The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (Paperback)

by Craig L. Blomberg (Author) "From the earliest days of the church until the late eighteenth century, belief in the historical reliability of the gospels usually followed as a corollary..." (more)
Key Phrases: gospel parallels, new hermeneutic, redaction criticism, New Testament, Grand Rapids, Old Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Gospels provide the most thorough account of Jesus Christ. But what if the stories about his life and work are legends?

Scholars have occasionally cast doubt on the reliability of the Gospels. New approaches to biblical studies have only increased the challenges. Can we continue to trust the New Testament?

Craig Blomberg reveals the faulty analysis and presuppositions that have led to mistaken conclusions about the Gospels, providing scholarly criteria for judging these books and biblical answers to our hard questions.

About the Author
Craig L. Blomberg (Ph.D., Aberdeen) is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado. His numerous books include Interpreting the Parables, Neither Poverty nor Riches, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel, and commentaries on Matthew and 1 Corinthians.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press; 1st edition (July 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877849927
• ISBN-13: 978-0877849926
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #323,439 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still reliable after almost 2000 years, June 29, 2000

By	Timotheus Josephus - See all my reviews

Craig Blomberg has given an excellent argument for treating the four gospels as reliable sources of historical information pertaining to the life of Jesus. This is a welcome contrast to so many of the trendy "Jesus Seminar"-ish books being hyped by much of the mainstream media today.

Blomberg covers some of the current methods of studying the gospels; such as form criticism and redaction criticism. He doesn't entirely reject their use, but he does point out their limitations so often forgotten by many NT scholars today. In the next section, he briefly addresses the issue of miracles and the fact that it is impossible to prove their non-existence.

I found the next two sections to be the most interesting. First, Blomberg covers some of the approaches to addressing apparent contradictions in the gospels and gives some possible solutions. Next, he covers the gospel of John and some of the difficulties encountered when comparing it to the synoptic gospels. The final section covers information on Jesus found outside the gospels in the rest of the New Testament, along with Jewish and Roman sources.

Overall, this book is best suited for someone with at least a background in New Testament historical study. If you are just beginning in this area, then you may want to try a book such as F.F. Bruce's "New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?" which gives a good introduction to this field. After you've had an introduction, Blomberg's book is perfect for taking the next step in your study of the New Testament.

107 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book, July 30, 2000

By	Dan Sheppard (Olympia, Washington USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had just previously finished a book by John Dominic Crossan, which threw me for a loop. Not only did my mouth drop about a foot, I had this empty feeling about all the things I have believed all these years. He and Marcus Borg seem to take a real liberal approach to interpretation of biblical history, to the point of invalidation.

This book was a refreshing alternative to that previous one. It was well written and captivated my interest. I could not believe how much I used my yellow highlighter. This author has a good writing style and I have since purchased a couple of other books by him (on their way, Amazon!)

He took a thorough approach (used for his doctoral thesis, I believe) and has cited numerous other sources, which gives the reader other options for purchasing books with similar or alternate views. He effectively invalidated what numerous Nay Sayers have posited about the validity of the historical gospels, or lack thereof.

He addresses concerns over the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) and how they interrelate, as well as how they relate to the gospel of John. The author addresses miracles and many other issues.

I came away from reading the book, with a new feeling of faith. I could see how the historical gospels could in fact, be truthful and still are applicable in today's age. I feel that I better understand the methods used by those Nay Sayers, who have drawn their own interpretations and precisely why their conclusions are not accurate.

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis of the Gospels, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

Dr. Craig Blomberg, currently a professor at Denver Seminary, does an excellent job in this book in defending the reliability of the four Gospels contained in the New Testament. He deals responsibly with form criticism, redaction criticism, the Gospels as midrash, and other recent hermeneutical developments. There are compelling sections on miracles, the Synoptic problem, and apparent contradictions between the Gospels. He even deals with the Jesus tradition outside the Gospels. This is a thorough treatment of the topic, yielding a conservative position that is an excellent counterpoint to the silliness of the Jesus Seminar. If you like Blomberg's book, I'd also suggest you check out his section of another outstanding work, "The Case for Christ," by Lee Strobel, also available from Amazon.com.