The Rejection of Pascal's Wager: A Skeptic's Guide to the Bible and the Historical Jesus [Paperback]

Paul Tobin (Author), Gerd Ludemann (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2009

Armed with the results of critical historical research and a mind free from the shackles of dogma, Paul Tobin dissects the Bible and the historical Jesus in a way only a sceptic can. Tobin shows the bible, with its numerous contradictions, historical errors and scientific inaccuracies, cannot be considered inerrant. He guides us through the intricacies of modern archaeology and comparative mythology, showing us that the much told stories in the Bible - Adam and Eve, Noah and Moses - are myths, invented by the ancient Hebrews under the influence of Babylonian beliefs. He demonstrates that the gospels, far from being eye-witness accounts, were written by authors unknown to us and were composed many decades after Jesus' death. He reveals that the stories regarding Jesus in the gospels are a combination of historical memory, legendary development and mythical fabrication. With the field of biblical scholarship increasingly packed with evangelicals - where the results of "research" are always in line with traditional church teachings - this book fills an important gap in the literature on Christianity and the Bible.

Product Details

• Paperback: 668 pages
• Publisher: Authors OnLine Ltd (May 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755204611
• ISBN-13: 978-0755204618
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Tobin is the webmaster and author of the Rejection of Pascal's Wager website. He holds degrees in engineering and business administration and runs an oil & gas equipment supply company. He is married and has four children.

"The Rejection of Pascal's Wager: A Skeptic's Guide to Christianity" is his first book. He has also contributed a chapter for the book "The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails" edited by John W. Loftus and published by Prometheus Books.

He is currently doing research for his second book, tentatively titled: "Pharisee at the Gates: Paul and the Hostile Takeover of Christianity."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Skeptical Book on the Bible as a Whole!, July 18, 2009

By 

John W. Loftus (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rejection of Pascal's Wager: A Skeptic's Guide to the Bible and the Historical Jesus (Paperback)

Gerd Ludemann, author of several skeptical works on early Christianity, recommends this book "with the utmost enthusiasm." I do too.

Tobin's whole argument is aimed to show that Pascal's famous wager has no effect on us because we are not forced to choose between Pascal's Catholic brand of Christianity and unbelief. Why? Because the central claims of Christianity are false. He takes aim at the Bible to show that while it may be a great work of literature it is not the word of God. And Tobin backs his claim up with his massive 652 page book, complete with a nice bibliography and indexes.

If you're a Christian who deconverted at a later time in life then you need to re-learn most all of what you were taught about the Bible. If you were college and seminary trained like me, this can be a difficult thing to do. So you could go on a massive reading binge spending many hours and a lot of money feasting on book after book. Or, you could just read this one. Given that choice I highly recommend you get this one. Tobin masterfully takes us through the Bible using critical scholarship to show us what we can and cannot know about it. It has helped me remember several things I learned back in seminary but had forgotten. It taught me some very interesting things I hadn't yet thought through as a skeptic, and I think I've read a great deal on the subject since my deconversion. Tobin showed me I hadn't read enough.

It's all here for the most part, in an encyclopedic fashion, covering the ancient myths, the errors, the lack of confirming archaeology, the failed prophecies, and the forged authorship. He also covers the ad hoc canonization process and the textual transmission of these texts. Tobin is a very good guide to these topics, using the results of critical scholars, whom he refers to time and again.

He writes and thinks well too. Take for instance Noah's Ark. Tobin tells us simply that on the one hand "it is too big," because the structure could not be seaworthy. On the other hand "it was too small," because there wasn't enough room for all of the animals it would have to contain. (pp. 75-77).

Tobin spends a few pages effectively dealing with the minutia of numerical "contradictions" in the Bible, like the value of pi found in Kings 7:23-26 (pp. 29-38). He even shows how that the evangelical "New International Version" has purposely mistranslated several passages to eliminate the appearance of difficulties inherent in the original languages (pp. 197-204).

And he addresses how the liberals view the Bible by concluding that they "did not reach their conclusions by abstruse theological reasoning: they were forced by external circumstances--the findings of science, comparative religions, enlightenment philosophies and historical criticism." (pp. 187-196).

If you want to know why scholars think the Gospel of Mark was written first you may only need to read this book. If you want to know why scholars don't think Matthew Mark Luke and John are the authors of their gospels, and why they are written later than evangelicals claim, you may only need to read this book. If you want to know why the Nativity stories are fictions, you may only need to read this book. If you want to know why scholars have serious doubts about what Jesus may have said, or why they doubt the Passion Narratives and resurrection stories, you may only need to read this book.

If you have only one skeptical book about the Bible as a whole this one is all you need. And even if you have some other books this one will still inform you of issues you probably haven't read up on, like it did with me.

Tobin did a massive amount of work here. I will use it as a reference when dealing with some of these topics in the future. It's worth the price. I liked it so much I asked Tobin to write a chapter for a book I've put together titled, "The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails," for Prometheus Books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wealth of facts and arguments against Bible inerrancy, January 1, 2011

By 

R. C. Symes - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rejection of Pascal's Wager: A Skeptic's Guide to the Bible and the Historical Jesus (Paperback)

The Rejection of Pascal's Wager is a must have book for anyone who is serious about critically examining the claims of the Bible. It is a more user friendly compendium of the material on Tobin's website of the same name. The book distills the fact-finding and arguments of some 296 books by authors who examine the Bible from an historical, scientific, theological and rational point of view. He clearly shows that the Bible's contents are mostly unhistorical and mythical, thereby undermining the claims of two major religions. In this one handy and easy to understand 650 page volume, is amassed the best arguments against the belief in Biblical inerrancy and claims by fundamentalists that Jesus was the prophesized Messiah who rose bodily from the dead. Tobin exposes the Bible's contradictions, myth-making and deceit by both its authors and defenders who are pursuing their own theological agendas. He clearly marshals fact and reason to counter and skewer the many claims of both fundamentalist and liberal believers against the skeptical point of view. Having the wealth of information from so many scholars captured in this one book makes it well worth its price.

Some quibbles: the current title is too obscure for most laypeople, who will miss what the book is about; the summary conclusions at the end of each chapter are uneven with some lacking detail compared to others; there are too many grammatical and spelling errors throughout the book (a hazard of self-publishing with no competent proof-reader) - e.g. calling Pilate a "perfect" rather than "prefect" (p.223), and the Emperor Caligula, "Carigula" (p.505), and spelling "know" as "now" (p.290). However, these shortcomings do not detract from the validity of the book's findings. It is a must read for both skeptics and believers - to strengthen the arguments of the former and to challenge the points of view of the latter.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book, highly recommended, August 26, 2009

By 

Paul Doland (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rejection of Pascal's Wager: A Skeptic's Guide to the Bible and the Historical Jesus (Paperback)

After Mr. Loftus' review, I'm not sure what more I can add? Yes, this is a great book. I have been a fan of Tobin's work for years, and it is great to finally have a book available at a reasonable price.

As to Mr. Christensen's point, well, Tobin does spend some time covering theistic counterarguments, and why he finds them not compelling. But, ultimately, somebody wanting to research both sides should indeed consult theist sources directly. After all, I get annoyed when theists only consult theist works when considering atheist positions, so, likewise, it would be fair for a theist to want their side to be aired by a theist.

So, in short, get this book, and any theistic book you want, and put them head to head. I think you'll find Tobin's work outshines about any theist book out there. But, of course, that is an exercise for the reader.