The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, along with an interactive CD, will prepare you to make a compelling argument for the historicity of Christ's resurrection, even to those who do not accept the Bible as divinely inspired. The authors first develop principles by which a historical event can be accepted as true, then apply them to belief in Christ's rising from the dead, and finally offer sample scenarios illustrating the use of these principles.

Habermas, who has written several apologetic works on the resurrection, and Licona, a speaker and budding New Testament scholar who was once Habermas's student, offer a comprehensive and far-reaching argument for the historical veracity of Christ's resurrection. In fact, at times it is too far-reaching, as when the authors digress into refutations of Mormonism, alien activity and Elvis sightings; this book would be much improved if it had been trimmed by about a third. Many evangelicals will appreciate the authors' broad evidentiary claims and marshalling of historical, theological, archaeological, biomedical and literary data to support their belief in the resurrection. Yet despite its strong content, the book is poorly written, and is organized in a workmanlike outline format that seems more appropriate for a seminary lecture than a seamless book. A closing chapter offers practical tips for evangelical Christians who wish to share their faith with others. (Apr. 15) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Knowing why you believe what you believe is one of the hardest parts of being a Christian. Just as parents answer a child's endless supply of “why?” questions and usually run out of answers, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas ensures that we Christians don't. It begins with “why” it is important for us to know the information provided in this book. The answer is found in God's Holy Word, I Peter 3:15, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

This book takes several arguments disputing the resurrection of Christ and tears them to shreds. It demonstrates that the very sources used against the resurrection are biased and partial. The amount of information and biblical knowledge contained within is astounding. It includes a CD-ROM which is pure genius, educating the public about the resurrection.

Habermas dissects common questions that argue against Jesus' resurrection, making it an easy reference for the future. For example, say the person you are witnessing to says, “The disciples stole the body;” it is easy to find the information to refute that false belief. Every known argument for why the resurrection didn't happen is accounted for in this book, and proven wrong.

This book is an excellent learning tool for every Christian. I recommend it for pastors as a reference tool and a study guide, regardless of where they are in their walk with the Lord. All of life is a time to learn, and learning never stops. We can never know too much about God.

With the inclusion of a detailed outline of the arguments contained in this book, the notes taken to write the book ( listed by individual chapter),and the bibliography of other reference books used in this one, there is an limitless supply of Bible studies and/or sermons. What pastor could not use this book? This book is by far one of the most useful books on the Christian faith. -- Tammy Hornbeck , Christian Book Previews.com

Average Rating:

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Reviewed by Sean Golden (Zanesville, Ohio), October 03, 2009

This book is absolutely brilliant! It lays out all the arguments that skeptics have about the Resurrection and they give answers that completely throws the skeptics arguments out the door. This is a must read & will help you be able to defend Christ's resurrection.

Reviewed by Brad Hall (Augusta, GA), March 11, 2008

This was a very convincing book for me. Habermas and Licona are probably two of the best (if not the two best) on the subject of the resurrection. The five facts they use on the resurrection are practically indestructible for critics and skeptics alike. This was a tremendous faith builder, and a must read!

Reviewed by David Kilpatrick (North Syracuse, NY), January 07, 2007

I grudgingly give this a 4.5. The purpose for the high rating is that this book provides a wealth of great information to support our belief that the resurrection of Jesus was truly an historical event. They cover many angles, and respond to numerous objections that I would have never thought of. I'm not sure you will get a more thorough and systematic presentation of the arguments for the resurrection than in this book. Despite the positive comments, I want to apprise the buyer of a few observations. First, this is not an apologetics resource that you'd use to loan your skeptical friends. Too much of it addresses the Christian, and how to present this info to others (there's even a chapter on how to come across well). Second, the endnotes are a problem. Some of them are so important the info should be in the text, others go on endlessly about marginally important things (e.g., too much on the early Church fathers). Third, they actually present a few weak arguments at points - the average skeptic may not pick up on this, but that's besides the point. Finally, when they speak of the resurrection body of Jesus, they don't seem to reflect NT scholarly insights on this - they present it as a simple either/or: A truly physical body or a spiritual only body that only appears physical (which they say the empty tomb disproves). The reality seems to be a transformed body reflecting the age to come - while functioning physically, it still displayed supernatural properties. George Eldon Ladd covers this in his books: 1) I Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus and 2) Theology of the NT. Overall, I'd strongly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn the reason we believe - so long as you are aware of it's foibles, you'll greatly benefit from this book.

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Author: Michael Licona
Located in: Atlanta, GA
Submitted: June 22, 2005

    Tell us a little about yourself.  I grew up in a Christian family and became a Christian at age 10. I really started to grow spiritually while in college and graduate school. But during my last semester in grad school, I began to question to truth of Christianity. In addition to the scientific and philosophical evidence for the existence of God, I was quite impressed with the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Newly encouraged in my faith, I began to share it more with others using apologetics and this led to a ministry.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  Our objective in writing this book was to provide a self-study course that will equip Christians to share their faith confidently and effectively using the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  Our objective in writing this book was to provide a self-study course that will equip Christians to share their faith confidently and effectively using the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  My co-author Gary Habermas has been a tremendous example of scholarship and humility. Chris Rice and Sara Groves are artists to whom I enjoy listening.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  We're grateful to Publishers Weekly for the review. Unfortunately, what they received was an unedited version which was in somewhat of an outline form. This was changed to a friendly format in the final. They also did not have the software that comes in the back of the book. This is a simulated television game show with a 3-dimentional and animated game show host who's hilarious. The game will provide hours of fun while assisting readers to master the book's contents. This game is of a high quality. A company was generous to us and donated more than $250k in technology and labor in creating it. Gary and I would like to thank Christianity today for their 2005 "Award of Merit" for the book in the area of apologetics.

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