Book Reviews

Book Review: The Anatomy of Deconversion, by John Marriott

For many years, I have had a fascination for the reasons why people deconvert from the Christian faith. I was therefore interested to pick up The Anatomy of Deconversion: Keys to a Lifelong Faith in a Culture Abandoning Christianity, by John Marriott, a professor of philosophy at Biola University.

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Extraordinary Claims and Evidence: A Review of Jonathan Pearce’s Book on the Resurrection (Part 1)

Since the resurrection is intended, in Christian theology, to function as an authenticating sign, it is highly predicted that Jesus’ resurrection will deviate from the normal course of nature. That the resurrection does, in fact, deviate from the normal course of nature should not be taken as a cause for concern.

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Book Review: Jesus Christ Our Lord, by John Walvoord

John Walvoord (1910-2002) was a past president of Dallas Theological Seminary (1952-1986) and a prolific author. He was probably best known for his advocacy of dispensational theology and of pre-tribulation ‘rapture’ theology with respect to eschatology. In his book, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Walvoord offers a systematic presentation of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

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Book Review: Canon Revisited – Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books, by Michael J. Kruger

What is the proper epistemological paradigm for determining the content of the New Testament canon? On what basis can a Christian confidently assert that the twenty-seven books that now comprise what we call the New Testament are divinely endowed with Scriptural authority?

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Book Review: Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul — A Review and Response, by Guy Waters

Proponents of the New Perspective maintain that the Jewish soteriology was based not on righteousness merited by works but on covenantal nomism – that is, the view that initial justification is by faith, whereas one remains justified, in part, through works.

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Did Jesus Exist? A Critical Appraisal of Richard Carrier’s Interpretation of the Pauline Corpus

Richard Carrier is an ancient historian who has risen to prominence as the lead advocate of Jesus Mythicism, a school of thought that entertains the idea that Jesus of Nazareth may never have existed at all.

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Book Review: Why Four Gospels? The Historical Origins of the Gospels (Second Edition), by David Alan Black

Black argues that the testimony of the patristics (which supports Matthean priority) is often not factored in to the scholarly assessment of the synoptic problem. Indeed, he observes, “Today the academic guild, both in Europe and North America, assumes that the patristic evidence is basically legendary and unreliable,” (p. 32).

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Finding Contradictions Where There Is None: A Review of Jesus, Interrupted (Part 3)

Since it is a fair assumption that Ehrman has chosen his best and, to his mind, most convincing examples of alleged contradictions in the gospels and Acts, the abject failure of Ehrman’s proposed contradictions should give us renewed confidence in the substantial trustworthiness of the Biblical accounts.

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