Resurrection iWitness [Hardcover]

Doug Powell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2012

Comparable in style to the best-selling Ologies children’s fantasy book series, Resurrection iWitness brings truth to the highly illustrated genre. This book gives evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ by using the easy-to-understand Minimal Facts argument. That means it relies only on the historical facts that almost all biblical scholars (including atheistic, Jewish, and liberal) accept and shows how only the biblical story of the resurrection can account for all these agreed-upon facts.

Across 32 intensively designed pages (16 spreads acting as individual chapters) -- each containing information that is physically nested and must be actively opened to discover -- the reader investigates the story of Christ and weighs the evidence to determine its historical accuracy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Doug Powell's book includes cutting-edge distinctions that are presented in a fast-moving format that absolutely dares you to try and look away. I've never seen anything like it. I recommend it highly.
Gary R. Habermas, Ph.D.
Liberty University & Theological Seminary

Doug Powell has created a book full of information laid out in an aesthetically pleasing format. He presents the major evidence for the historical event of Jesus' resurrection and shows why competing hypotheses simply come up short. Highly recommended!"

Michael Licona, Ph.D.
Author, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach

Powell has created a visually stunning and academically astute tool that will draw in believer and unbeliever alike and present the powerful historical evidence of Jesus' conquest of death. Any Christian should have this fantastic book at the ready. 

Craig J. Hazen, Ph.D.

Biola Univeristy, Director of M.A. Program in Christian Apologetics

Doug Powell's Resurrection iWitness is a brilliant blend of art and scholarship that supports history's most important event. Even those who hate to read will not be able to resist Resurrection iWitness!  

Frank Turek, Ph.D.

Co-author, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist

About the Author

Doug Powell is a dynamic professional, combining his passion for Christian apologetics with his skills as a graphic designer and musician. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. His design work has run the gamut of media from online medical education courses and corporate Web sites to flash animation. Doug has recorded several albums; Rolling Stone once declared, “Powell makes music that’s larger than life.” He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holman Reference (March 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805495819
• ISBN-13: 978-0805495812
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.9 x 12.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Doug Powell is a Christian apologist, author, graphic designer, programmer, and recording artist. He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, CNN, NPR, World Cafe, Prime Time America, The White Horse Inn, Stand to Reason, and Sound Rezn. His books include the best-selling Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics, Resurrection iWitness (an interactive book on the minimal facts argument for the historical evidence for the Resurrection), and Jesus iWitness (an interactive book on the life of Christ). He is also a contributor to the Apologetics Study Bible and the Apologetics Study Bible for Students. In addition, Doug is the designer of the Resurrection iWitness iPad app. As a recording artist, Powell has released nine albums, including The Apprentice's Sorcerer, which gives the Transcendental Argument for God as told as a magic show and set to music. Doug holds a Masters in Apologetics from Biola University.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to leave lying around! May 3, 2012

By Joco

Format:Hardcover

Resurrection iWitness is a wonderful book, both well written and well researched. Doug Powell also did quite a job with the design, and thus this book is visually impressive to boot. A wonderful coffee table piece!

A previous reviewer (JKG) critiqued Resurrection iWitness based on misleading facts in the product description. Thus, the reviewer claims, while the description states that Powell bases his case on what "only on the historical facts that all biblical scholars (including atheistic, Jewish, and liberal) accept...", Gary Habermas who originated this apologetic approach to the resurrection states that only "75% of his surveyed scholars accept his minimal facts as true." This assertion is false, however. What Habermas (who endorses this book) and Mike Licona (who also endorses this book) state in their 2004 book "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus," is that the minimal facts that they use are both (a) well attested historically and (b) granted by almost every scholar who studies the subject. Technically, there are only 4 minimal facts, although 2 others are frequently added as well. These are the six facts that are then used by Powell (4+2), and are presented as follows with the scholarly percentages given by Habermas and Licona: (1) the death of Jesus by crucifxtion - nearly 100%; (2) The disciples themselves claimed that the risen Jesus had appeared to them - nearly 100%; (3) the disciples truly believed that the risen Jesus had appeared to them - nearly 100%; (4) the conversion of the church persecutor Paul after an appearance of the risen Jesus - nearly 100%; (5) the conversion of James the brother of Jesus after an appearence of the risen Jesus - around 90%; and finally (6) the empty tomb - around 75%.

Thus while I appreciate the last reviewer's desire not to 'nitpick' but to be truly discerning and cautious in regards to the possiblility of false claims (thus JKG states that "If the book itself states that all scholars accept these facts as true, it is building upon a false assumption."), it is simply untrue to say that only 75% of scholars agree with the minimal facts (75% only applies to the empty tomb). Nearly every scholar agrees with the 4 minimal facts; its the last two (James and empty tomb) that don't meet the bar of (b) above (granted by almost every scholar who studies the subject).

But does the book mislead in this regard since it includes the 2 other facts under the banner of 'all scholars'? Perhaps, although I don't think so. The case for the resurrection can be formed without recourse to these two facts (Habermas and Licona call them 'supporting facts') and this seems to be what Powell does as well. Thus while Powell does include them in his book since they are still, nevertheless, very well attested, they are supplementary rather than essential to his case.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Immediately engaging. August 22, 2012

By Travis Dunlap

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

After skimming the book, I put it out in my office and it was immediately noticed and commented upon. Many of the first comments were how well the book was put together. Though there's not a ton of content, but it is well organized and interactive. There is a section about the Shroud of Turin in there which can be interesting but I don't think should go into a book like this. It has great value as a conversation starter. The crowd I'm around required a bit of presupposition explanations, but the fact that these types of conversations were started was definitely worth the low price of this book! I highly recommend it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book! May 28, 2012

By A.Raj Rao

Format:Hardcover

I really like this book for two reasons, one having to do with aesthetics and the other with contents.

Aesthetically speaking this is a very different sort of Apologetics book because it is filled with charts, pictures, paintings, etc. It is very visual. This is what was the initial draw for me. If you have ever read anything from the Griffin & Sabine series, you will get what I am talking about(although the most salient set of colors here are various hues of brown). I oddly enough especially like the map of Jerusalem ... for whatever reason I have never consulted one of these when reading the Bible.

Speaking content-wise, the book starts off by presenting a minimal set of facts related to Jesus' resurrection that various scholars, liberal and conservative agree on. Then it moves on to discuss various alternatives to the resurrection (e.g. Swoon Theory) and helps you think about them in light of the minimum facts and some other considerations. Along the way, as you read the book, other interesting information is also presented.

One strength here is that Powell explains things well, in an easy to understand manner and he does not overload you with a barrage of information which can happen very easily with this issue. Well done! I hope Powell writes other books!