★★★★★ 5
A fresh historical perspective to the Resurrection! -by Jamie D.
Format: Paperback
Although there have been countless books written about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from a theological perspective, few have successfully tackled the Resurrection from the historical perspective. Dr. Licona has successfully done just that, applying a historical methodology to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In his opening chapter, Dr. Licona begins by defining what is meant by history, the methods that one employs to study history as well as the limitations that comes when one studies history. It is here that he introduces useful terms to the readers that are re-introduce in subsequent chapter. Horizon, a synonym for bias, can play a critical role in how one perceives and presents history to others. To reduce horizon, Dr. Licona believes that there are six main principles that can help an historian maintain a more objective perspective when reporting history. One of these main principles is that of “historical bedrock” a consensus of what is majorly accepted and infrequently debated. Not only is a consensus important when one considers a hypothesis but a hypothesis that has a solid explanation is important as well. For a hypothesis to have the weight of believability, it must stand up to five different criteria as well.
In chapter 2, Dr. Licona then turns his attention to the subject of miracles and their role in history and successfully debunks the most common presuppositions cited by the world’s most famous skeptics against the historicity of miracles.
It is in chapter 3 that Dr. Licona employs the historical method to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by examining both biblical and extrabiblical writings spanning within 200 years of the event. Upon the review of these various writings, he assigns a rating from “unlikely, possible-minus, possible, possible-plus, highly probably, indeterminate and not useful” to determine if they contain any historical weight in its regard to the independent testimony of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The historical bedrock principle is re-introduced into chapter 4 and is applied not only to the death of Jesus Christ but to His life as well. Dr. Licona notes that there many aspects of the Jesus’ life and death that are considered historical bedrock even among those with varied agendas.
Dr. Licona concludes his book by examining some of the leading naturalistic hypotheses touted from the most prominent liberal and skeptics in this field. By employing the five criteria that gives the historian the most successful explanation, Licona concludes that it is not the naturalistic hypothesis which fits regarding the Resurrection, but the supernatural one. The supernatural hypothesis of the Resurrection is the most solid explanation since it fulfills both historical bedrock as well as meeting all five criteria for the best explanation and thus should be considered by any credible historian as a well attested event that occurred in the past.
In summary, I highly recommend this book. As a believer of 40+ years, I learned things about my faith that I did not know about before. For example, I learned how the kerygma, an early Christian creed, lends historical weight to the Resurrection. My advice for believers is not to be intimidated by the voluminous size of this book. It was certainly well worth the read. Dr. Licona has done an excellent job in presenting the material through the perspective of a historian, so much so that one may temporarily forget that he is a theologian as well! Despite the myriad of footnotes peppered through the pages, the book was very easy to read and digest. In short, a must read for those who want to have a better understanding in how to engage skeptics from a different perspective when discussing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Get it! You’ll feel that much smarter and grounded in the faith once you’ve read the last page!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021
