- Paperback: 264 pages
- Publisher: Age of Reason Publications (1 Dec 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0968925901
- ISBN-13: 978-0968925904
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 14 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,009,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
In the face of modern critical scholarship, which is steadily eroding the historical reliability of the Gospels and their presentation of Jesus, conservative writers have been making valiant attempts to re-establish confidence in the Christian record and doctrine. The most prominent of these, in popular exposure and commercial success, has been Lee Strobel, in his 1998 book 'The Case for Christ'. In that book, Lee Strobel, an ex-court journalist, conducts a series of 14 interviews with well-known conservative and evangelical scholars of the New Testament, such as Craig Blomberg, William Lane Craig and Gary Habermas, in an attempt to establish the reliability of the Gospel account and the truth of the Resurrection. Within the context of a scholarly critique, Earl Doherty, author of 'The Jesus Puzzle' takes quotations from those interviews and sets up his own dialogue with them, as though cross-examining Strobel and his witnesses in a courtroom before judge and jury. This makes for gripping reading, a strong atmosphere and an effective way to present the case in favour of a more rational and coherent view of the Christian record and the origins of Christianity. This book exposes the deficiencies, the fallacies, the selective and misleading use of evidence inherent in 'The Case for Christ', and offers more reasonable alternatives.<
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
117 of 136 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
An insult to scholarship,
By
This review is from: Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case of Christ": A Cross-examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case of Christ" (Paperback)
There are only two things which need to be said about this book. The first is that Doherty is a holder of the belief that Jesus never actually existed in history - a stance which very, very few accredited scholars in the world hold. Therefore his counter of Strobel's book isn't even coming from a moderate skeptical view, but from a minority extreme.The second is the completely farsical way in which he cross-examine's Strobel's experts. He's not actually contacted the experts and presented his questions, and given the experts a chance to try to explain themselves. He's simply taken "soundbytes" from Strobels book, and inserted his own questions around those selected quotes! As one website portrayed it, it's just like a court case where the prosecution cross-examines, not the defense witnesses, but a tape recording of the defense witnesses answering the defense council's questions! Now Strobel's book was far from watertight, and I would have loved to see a true scholar tighten up the screws with some valid questioning and critique. But this book is an absolute joke.
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you read Strobel's book, read this too,
By
This review is from: Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case of Christ": A Cross-examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case of Christ" (Paperback)
Regardless of what you may feel about the credibility of an argument written by a man who is confident that Jesus never existed, there is no doubt that Earl Doherty makes some clear, concise, and thoroughly sensible observations and objections in 'Challenging the Verdict'. Even if he does not convince you that Jesus did not exist, at least in the sense that we have come to understand, then the 'verdicts' given in Strobel's book will surely no longer be 'beyond reasonable doubt'.
I am not a huge fan of the courtroom setting chosen for the book, but nevertheless, the arguments contained within are not diminished. I challenge anyone to read both books as I did, first a chapter in Strobel's, and then the refutation of said chapter by Doherty, and find that Strobel is overwhelmingly and conclusively more convincing. I didn't; in fact I thought the opposite, but I am an ex-Christian atheist and perhaps my pre-conceived opinion that miracles in the bible never happened has clouded my judgement somewhat. In any case, I believe any Christian wishing to affirm their beliefs by buying material such as Strobel's 'Case for Christ' has no excuse not to hear both sides of the argument. It is polemical defence of faith, in my experience, which has led to ignorance in many religous believers. I don't buy into the argument that Doherty's conclusions are weakened because he is one-sided and doesn't ask the witnesses to address the questions in person for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the questions have already been answered; the responses in 'The Case for Christ' surely would not differ greatly from any response that would be given were the scholars asked the questions a second time round. Secondly, this book is no more one sided than Strobel's book, because Strobel himself interviewed only Christian scholars in the first place. The information reviewed and studied is identical in both books; it is only the conclusions and the reasons for those conclusions which differ. A well worth investment if you have read 'The Case for Christ', or you are at all interested in the historicity of Jesus and validity of events described in the Bible. My studies have led me to conclude that the Bible is no more than a collection of myths and tales; certainly not the unquestionable word and authority of God. Even if it were, that would mean that God is confused - a proposition which by its very nature is unlikely to be true of an omnipotent and omniscient being. However, this is by no means the conclusion I would expect everyone to draw, and I invite you to discover meaning in the gospels and epistles for yourself.
7 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A breath of fresh air,
By Mr. R. J. Stovold "R. Stovold" (Brighton, East Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case of Christ": A Cross-examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case of Christ" (Paperback)
This is a self-contained book, so you can get a lot out of it even if you've never read Stobel's original "Case For Christ". Doherty exposes the dubious tactics of Strobel and other apologists - the selective use of the evidence, the concealed assumptions - and debunks them (frequently by citing bible verses that apologists would rather forget). I found it quite a refreshing book to read - no weird "Da Vinci Code" style conspiracy theories about the "true" nature of Jesus, just a fresh, critical, and (to me) pretty convincing appraisal of the evidence, which leaves you wondering, "Why didn't I spot that?".
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