The Case Against Christianity (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: affirmative statement, agapistic ethics, two minds theory, Virgin Birth, Son of God, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Martin has said something fresh and fruitful that theologians and philosophers of religion simply cannot afford to ignore....Every serious student of Christian doctrine would do well to spend time on Martin's insightful chapters."
—Free Inquiry

"A thorough, logical examination of the major tenants of Christianity by a professional philosopher (not a theologian).... [This] is the best book for the intelligent reader that examines the case for and against Christianity.... The book is must reading for all who discuss (or defend) Christianity from a critical point of view."
—American Rationalist

"An insightful and provocative rational analysis of the major doctrinal claims of Christianity.... While a creative critique in its own right, this work is in the tradition of Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, Paul Kurtz, and Edmund Cohen among others...."
—Choice

Product Description

In this systematic philosophical critique of the major tenets of Christianity, Michael Martin examines the semantic and epistemological bases of religious claims and beliefs. Beginning with a comparison and evaluation of the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno-Chalcedonian Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, Martin discusses the principal theological, historical, and eschatological assumptions of Christianity. These include the historicity of Jesus, the Incarnation, the Second Coming, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, Salvation through faith in Jesus, and Jesus as a model of ethical behavior. Until now, an adequately convincing criticism of Christianity did not exist. Martin's use of historical evidence, textual analysis, and interpretations by philosophers and theologians provides the strongest case made to date against the rational justification of Christian doctrines. Author note: Michael Martin, Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, is the author of "The Legal Philosophy of H.L.A. Hart (Temple) and Atheism: A Philosophical Justification (Temple)."

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Product Details Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Temple University Press (March 29, 1993) Language: English ISBN-10: 1566390818 ISBN-13: 978-1566390811 Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #240,049 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
affirmative statement, agapistic ethics, two minds theory, equalitarian justice, beneficial reasons, epistemic reasons, kenotic theory, morally perfect being, strict ethical code, factual meaning, rejected analysis, epistle writers

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Virgin Birth, Son of God, New York, New Testament, Did Jesus Exist, Second Coming, Kingdom of God, God the Son, Jesus Christ, Pontius Pilate, The Logic of God Incarnate, Jesus of the Gospels, Did Jesus Rise, Charles Scribner's Sons, Basic Christian Ethics, Old Testament, Grand Rapids, San Francisco, Holy Spirit, Christian God, Athanasian Creed, Mary Magdalene, Philosophy of Religion, Clarendon Press, Philosophical Justification

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

25 books cite this book:

• The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond The Grave by Robert M. Price on 8 pages
• Why I Rejected Christianity: A Former Apologist Explains by John W. Loftus on 8 pages
• From Minister to Honest Doubter - WITHDRAWN: Why I Changed My Mind by John W. Loftus on 5 pages
• Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion by Michael L. Peterson in Front Matter, page 176, and page 181
• The Ghost in the Universe: God in Light of Modern Science by Taner Edis on page 177, page 302, and page 303

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	70% buy the item featured on this page: The Case Against Christianity 3.4 out of 5 stars (38) $22.77
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Customer Reviews

38 Reviews 5 star:  (15) 4 star:  (7) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (5) 1 star:  (8)           Average Customer Review 3.4 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 34 of 37 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging and Fascinating, July 5, 2002 By  M. Nichols (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    "The Case Against Christianity" is one religion's dogma scrutinized by a philosopher. On every level -- whether you are a believer or not-- is is profoundly challenging. Why, Martin asks in his intro, should someone believe in Christ? He details two options: epistemic reasons ( having knowledge that makes one believe) and beneficial reasons (reasons that enhance well being, regardless of truth). Narrowing his focus to epistemic reasons, Martin examines in the first chapter the evidence for a historical Jesus (are there enough independent sources to prove that Jesus even lived?) and then moves on to the tenets of the faith. Each chapter relies heavily on scholorship and ideas and arguments that already exist. By the end, I felt that no stone was left unturned. In spite of its rather lean 260 pages, I felt like I'd run a marathon by the time I made it to the end. Make no mistake about it -- this is a serious book, and a neophyte may be scared away. I found it to be as challenging -- and rewarding -- as C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" and "The Problem of Pain". Highly recommended. 57 of 68 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A systematic critique of the Christian religion, August 23, 2000 By A Customer In this book, Michael Martin does an excellent job of dissecting the Christian religion with a tone of objectivity. The reader knows the author's conclusions from the title of the book, but it does not weaken his intellectual style. Though his position as philospher instead of theologian has brought his credibility in doubt, I was at least insured he would not jump to conclusions and keep them with stubborness. He states the problems with each Christian doctrine, reviews rebuttals to his arguments, and goes on to show the fallacy of the rebuttals. Some Christians, especially evangelicals, will quickly be unimpressed with his arguments when he doubts the probability of miracles. I personally thought his conclusions on miracles were rational and reasonable, but it takes an unbiased mind to appreciate his logic. Overall, I recommend this book to any person interested in religion because the book is based upon facts and philosophy, and I find it a devastating blow to Christianity's reasonableness. In conclusion, I find it to be a rational belief to accept Michael Martin's conclusions on Christianity and its doctrines. 53 of 63 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a plod, February 8, 2003 By  Tom Munro "tomfrombrunswick" (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    Martin is a reasonably well known free thinker who has a background as a academic philosopher. This book is an attempt to suggest that Christian doctrine is not true. The methodology of the book is to suggest that a Christian is someone who accepts the doctrines outlined in the three major Christian Creeds. That is that Jesus existed as a historical figure and was God incarnated, he died and was resurrected, he was born of a virgin and will come again. As a text some of it is a bit plodding. The reason for this is that unlike other books rather than just outlining his position, he advances his argument by contrasting it to other arguments against his position. Thus in the chapter about the resurrection he discusses at some length the position o Habermas a thinker who suggests that the resurrection is a historic event. He then responds to those arguments at some length but the narrative flow is rather poor. The arguments around the resurrection and the historical nature of Jesus are the same arguments which have been running around free thought circles for years and have been outlined by such people as Remsberg (The Christ) and Cutner (Jesus God, Man or Myth). That is that the biblical accounts of Jesus life are contradictory and the Gospels appear to have been written years after the event. The structure of the Gospels suggest stories which are mythical or elaborated and there is a complete absence outside Christian sources to verify what is meant to have gone on. Martin tends to labour these points a bit and in my view Remsberg is by far the strongest exponent of these arguments. The rest of the book is however reasonably original. The argument against the incarnation is in short that the biblical account of the temptation of Jesus is inconsistent with his divine nature. How could the supreme God of the world be tempted by Satan and entity who had in reality no power? How could a God, who does not have human appetites and is a perfect moral being suffer from temptation? This then leads to a discussion about how it would be impossible for the natures of God and man to co-exist. The discussion of Christian Ethics and their general incoherence is well done as is the problems around the notion of salvation. The problem with the book is that it is very much a work that is written by an academic philosopher. It discusses the topic by the use of a series of abstract theoretical arguments which have force but take a bit of getting through. Other free thought writers such as Remsberg and Ingersoll write with much greater clarity passion and sense of the absurd aspects of Christian belief. The part of the book that I enjoyed most was the second appendix which discussed the diverse theories of the Atonement. The main advantage of the book is that is presents in a reasonably accessible form a series of arguments which otherwise are contained in a number of volumes. The main difficulty with the book is probably the first chapter which tries to set up a basis for suggesting that Christians should adopt a rational approach to belief instead of relying on faith alone.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Several Problems.. I found that Mr. Martin misunderstands the historical truths that he is trying to argue against. Its hard to keep reading when you realize that he doesn't have a correct... Read more Published 1 month ago by J. Cecil 5.0 out of 5 stars One of My First Atheist Tomes I love this book. My favorite part is on the historicity of Jesus and the resurrection. His clear, thoroughly readable arguments made it clear in my mind that Jesus never lived... Read more Published 2 months ago by Cypress Green 4.0 out of 5 stars For the Christian Atheist "The Case Against Christianity" by Michael Martin. I personally find Martin to be repetitive in his arguments, but his arguments are well thought out and, in this book's case,... Read more Published 8 months ago by Nova137 1.0 out of 5 stars Professor Martin's wrong historical view on the resurrection The comment I would like to leave is on Professor Martin's chapter on the resurrection. He is correct that the resurrection of Jesus is critical to Christianity being true... Read more Published 12 months ago by Aaron O'Neal 5.0 out of 5 stars Left me speechless! The book is so well explained that there is no reason to deny its arguments. Michael Martin have handled Christianity masterfully and with brutal honesty. Read more Published 13 months ago by Luis E. Lao Gonzalez 1.0 out of 5 stars Biased and one-sided Why does this author refuse to consider that there is an intellect and power greater than his own? Don't waste your time on this one.... Read more Published 13 months ago by Seeker of Truth 4.0 out of 5 stars Well-Strucured, but Dry The Case Against Christianity is a rather dry, but penetrating, assessment of the evidence for and against Christianity. Read more Published on September 28, 2006 by Dustin Martinez 1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of my time and money It is clear that Michael Martin made up his mind that the Bible can't be trusted before even looking at the facts. Read more Published on December 28, 2005 by Dan Atkinson 1.0 out of 5 stars Well written, just doesn't have facts. One star is all Martin deserves for this book. Instead of trying to discredit the Gospels, he attacks the creed's, which are held in high regard by the Christian churches, but... Read more Published on June 28, 2005 by Malachi 1.0 out of 5 stars A surface level treatment Martin claims that his book represents the first "adequate, systematic philosophical critique" of Christianity (5). Read more Published on January 25, 2005 by Matthew C. Lynch Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (March 29, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566390818
• ISBN-13: 978-1566390811
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #240,049 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging and Fascinating, July 5, 2002

By	M. Nichols (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The Case Against Christianity" is one religion's dogma scrutinized by a philosopher. On every level -- whether you are a believer or not-- is is profoundly challenging.

Why, Martin asks in his intro, should someone believe in Christ? He details two options: epistemic reasons ( having knowledge that makes one believe) and beneficial reasons (reasons that enhance well being, regardless of truth). Narrowing his focus to epistemic reasons, Martin examines in the first chapter the evidence for a historical Jesus (are there enough independent sources to prove that Jesus even lived?) and then moves on to the tenets of the faith.

Each chapter relies heavily on scholorship and ideas and arguments that already exist. By the end, I felt that no stone was left unturned. In spite of its rather lean 260 pages, I felt like I'd run a marathon by the time I made it to the end.

Make no mistake about it -- this is a serious book, and a neophyte may be scared away. I found it to be as challenging -- and rewarding -- as C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" and "The Problem of Pain".

Highly recommended.

57 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A systematic critique of the Christian religion, August 23, 2000

By A Customer

In this book, Michael Martin does an excellent job of dissecting the Christian religion with a tone of objectivity. The reader knows the author's conclusions from the title of the book, but it does not weaken his intellectual style. Though his position as philospher instead of theologian has brought his credibility in doubt, I was at least insured he would not jump to conclusions and keep them with stubborness. He states the problems with each Christian doctrine, reviews rebuttals to his arguments, and goes on to show the fallacy of the rebuttals. Some Christians, especially evangelicals, will quickly be unimpressed with his arguments when he doubts the probability of miracles. I personally thought his conclusions on miracles were rational and reasonable, but it takes an unbiased mind to appreciate his logic. Overall, I recommend this book to any person interested in religion because the book is based upon facts and philosophy, and I find it a devastating blow to Christianity's reasonableness. In conclusion, I find it to be a rational belief to accept Michael Martin's conclusions on Christianity and its doctrines.

53 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a plod, February 8, 2003

By	Tom Munro "tomfrombrunswick" (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Martin is a reasonably well known free thinker who has a background as a academic philosopher. This book is an attempt to suggest that Christian doctrine is not true. The methodology of the book is to suggest that a Christian is someone who accepts the doctrines outlined in the three major Christian Creeds. That is that Jesus existed as a historical figure and was God incarnated, he died and was resurrected, he was born of a virgin and will come again.

As a text some of it is a bit plodding. The reason for this is that unlike other books rather than just outlining his position, he advances his argument by contrasting it to other arguments against his position. Thus in the chapter about the resurrection he discusses at some length the position o Habermas a thinker who suggests that the resurrection is a historic event. He then responds to those arguments at some length but the narrative flow is rather poor.

The arguments around the resurrection and the historical nature of Jesus are the same arguments which have been running around free thought circles for years and have been outlined by such people as Remsberg (The Christ) and Cutner (Jesus God, Man or Myth). That is that the biblical accounts of Jesus life are contradictory and the Gospels appear to have been written years after the event. The structure of the Gospels suggest stories which are mythical or elaborated and there is a complete absence outside Christian sources to verify what is meant to have gone on. Martin tends to labour these points a bit and in my view Remsberg is by far the strongest exponent of these arguments.

The rest of the book is however reasonably original. The argument against the incarnation is in short that the biblical account of the temptation of Jesus is inconsistent with his divine nature. How could the supreme God of the world be tempted by Satan and entity who had in reality no power? How could a God, who does not have human appetites and is a perfect moral being suffer from temptation? This then leads to a discussion about how it would be impossible for the natures of God and man to co-exist. The discussion of Christian Ethics and their general incoherence is well done as is the problems around the notion of salvation.

The problem with the book is that it is very much a work that is written by an academic philosopher. It discusses the topic by the use of a series of abstract theoretical arguments which have force but take a bit of getting through. Other free thought writers such as Remsberg and Ingersoll write with much greater clarity passion and sense of the absurd aspects of Christian belief.

The part of the book that I enjoyed most was the second appendix which discussed the diverse theories of the Atonement. The main advantage of the book is that is presents in a reasonably accessible form a series of arguments which otherwise are contained in a number of volumes. The main difficulty with the book is probably the first chapter which tries to set up a basis for suggesting that Christians should adopt a rational approach to belief instead of relying on faith alone.