Jesus was roped (not nailed) to the Cross, yet maintains that he was nailed with no reference to the artwork.

All of these criticisms are minor when you look at the work as a whole, which deals with a vast array of issues from a neutral point of view and that marshalls a plethora of evidence to support his conclusions. But the real find here are the large number of illustrations. This is definitely a book you'll want for your reference library. It would also make a good supplementary text for a course.

This appealingly objective book by a Christian author explores certain major themes about the life and message of Jesus of Nazareth. Wilson attempts to find the answer to timeless questions like whether Jesus really existed, who he was, what he really taught, if he would have endorsed the Nicene creed, how he might view contemporary Christianity or if he would feel more comfortable with modern Judaism.

On every aforementioned issue Wilson mconsiders a wide spectrum of opinion including that of atheists and extreme skeptics, which make the book really interesting. He even considers the entheogen or magic mushroom cult theory of John Allegro! In addition there are fascinating snippets about the discovery of early manuscripts, the development of Greek writing styles and various episodes from history.

Wilson is entirely honest about the fallibility of the Gospels, measuring the contradictions between the four accounts and the geographic and historical anomalies within them, all against the Jewish culture of the time. He frequently refers to the work of the respected scholar Geza Vermes whose books The Passion and The Nativity I have found very informative. The various and possible source/s of the gospels are discussed in great detail.

He approaches the question of the existence of Jesus from many perspectives, looking at the possible dates of birth and death via astronomical postulates about the star of Bethlehem, what we know of history, references in Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Tacitus and the Hebrew Mishna. There are passages on Jesus the Jew and the nature of Judaism at the time with reference to Honi the Circle Drawer, Hanina ben Dosa and the Essenes.

The information on John the Baptist is quite enlightening, as well as the words of Jesus viewed in the cultural/religious context of the time. Much emphasis is placed on the parables and Wilson attempts to explain some puzzling gospel verses whilst allowing other scholars to speak on some truly enigmatic ones. In this regard, I strongly recommend The Authentic Gospel of Jesus by Geza Vermes and Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus by David Bivin.

The miracles or magical acts of Jesus are investigated in detail, considering the possibility that hypnosis played a part in the healings. The idea of deeper mysteries with adepts or initiates is thoroughly covered. In this regard, the interested reader may find Kabbalah of Yeshua by Zusha Kalet of great interest. Subjects like the identity of the earliest disciples and followers, the crucifixion and the resurrection are investigated by taking into account every shade of opinion.

The chapter titled A Faith Is Born deals with the spread of the religion, different groups in early Christianity (Lost Christianities by Bart Ehrman provides much more information on the bewildering variety of early Christian movements), similarities between Christianity and other religions, Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicea and the creed formulated there. Some prominent participants afterwards expressed their regret and unease with the formulation. Something of the utmost importance that most Christian are unaware of, is Christian Antisemitism that triumphed together with Constantine Christianity.

In the final chapter: The Real Jesus, Wilson sets out his conclusions. He argues that there may not be any formula or any one view of Jesus that can adequately explain or encompass him. I found this section to be particularly moving because of the author's genuine faith that is leavened by intellectual honesty. Lord Jesus Christ, an extensive scholarly work by Larry Hurtado is a most valuable and accessible book on how Jesus was viewed by the earliest Christian communities.

There are beautiful illustrations, including works of art and photographs plus comparative tables and maps of the Levant and the larger Mediterranean area. The book includes bibliographic notes and references arranged by chapter, an extensive bibliography and an index. Jesus: The Evidence is an enjoyable read and a balanced text; I recommend it to believers and agnostics alike.

This is an excellent book. If you want a truly multimedia experience, this book should be read alongside Richard G. Patton's "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years". Patton fleshes out the human being in a way that no other writer has - and Wilson shows you that it's all true! Wilson has a way of presenting dry information in a way that the best thrillers do - he gives you just enough information so that he can still beat you to the punchline without feeling robbed.

You have to give Ian Wilson credit for writing a book like this- obviously, he is going to cop it from either skeptics or believers no matter what he says on this most controversial of subjects. In my opinion, Wilson does an excellent job of giving a fair and objective appraisal of the evidence, steering a highly readable middle course that avoids the extemes of dry conservatism and faddish sensationalism. A revised edition of this book came out in 1996, in which Wilson's Christian beliefs are more obvious (the evidence that *something* very strange happened that first Easter, is surprisingly stubborn) Will leave you thinking..