Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A highly successful refutation of the modern "Bultmanns", June 5, 2000
In this book, Boyd clearly demonstrates the massive difficulties facing the theories of historical revisionists such as John Dominic Crossan and Burton Mack regarding the origin of Christianity. Boyd gives an overview of historical Jesus research and then summarizes the main arguments of his two opponents, Crossan and Mack. He then proceeds to show why the theories of Crossan and Mack are almost certainly false. Boyd argues convincingly for the canonical gospels and Paul's writings being much more reliable sources than the Gospel of Peter or Gospel of Thomas for information on Jesus. Finally, Boyd dismantles Crossan's theory that Jesus' body was thrown into a common grave after crucifixion and eaten by wild animals. He explains how the resurrection of Jesus gives a much better explanation for the origin of Christianity than a theory which has Jesus eaten by dogs. If you enjoyed Luke Timothy Johnson's, "The Real Jesus", then you will love this book. Boyd takes Johnson's arguments a little further and Boyd is a little narrower in focusing specifically on Crossan's and Mack's views.
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully systematic package against the Jesus Seminar, May 9, 2000
G.Boyd presents a systematic and powerful refutation of the Cynic thesis propounded by John Dominic Crossan and Burton L. Mack, both popular spokesman for the Jesus Seminar started Robert Funk to propagate revisionist theories of the New Testament. A good introduction to the entire 'Quest' for the historical Jesus precedes outlines of both Mack's and Crossan's views after which follows a superb firing away at the very foundations of these maverick Jesus Seminar scholars. From the very start, Boyd shows that the Jesus Seminar is built on extremely thin-ice; Bultmann's (the 'Father' of Gospel-demythologization) naturalistic premises are clearly exposed as an unwarranted presupposition IMPOSED upon the reading of the Gospels. The Seminar's undue emphasis on extra-canonical sources is then shown to be insufficiently critical as to their validity as accepted Christian documents and early-dating. Other methodological problems are also discussed (e.g. circular reasoning, historical fallacies - "Were there really Cynics in Galilee?", etc.) Boyd then produces superb rebuttals of the Seminar's views of the work of the Apostle Paul, Luke and Mark. Anyone wanting an introduction to the historical and sociological background to what these NT writers produced will find few explanations more concise and readable. The final chapter must've been a joyful breeze for Boyd (as it should be for all Christ-lovers). He casually brushes aside the strained explanations of the Resurrection faith of the early Church. Surely nothing other than the bodily resurrection of Jesus could've produced the spirit of joy and determination by the Church witnessed in those days. Overall, a must-have for any lover of apologetics, historical method, textual analysis and just anyone desiring a deeper understanding of the way the NT was produced. The tons of notes at the back of the book are also tremendously helpful, and portrays Boyd's humility throughout the creation of this fabulous book. He states clearly at his introduction that he isn't seeking to make any contribution to NT scholarship. He has simply drawn upon the work of such greats as Wright, Hengel, Hemer, etc. and systematically packages his findings against the Jesus Seminar, thus proving that everything we need against anti-Christian literature is both adequate with respect to intellectual strength and already abundantly available.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boyd Handles this Topic Wonderfully, November 22, 2000
This book is a whirlwind of detail and exploration into a very thorny topic of research. Boyd has provided his reader with a very thorough assessment of the quest for the historical Jesus. Boyd includes in this text a delineation of the historicity of what has occurred in the search of the historical Jesus over the last 200 years or so. Boyd has also discussed how these trends have permeated modern scholarship and the detrimental affects which have occured as a result. Several members of the ever popular Jesus Seminar group are discussed at great length, as well as the problems and ramifications of their writings upon higher biblical criticism and in particularly the person of Jesus. In this text, Boyd discusses dating, criticism, interpretation, and trustworthiness of the Biblical texts (i.e. Gospels and the Book of Acts). He has provided his reader with a careful detailed analysis of liberal scholars and their conclusions and then he systematically refutes their assessments. In other words, Boyd's counter arguments are very thorough and strong. The endorsements for this book are a regular who's who of scholarship (i.g. C. Stephen Evans, Clark H. Pinnock, D.A. Carson, Craig L. Blomberg, Ben Witherington III, and Gary R. Habermas). If you are wanting a very detailed work regarding the historicity of Jesus that is strong in its content and put together very well, then this is a book that you should add to your collection. I highly recommend it.
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by Gregory A. Boyd
by William Lane Craig
