Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 A strange thing with consequences! Mar 21, 2009
Originally the author had something else in mind. That is something which is often heard when people try to prove by example that the Christian faith does not work or is based on myths - it seems to work nevertheless. Another example is Lewis Wallace who wrote Ben Hur. Maybe true heroism as in that tale suggested needs always a Christian foundation for ones achievement. Confessing that one has been wrong is almost always an act of heroism!
Greenleaf, one of the principle founders of the Harvard Law School, originally set out to disprove the biblical testimony concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was certain that a careful examination of the internal witness of the Gospels would dispel all the myths at the heart of Christianity. But this legal scholar came to the conclusion that the witnesses were reliable, and that the resurrection did in fact happen. I think he mastered the hurdles of pride and self-reliance.
The proof that God, the God of the Bible, has revealed himself to man indeed, and that Christianity constitutes that revelation, is no part of these inquiries. The present design, however, is not to enter upon any general examination of the evidences upon any general examination of the evidences of Christianity, but to confine the inquiry to the testimony of the Four Evangelists, bringing their narratives to the tests to which other evidence is subjected in human tribunals.
That the books of the Old Testament, as we now have them, are genuine; that they existed in the time of Christ, and were commonly received and referred to among the Jews, as the sacred books of their religion; and that the text of the Four Evangelists has been handed down to us in the state in which it was originally written, without having been materially corrupted or falsified, either by heretics or Christians; these are facts which we are entitled to assume as true, until the contrary is shown.
The genuineness of these writings really admits of as little doubt, and is susceptible of as ready proof, as that of any ancient writings whatever. What this recognition means to oneself that is up to oneself. It would be indeed a strange thing in itself, that the most testified and proved scripture of the ancient times proved to be reliable and the contents would still be an invention or fantasy or myths, and at the same time claiming to stand for truth and other virtues. One implication is that the Bible could be what it claims to be!
Professor Thomas Arnold, chair of Modern History at Oxford University: "I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, than the great sign which God has given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead."
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Up to you to examine the evidence very carefully... Apr 03, 2008
This book is, of course, a masterpiece by one of the most respected jurists of all time. He makes his case for the evidence and the testimonies Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, and Paul with great care and objectivity. This book, along with EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT, should be read by every skeptic and every honest inquirer. And just what is at stake? ... the redemption of the human soul, ... and the veracity of Christianity and the culmination of 4000 + years of Jewish revelation regarding GOD's redemptive work on the part of humanity fallen deep into darkness and death. - and THAT is EXACTLY what is at stake.
One quick note: remember and never forget that the men who testified regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus *were devout Jews* who abhorred the very idea of bearing false testimony, *knowing* that such a thing is a direct violation of GOD's commandment. - it is almost unthinkable that they would conspire together to deliberately bear false testimony. And they *clearly* and unmistakably declared THAT THEY SAW JESUS ALIVE after His death and resurrection.
btw: there is another excellent book called, "MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS." I recommend that one also.
blessings to those *who honestly* seek after Truthe, ... for they shall find Him.
Pastor Len Hummel, Clearlight Ministries, Intl.
7 of 54 found the following review helpful:
 standards for human testimony? Mar 01, 2005
It always struck me as odd that anyone would accept what are clear contradictions in the gospels regarding the events surrounding the alleged resurrection as proof that the events really happened--that this is evidence of a story not contrived and agreed upon afterwards but indicative of the various subjective perspectives each writer brought. Aside from the fact that the various accounts are too different to be attributed to this prior notion, Christians have a bigger problem; for they believe that the bible is the word of God and is authored not by man but God. As such, there is no room for contradiction or the hoped-for subjective perspective. In a nutshell, the standards for human testimony can simply not be applied to an alleged "inerrant word of God."
I give this book two stars instead of one because it has value to the "Josh McDowell" type Christians who think they can intellectualize their sky-daddy myth into credibility. With this book on their bookshelf, they'll sleep easier at night. Two stars for being a myth-keeper!
12 of 26 found the following review helpful:
 More -- And Less -- Than Advertised May 20, 2004
This volume isn't exactly what one would expect from the title on the cover. The book is not an extended analysis of the Gospels, but a collection of essays, only one of which (Greenleaf's "Examination of the Testimony of the Evangelists") makes any attempt at rigorous analysis of the Gospels. Greenleaf adds a second essay on "An Account of the Trial of Jesus," and this slim volume is rounded out by "The Jewish Account of the Trial of Jesus" by Joseph Salvador, "The Trial of Jesus before Caiaphas and Pilate" by M. Dupin, and "The Various Versions of the Bible" by Constantine Tischendorf.
35 of 37 found the following review helpful:
A Testimony Of The Testimony May 20, 2003
This is an excellent book for all types of people, Christians and non-Christian alike. It is especially good for those who believe they are the intellectual type. I work in the legal field, and so I found this book to be a clincher for even the most hard hearted skeptics. If they would just set their bias aside and truly absorb what this author is saying, there won't be any doubt that the evidence of the Evangelist is reliable. This is a book I challenge my friends and coworkers to read because we deal with evidence people submit daily, seeking a benefit through this government agency. We are legally bound to recognize all applicants are "prima facie" eligible until proven otherwise through testimony and evidence. And so, we are trained to recognize what makes good evidence and what makes bad evidence. The Gospels are good evidence, unimpeachable. I have actually gone back and purchased additional copies of this book so that I can give them out to people who need to hear it from a legal scholar with impeccable credentials. It's a very easy book to read. It can be digested in a matter of two or three hours, and its inexpensive as well, costing less than ten bucks. Simon Greenleaf lays everything out so well, it is truly easy to follow his logic. If you are a skeptic about the Bible, doubting its authenticity, this book will explain to you why you should accept the Gospel accounts as fact, because their testimony is clear. Jesus is God incarnate as the Gospels attest. If you read this book, then this knowledge about Jesus is now in your head, and I pray that God the Holy Spirit will place it in your heart.
|
