Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant response to the Jesus Seminar
Review: I love this book. Some of the best evangelical scholars do careful and calculated work to respond to the shoddy fabrication of Jesus that the Jesus Seminar seems so proud of. Having spent time reviewing the Seminar's The Five Gospels and The Complete Gospels among some of their other works, I am more convinced now that what the scholars in Jesus Under Fire have done is not only called for, but right on target. The Seminar is inconsistent in the application of its own criteria and even more shocking to me was the lack of direct scholarly references and argumentation to document their conclusions. Their assumptions and academic credentials seem to authoritatively seal the case in their minds. These are exactly the type of weaknesses Jesus Under Fire demonstrates in the Seminar's reconstruction of Jesus. Unlike the Seminar's translation and commentary, Jesus Under Fire is detailed, well argued and extensively footnoted. Amazon provides a table of contents and other reviewers have already summarized this excellent book so I won't recover that ground. Among my favorite articles are Bock's "Live, Jive or Memorex" which has helped me in explaining the historical nature of the Bible to some of my doubting friends. I also love Geivett's "Is Jesus The Only Way?" which provides some original thoughts on how to approach our pluralistic society with the exclusive claims of Christ. McKnight's introduction to Jesus Studies was helpful to me as I approached this arena. All of the articles are excellent. With the increasing media coverage of the Jesus Seminar this is an important resource for biblical Christians who are thoughtful in their approach to the gospels. The Jesus Seminar may be here for a long haul, but so are the responses presented in this great book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant response to the Jesus Seminar
Review: I love this book. Some of the best evangelical scholars do careful and calculated work to respond to the shoddy fabrication of Jesus that the Jesus Seminar seems so proud of. Having spent time reviewing the Seminar's The Five Gospels and The Complete Gospels among some of their other works, I am more convinced now that what the scholars in Jesus Under Fire have done is not only called for, but right on target. The Seminar is inconsistent in the application of its own criteria and even more shocking to me was the lack of direct scholarly references and argumentation to document their conclusions. Their assumptions and academic credentials seem to authoritatively seal the case in their minds. These are exactly the type of weaknesses Jesus Under Fire demonstrates in the Seminar's reconstruction of Jesus. Unlike the Seminar's translation and commentary, Jesus Under Fire is detailed, well argued and extensively footnoted. Amazon provides a table of contents and other reviewers have already summarized this excellent book so I won't recover that ground. Among my favorite articles are Bock's "Live, Jive or Memorex" which has helped me in explaining the historical nature of the Bible to some of my doubting friends. I also love Geivett's "Is Jesus The Only Way?" which provides some original thoughts on how to approach our pluralistic society with the exclusive claims of Christ. McKnight's introduction to Jesus Studies was helpful to me as I approached this arena. All of the articles are excellent. With the increasing media coverage of the Jesus Seminar this is an important resource for biblical Christians who are thoughtful in their approach to the gospels. The Jesus Seminar may be here for a long haul, but so are the responses presented in this great book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I never knew before I read this book and others how well christianity can be defended. Also after reading a book based on Gary Habermas debating Antony Flew I reliazed how small Atheist arguments really are. I truly recomend Jesus Under Fire.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: If you are going to read only one book on the "Historical Jesus", this book should be the one. This work covers the relevant topics such as the historical reliability of the Gospels, different modern views of Jesus such as a political social reformer, the veracity of the Resurrection, and my favorite chapter on the Gospels being "live, jive, or Memorex (paraphrased history, fiction, or literal verbatim history respectively). Liberal views holding a "low-Christology" such as those presented by the Jesus Seminar are taken to task and challenged on ignoring their own criterion along with their unjustified naturalistic presuppostions. I have read several works on the search for the historical Jesus and highly recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Takes the Jesus Seminar to task ...
Review: In this collection of essays and articles defending the historical Christ from contemporary detractors, editors Wilkins and Moreland have put together an important work of evangelical apologetics. Taking the claims of "The Jesus Seminar" to task, the various scholars present an intellectually defensible picture of the Jesus of traditional Christianity. The most effective chapter is definitely Darrell Bock's, "The Words of Jesus in the Gospels: Live, Jive, or Memorex?" Bock's essay serves as an extremely clear-headed and effective primer on the subject of the use of dialogue by the New Testament writers. The words of Jesus, for example, are neither "Jive" (words put into his mouth later by the gospel writers to advance their theology, the position asserted by "The Jesus Seminar" concerning almost all of Jesus' words in the NT) nor "Memorex" (his exact words down to the letter in every circumstance) but "Live." In other words, the gospel writers often recorded his teachings and sayings in summary form, and often tailored the delivery to their audience while retaining Christ's true message. Definitely recommended to theologians and defenders of the faith alike.
Rating: 
Summary: No Surprise
Review: It's no surprise that the contributors (and most reviewers) of JESUS UNDER FIRE have done their hardest to undermine the extensive research and scholarship of The Jesus Seminar. Their attacks on the seminar read as if no one involved in the Seminar ever believed that Jesus was the Son of God. But that method fits quite well into the Christian Right's "kill the messenger" common tactic when they can't accept reasonable disagreement - - even when we all want the same thing. Rather than acknowledging the possibility that the true message of Jesus Christ is found in the value of a modern interpretation of His words and deeds that would truly resonante with all Christians, they prefer to accept every word in the Gospel as His, notwithstanding the obvious inconsistencies in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Isn't it about time we all start getting back to what the Sermon on the Mount means to each of us in our lives today? And I'm sure the negative comments, if not threats, I'll receive for this review from many readers will demonstrate their magnanimous "Christian" attitudes. The book is still worthwhile reading, however, to explore the well-reasoned and critical responses to The Jesus Seminar findings. Whichever view you adopt, you can't be wrong; each one adequately establishes sufficient reasons to have faith in Jesus.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpeice; Must Reading For Anyone Interested In Jesus
Review: Jesus Under Fire is a masterpiece, a first rate work of philosophical and historical scholarship. If you are a skeptic who doubts the nature of Jesus and who he claimed to be, this book will fascinate you. If you are already a Christian, this book will help ground your belief in solid historical and logical arguments. There are many people who believe in Jesus without the slightest degree of intellectual or philosophical justification. There are also many who reject him simply because it seems improbable that he was anything more than a man; a great spiritual leader, perhaps; a lunatic maybe, but certainly not God incarnate. This books looks at all the options and finds Jesus to be the divine being that Christians claim him to be. Many people are familiar with the popular Jesus Seminar, a group of self-acclaimed scholars who study the New Testament and purport to analyze its claims with intellectual rigor and complete impartiality. Jesus Under Fire examines the claims of the Jesus Seminar in a fair and intellectually honest way and finds them to be biased and partial - and often without historical justification. Jesus Under Fire provides its readers with logical and easily defensible reasons to think Jesus was actually more than human. It does so in a way that appeals to the objective truth-seeker within, regardless of whether one is religious or not. This book will appeal to anyone who wants to form his religious beliefs based on the evidence and not solely on the recommendation of a Christian friend or minister. It may be possible to read this book and still conclude that Jesus was other than divine. However, it is impossible to read this book and conclude that there are no good reasons to belief that Jesus was indeed the son of God. Reading this book will force all intellectually honest skeptics to acknowledge that there is credible historical evidence, as well as multiple valid analytical arguments for the Christian faith. Jesus Under Fire is divided into chapters written by distinct scholars. The most interesting chapter may be the last one, written by William Lane Craig, a research professor of philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology. Craig's chapter deals with the resurrection. It provides fascinating reasons to believe that this admittedly incredible event actually occurred as Christians claim it did. This chapter, like the entire book, appeals not to your emotions but to your intellect. Like many books that appeal to your intellect, this one requires time and thought. It does not always read like a Stephen King novel. But the drama is just as intense and reading this book will prove to be an extremely rewarding experience for anyone who is interested in knowing the truth about Christian claims. If you have read any of John Dominic Crossan's books on Jesus, you absolutely must read Jesus Under Fire so that you may understand the contrarian's point of view. It is a view that will impress and surprise many by the strength of its arguments.
Rating:
Summary: Combatting the Jesus Seminar with good scholarship
Review: Jesus Under Fire-a book that compiles the efforts of 10 scholars-is the evangelical Christian answer to the 74 "fellows" of the Jesus Seminar who began meeting in 1985. The Jesus Seminar eventually published The Five Gospels to correct the supposed errors of the four Christian gospels because its fellows do not accept the record portrayed by the gospels, especially any issue dealing with miracles. They claim that less than 20 percent of the red-letter edition of the Bible are words truly spoken by Jesus. The rest is merely legendary. This is a very dangerous claim. If true, then the gospel records cannot be trusted. If the gospels cannot be trusted, then how do we know if anything the Bible says is true? The Jesus Seminar fellows decided to vote out the words they disagreed with, hence giving more authenticity to the Gnostic gospel of Thomas (which has been shown to be 4th century AD in origin) than any of the Bible's gospels. In effect, the Jesus Seminar makes a claim that evangelical Christians who believe in the Jesus of the Bible are accepting a great myth. My favorite chapters were Craig Blomberg's chapter 1 (Where do we start studying Jesus?), William Lane Craig's chapter 6 (Did Jesus rise from the dead?), and chapter 8 (Jesus outside the New Testament: What is the Evidence?). These were well-written chapters, full of valuable information, and a student of the Bible would be benefited by understanding the points made in these (as well as the other) chapters. If I had any criticism, it was that some information was repeated. For instance, the information on Josephus and his supposed reference to Jesus as the Messiah was talked about in ch. 1 (p. 40), ch. 4 (pp. 105-107), and chapter 8 (pp. 212-213). It seems that this information could have been combined a little better by the editors Wilkins and Moreland. True, too much editing could interrupt the authors' presentations, but these sections were a bit redundant. Perhaps some readers not familiar with this material could be benefited with the reviews in the later chapters. Overall, I really like the information put forth by Jesus Under Fire. Combining some of the best of Christian scholarship to combat the heresies put forth by the Jesus Seminar makes this a book well worth purchasing. I'm glad these gentlemen are on the side of truth to clearly present the facts.
Rating:
Summary: Under fire, but still standing
Review: JUF is a book that simply needs to be read by all, Christian and skeptic alike. Ten evangelical scholars come togher to refute the naturalistic assumptions of the Jesus Seminar, as well as provide positive evidence for the traditional, orthodox belief in Jesus. In the introduction, Moreland and Wilkins ask: Can we know anything about Jesus?; Are the biblical records of Jesus' activities accurate?; Is the supernatural possible in ancient and modern times? If the answer to these questions is 'yes', then believing that Jesus is Messiah becomes reasonable. Determining the answers to these questions requires the proper use of historiography and logical reasoning, not a vague 'faith' that has no basis in reality (after all, if Jesus never existed, believing that he did is simply idiotic). Throughout the book, the contributors emphasize the importance of truth and reason for religious belief. In ch.1, Craig Blomberg begins by examining the methodology of the Jesus Seminar and finds it lacking. He then provides evidence to support the historical reliability of the gospel accounts. In Ch.2, Scot McKnight takes a look at the history of Jesus scholarship and the varying descriptions that have been offered (Jesus as Sage or Social Revolutionary). He goes on to sketch a view of Jesus based on broad scholarly consensus. In ch.3, Darrell Bock looks at the words of Jesus. Are the words ascribed to Jesus exact quotes(ipissima verba)? Or are they 'his very voice'(ipissima vox)? He draws a distinction between having the precise words of Jesus and having his voice (the intent and meaning) in an accurate summary. In Ch. 4, Craig Evans presents a case for the authenticity of the deeds of Jesus as recorded in the gospels. In Ch.5, Gary Habermas' focus is on whether Jesus performed miracles. In his defense of those miracles, he considers the influence of one's worldview. The Jesus Seminar holds a naturalistic worldview where miracles are anathema. He then shows that the historical evidence itself vouches for the authenticity of Jesus' miracles. In Ch.6, William L. Craig tackles the big question: Did Jesus rise from the dead? He provides three lines of evidence - 1) the empty tomb, 2) the postmortem appearances of Jesus, and 3) the origin of the disciples' belief in Jesus' resurrection. He then gives a slew of evidence supporting each of the three. He concludes that the combined evidence meets the criteria that historians consider in testing a historical hypothesis. In Ch.7, Douglas Geivett addresses the question of Jesus in light of our pluralistic society. He appeals to the importance of careful, rational assessment of a religious truth claim regardless of how that religious truth claim makes you feel. In Ch.8, Edwin Yamauchi looks at the evidence of Jesus in extra-biblical sources, highlighting their usefulness as well as their limitations. The text is easy to understand. It contains plenty of scholarly content but doesn't assume that erudition is the sole criteria for understanding the arguments in the book. If you're the type of reader who enjoys flipping to the back to read the chapter's endnotes, you'll love this book (I'd estimate that almost a fifth of Craig's chapter is written in his endnotes). If a skeptic/agnostic friend were to ask me why I believe in Jesus, I'd give her this book. If a Christian friend were to ask me if there were any good books to help bolster her faith, I'd give her this book. (In case you missed the point, buy this book! )
Rating:
Summary: Jesus Is Alive and Well in the Halls of Academia
Review: Most collaborations are difficult to read and painstakingly ackward. This is probably one of the few exceptions. 10 conservative, yet, highly recognized scholars attempt to debunk much of the information coming out of the Jesus Seminar and other liberal critics of the gospels and the life of Christ. The introduction by J.P. Moreland and Michael F. Wilkins introduces the reader to the topic at hand: Who was Jesus Christ? Can we trust the accounts of HIs life? and finally, why it all matters? The two best and most interesting chapters are written by Craig L. Blomberg (Where Do We Start Studying Jesus?) and William Lane Craig (Did Jesus Rise From The Dead?) Other chapters are very interesting indeed, such as Edwin M. Yamauchi's "Jesus Outside The New Testament: What Is The Evidence?" All in all, this book is a must and is well edited. There are the usual problems in collaborations such as writing style changes, which often disturbs the flow from chapter to chapter. The rules of historical evidence is followed and the theologians and philosophers keep the story staright and follow all the rules oflogic. To the Christian or open-minded skeptic - buy now!
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