Jesus Under Fire [Hardcover]

Michael J. Wilkins (Author), James Porter Moreland (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1995

Is the historical Jesus something less than the Bible says he is, as modern scholars contend? Or is he in fact everything the Bible says he is? Jesus Under Fire is a timely, well-researched, understandable refutation of recent liberal interpretations of Jesus--one that thinking, open-minded people, Christian and non-Christian alike, will appreciate.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael J. Wilkins (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is dean of the faculty and professor of New Testament language and literature at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and the author of several books.

J. P. Moreland is one of the leading evangelical thinkers of our day. He is distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and director of Eidos Christian Center. With degrees in philosophy, theology, and chemistry, Dr. Moreland has taught theology and philosophy at several schools throughout the U.S. He has authored or coauthored many books, including Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview; Christianity and the Nature of Science; Scaling the Secular City; Does God Exist?; The Lost Virtue of Happiness; and Body and Soul. He is coeditor of Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. His work appears in publications such as Christianity Today, Faith and Philosophy, Philosophia Christi, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and The American Philosophical Quarterly. Dr. Moreland served with Campus Crusade for ten years, planted two Campus Crusade works, planted two churches, and has spoken on over 200 college campuses and in hu? SPANISH BIO: J.P. Moreland encabeza los eruditos del evangelio hoy dia. Es profesor distinguido de teologia en la Escuela Teologica Talbot y director del Centro Cristiano Eidos. Con titulos en filosofia, teologia y quimica, el Dr. Moreland ensena teologia y filosofia en varias universidades a lo largo de los Estados Unidos. Ademas de ser contribuidor frecuente en revistas cristianas y diarios academicos, es autor y coautor de mas de cuarenta libros, incluyendo Reino Triangular. El Dr. Moreland sirvio en el ministerio Campus Crusade durante diez anos, planto dos iglesias y fue conferenciante en mas 200 universidades y cientos de iglesias. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310617006
• ISBN-13: 978-0310617006
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,287,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under fire, but still standing, August 23, 2000

By 

"christianskeptic" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus (Paperback)

JUF is a book that simply needs to be read by all, Christian and skeptic alike. Ten evangelical scholars come togher to refute the naturalistic assumptions of the Jesus Seminar, as well as provide positive evidence for the traditional, orthodox belief in Jesus.

In the introduction, Moreland and Wilkins ask: Can we know anything about Jesus?; Are the biblical records of Jesus' activities accurate?; Is the supernatural possible in ancient and modern times? If the answer to these questions is 'yes', then believing that Jesus is Messiah becomes reasonable. Determining the answers to these questions requires the proper use of historiography and logical reasoning, not a vague 'faith' that has no basis in reality (after all, if Jesus never existed, believing that he did is simply idiotic). Throughout the book, the contributors emphasize the importance of truth and reason for religious belief.

In ch.1, Craig Blomberg begins by examining the methodology of the Jesus Seminar and finds it lacking. He then provides evidence to support the historical reliability of the gospel accounts. In Ch.2, Scot McKnight takes a look at the history of Jesus scholarship and the varying descriptions that have been offered (Jesus as Sage or Social Revolutionary). He goes on to sketch a view of Jesus based on broad scholarly consensus.

In ch.3, Darrell Bock looks at the words of Jesus. Are the words ascribed to Jesus exact quotes(ipissima verba)? Or are they 'his very voice'(ipissima vox)? He draws a distinction between having the precise words of Jesus and having his voice (the intent and meaning) in an accurate summary. In Ch. 4, Craig Evans presents a case for the authenticity of the deeds of Jesus as recorded in the gospels. In Ch.5, Gary Habermas' focus is on whether Jesus performed miracles. In his defense of those miracles, he considers the influence of one's worldview. The Jesus Seminar holds a naturalistic worldview where miracles are anathema. He then shows that the historical evidence itself vouches for the authenticity of Jesus' miracles.

In Ch.6, William L. Craig tackles the big question: Did Jesus rise from the dead? He provides three lines of evidence - 1) the empty tomb, 2) the postmortem appearances of Jesus, and 3) the origin of the disciples' belief in Jesus' resurrection. He then gives a slew of evidence supporting each of the three. He concludes that the combined evidence meets the criteria that historians consider in testing a historical hypothesis. In Ch.7, Douglas Geivett addresses the question of Jesus in light of our pluralistic society. He appeals to the importance of careful, rational assessment of a religious truth claim regardless of how that religious truth claim makes you feel. In Ch.8, Edwin Yamauchi looks at the evidence of Jesus in extra-biblical sources, highlighting their usefulness as well as their limitations.

The text is easy to understand. It contains plenty of scholarly content but doesn't assume that erudition is the sole criteria for understanding the arguments in the book. If you're the type of reader who enjoys flipping to the back to read the chapter's endnotes, you'll love this book (I'd estimate that almost a fifth of Craig's chapter is written in his endnotes). If a skeptic/agnostic friend were to ask me why I believe in Jesus, I'd give her this book. If a Christian friend were to ask me if there were any good books to help bolster her faith, I'd give her this book.

(In case you missed the point, buy this book! )

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong arguments for defending the New Testament Jesus, November 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus (Paperback)

This is an excellent book !!! It has a unique arrangement with eight chapters written by eight different authors. Each chapter addresses a different issue regarding the arguments over what type of person Jesus of Nazareth really was. Issues such as the reliability of the Gospels, miracles of Jesus, the Resurrection, and others are all addressed in a scholarly and fair manner. No straw man arguments here... Despite the fact that there are eight different authors, the book flows extremely well.

The only down side to this book is that each topic isn't covered more in-depth. The editors acknowledge this fact, and offer an excellent list of resources for further study of each specific issue.

This book is also an excellent resource for refuting the types of arguments coming from the members of the Jesus Seminar.

53 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hits the Jesus Seminar Where it Hurts, November 12, 2001

By 

J. F Foster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus (Paperback)

This book is a composition of short essays written by a number of prominent Christian apologists which focus on specific and fundamental questions about the Christian faith. Each of the chapters offers solid defenses of orthodox Christianity as well as highlighting where folks like the Jesus Seminar are in opposition to Christian orthodoxy and the many philosophical and scholarly flaws that undermine their case.

While each of the chapters offered compelling reasons in support of Christianity while rejecting the 'scholarship' of the Jesus Seminar, I felt that two chapters were quite outstanding. Habermas's chapter on miracles and Craig's chapter on the resurrection both did the best job of deconstructing the Jesus Seminar, in part, by demonstrating the reasonableness of orthodoxy. Habermas did a good job of demonstrating that the Jesus Seminar, far from being a group of people offering fresh scholarship because they are not bound by Christian tradition, are clearly bound tightly to a naturalistic worldview that slants their entire approach to their study of Jesus. These guys are not neutral and impartial scholars. As both Habermas and Evans effectively demonstrate, the Jesus Seminar is often in the intellectually dubious position of trying to meld two worldviews that are hostile to each other - Christianity and naturalism. The result, as the entire book effectively shows, is a highly subjective effort on the part of the Jesus Seminar to naturalize Christianity and to christianize naturalism. Since this can't be done objectively or evidentially, the Jesus Seminar tries to do it subjectively. And while this has certainly resulted in the Seminar getting lots of attention, it also makes books like Jesus Under Fire easy to write, because the Seminar's scholarship methods are frighteningly easy to refute.

William Lane Craig's chapter does a very good job of refuting the Seminar on the question of the resurrection. Craig's main emphasis is on demonstrating the massive falsity of John Dominic Crossan's musings on the resurrection. Craig's chapter in this book, coupled with Craig's formal debate with Crossan some years ago, provides defenders of orthodox Christianity with a multitude of reasons to be confident in the intellectual soundness of Christianity while also being confident that opponents of orthodox Christianity are in a very bad way if Crossan's views represent the best they can do.

In conclusion, this is a book that puts the Seminar squarely in its place as a group of rogue people who's scholarship and improbable theories are better suited for daytime television than in the halls of academia. I was very impressed with the concise nature of each chapter, and how each chapter is heavily referenced. Lastly, I was also very happy to see a somewhat lengthy list of suggested readings on various Christian topics that complement this book.

When it comes to religious books, topics discussed tend to be pretty fluid, and there is no shortage of rebuttals and rebuttals to rebuttals among scholars of differing views. But every once in a while, a book comes along that really cripples the opposition, and this can be seen by the muted response the opposition offers to the book. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis is one of those books, The Gospel and the Greeks by Ron Nash is another. Jesus Under Fire is a book that comes close to falling into this category. This book has been out on the market for nearly 7 years now, and the response to this book from prominent folks on the other side of the equation has been sparse at best. And what little response there has been has often been guilty of the same philosophical and scholarly presuppositions employed by the Jesus Seminar that were so thoroughly refuted in this book. It is therefore with great confidence that I recommend this book as a quality starting point for exploring the rationality of traditional Christianity, and then applying the same tests of logic, philosophy, and intellectually honest scholarship to the views and methods employed by the Jesus Seminar and its sympathizers.