Rating: 
Summary: A poor execution of a flawed premise
Review: This is an insipid, poorly executed book that's built on a silly premise: let's "cross-examine" highly regarded scholars without even giving them even a single opportunity to respond! It's made even worse by the author's self-promotional attempt to hype it as "riveting" reading. It gets tedious very quickly to read the author's "challenges" without knowing how the scholars would answer him. It's like putting a witness on a witness stand, gagging his mouth, then grilling him with misleading questions and saying, "Aha! See! I'm obviously right because he has no answer." Give me a break! These scholars would roast him. Check out the author's bio; his credentials pale in comparison to the doctorates earned by those he cynically seeks to discredit.As far as I can tell, this is essentially a self-published reprint of material from the author's web site, although thankfully he did clean up the most obvious error in the original, where he repeatedly misattributed the quotations of a physician. The author's credibility is already suspect because of his previous book in which he claimed Jesus never even existed -- a position so extreme that few atheists even endorse it. It's possible to have an intelligent discussion or debate on issues involving Jesus. Reputable scholars have been doing so for centuries. But this book is an embarrassment because it sets up a blatantly unfair format and then taunts notable scholars without giving them a chance to set the record straight. Readers are merely left with the author's dubious assertions and no way to responsibly evaluate them. I'm glad that the tektonics organization has already exposed this book's faulty reasoning point by point on its site. The reason I gave this book two stars instead of one was that I do have to acknowledge the audacity of the author to think he can blind-side some of the leading apologists of our day. I have to respect his entrepreneurial drive. At the same time, I'd caution potential readers that if they want cogent, meaningful, intelligent dialogue on historical issues involving Jesus, there are plenty of books -- from both atheists and theists -- that are very illuminating. But this isn't one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: did the reviewers actually read the book?
Review: Reading through the reviews of those who criticize Doherty's book (and give it only 1 or 2 stars) I began to wonder if these people actually read the book thoroughly. Some of the issues raised by some of the reviewers (such as the reason that Doherty even wrote the book) are covered rather clearly in the book itself. I read Strobel's book and was less than impressed. I then read Doherty's book and the common sense, fairness, and reasonable argumentation was refreshing. This is an excellent book and deserves all five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Christ hating, Sunday school abused, and arm-chair authors
Review: Some people are players and others are just hating because they can not play! This book is hating, If it's author could truely cross exaimine the experts, it would not have been written. Just like people hating The Passion of Christ movie get over it and make a better movie yourself. Qudos for free speech and showing who you really love. But poo poo for this fantasy scholarship. I think someone was abused in sunday school and trying to get some attention for not getting over being a victim. get therapy! Maybe if anyone is intrested in some other sceptics who tried honestly to disprove Christianoty go read some books about Blaze Paschal, Simon Greenleaf, C.S. lewis, St Agustine, etc. Stop blowing smoke up Jesus ass with your head up yours cuz that is how this book was written and does for its readers. A great waste of time for even for the weekend Christ haters and arm-chair authors go cross examine the De Vinci Code or do you believe that is a true story too - then you should read this book it's for you!
Rating:
Summary: Case Dismissed
Review: Earl Doherty has written an unusual kind of commentary. He looks at Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" chapter by chapter, isolates the main points Strobel makes in each chapter, and convincingly rebuts them. Doherty, unlike Strobel, is a scholar, and he has encountered the authorities Strobel brings in as expert withnesses in their own books. And he has in earlier work taken their arguments fully into account. So this is not a mere reveiw, it is a devastating critique of a distinctly mediocre piece of trendy journalism.
Along the way, Doherty brings out some of the main arguments of his own earlier study, The Jesus Puzzle, which the interested reader should consult for a full exposition of the thesis that there was no historical personage corresponding to the Jesus of Nazareth of the gospels.
How serious Doherty is may be indicated by the fact that no more than once or twice does he take advantage of elementary lapses of logic or simple misinformation in Strobel's book.. Nor does he point to obvious omissions, such as Strobel's failure to note the discrepancies between the two New Testament accounts of the nativity and immediately subsequent events.
The reader reviews of Strobel that I looked at put considerable emphasis on his breezy journalistic style, which presumably makes his book a "good read." I beg to differ. If the topic is as serious as Strobel claims, then something like the serious, albeit accessible, style of Doherty is more appropriate.
Just in case Doherty leaves you with lingering doubts as to the cogency of his argument, you would do well to look at some other recent books that support him very strongly: G. A. Wells, The Jesus Myth; Alvar Ellegard, Jesus One Hundred Years before Christ; Robert Price, Deconstructing Jesus; Harold Leidner, The Fabrication of the Christ Myth.
Rating:
Summary: Ph.Ds vs. Conspiracy Nut
Review: OK, so we have Doherty, a self-proclaimed expert (who interestingly enough cites no academic qualifications), vs. highly educated individuals, many of whom did NOT receive degrees either from religious institutions. One wonders what Doherty's reasoning for this book is. I would well wonder if he is still angry at his dad or something similar. All in all, not worth reading. Just another expose that's about as useful - and not thought out - as the latest reality TV show.
Rating: 
Summary: Objections Sustained
Review: A Christian friend recently gave me a copy of Strobel's "The case for Christ", convinced it effectively "proves" the historacity of the New Testament. After reading the opening two Chapters addressed to apologist Craig Blomberg, I was shocked. Not only were Blomberg's arguments poor, they were of questionable integrity. His paraphrases, unsupported conjectures and in particular an accusation that every modern translation "hides the Greek" in Mark 6:50 astounded me.
The "poor" arguments in Strobel's book were easily dealt with myself, but in the cases where an apologist was throwing their Doctorate around to bamboozle the reader with their knowledge of the Greek, I was convinced I needed some backup. There are a wealth of online rebuttals to Strobel and his apologetic "dream team", but Doherty's is cleary the most comprehensive. After visiting his website and accessing the generous selections of "Examining the verdict" online, I was convinced of the quality of the Book and ordered my copy. Reading Strobel and Doherty side by side is an interesting experience, bringing some much needed balance to the examinatiojn of the material. With Doherty and Strobel's books, we have a chance to read the "opening statement" for both positions. I would really like to see an actual debate between the two camps with rebuttal and counter-rebuttal. In the lack of such a comprehensive treatment the "verdict" must clearly go to Doherty for his sensible and cognitive arguments. His presentation is also makes for a compelling read, demonstrating a dry and amusing wit. To give an example I might quote one of my favourite parts of the Book, where Doherty enlightens Dr Gary Habermas to a few more of the resurrection discrepencies that have been glossed over. In particular that Matthew and Mark have Jesus appearing in Galilee first, while Luke and John have him placed in Jerusalem. Doherty poses the question "What do you think would happen in a criminal trial Dr Habermas, if an attorney were to present a case to judge and jury which failed on such a fundamental point of evidence? How much would the prosecution gain if the D.A told the court that the deceased's body was found on the city's waterfront, while the coroner testified it was found in his driveway? What would be the reaction if the defense attorney placed one witness on the stand who gave the defendant an alibi in Baltimore, followed by another witness who gave him one in Toledo?" It would be a pretty weak case indeed. Doherty does a more then adequate job of illustrating that Christian apologists seeking to shoot off ammunition would be safer hiding quietly behind the few rocks that are left. Nonetheless, I would have a hard time recommending this book to a Christian audience, the typical Strobel fans. My reservations stem from the fact that Doherty brings an Atheistic bias to his presentation, which is never effective in debating Christians. I certainly understand why Doherty doubts the existance of a historical Jesus, the evidence is conspicuously thin as Doherty himself will illustrate. The problem is that as soon as a fundamentalist hears Doherty imply Jesus was a myth, they think to themselves "This guy must be an idiot" and cannot listen to any of the solid arguments that are to follow paragraph after paragraph. To those who are familiar with the facts supporting the atheistic view, Doherty will pose no problems at all and indeed provide many excellenmt insights and presentations of widely held scholarly views and refutations of common aologetic stances. For example, most of us would be aware of the problems with Matthew's account of the slaughter of the innocents and Luke's census which are not contemporary events, actually the first is not a real event at all. It is easy to bring this charge to the attention of Christians. However I was not aware of the apologetic response that there were two Quinarius' or he served two reigns. Doherty rightfully illustrates that this defence is what I would term "dishonest righteousness", a deliberate fabrication to conform to a pre-establsihed belief. Doherty provides a concise overview of critical New Testament scholarship, a presentation of his own view of Jesus as a mythic figure (which will be new to many readers) and an all-too-easy rebuttal to the star apologists assembled by Strobel. While Christian readers may find this work a little too hot underneath the collar, Doherty himself does not even break a sweat in dealing with "the evidence".
Rating:
Summary: Principles are lost in the background here...
Review: Bottom Line. No matter what conclusions this book draws the principle that a false positive equals a negative is thoroughly unscientific and does not merit anything at all. You can not say that because Lee Strobel is wrong that Christ thus did not exist. That is exactly what this book aims to do and it is a very unscientific approach. All you can say is that Strobel might be wrong, but that is all. Doherty previous book is precisely aimed at proving that Christ does not exist. Unhappy with the results he is now trying to chisel away at the framework for what people consider unbiased accords for the reality of the Christos. He should stick to what he does best, his previous book and work. Instead he just tries to chisel and snipe and this only brings down the value of his work to date considerably. This is not a good move at all for Doherty.
Rating:
Summary: This is your brain, Strobel is your brain on drugs...
Review: Any questions? I lost 5 IQ points reading Strobel's book, which was nothing more than mindless propaganda. I think I regained them while reading this clear, logical rebuttal of Strobel & Co.'s "arguments." Remember people..."It's not a lie, if you believe it." That certainly seems to be the Christian camp's #1 defense. Don't you think it is about time we gave up on all of man's primitive superstitions and nonsensical babble?
Rating:
Summary: Just another example......
Review: Well, all I can say is Satan is at work here, through you, Mr. Doherty. He always loves to knock the truth down - and you're book is just another example of that. But, he always likes to do it in a way that is very "convincing" for those who are searching for truth. Do not read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Has no Bite - No wonder Doherty Self-Published this Thing!
Review: Full of assumptions. Way too many Illogical and False Analogies. I found an average of 1 good argument in every 50 bad ones. Man, I thought I would be able to use Doherty's points in real life - No way! They'd laugh me off the street if I tried using his arguments in ad hoc conversation much less try to use his stuff in debates. "Uh no, excuse me that doesn't fit the script. You need to make this statement so I can make that statement... blah blah blah..." I was hoping for something with at least SOME Meat to it - not a comic rerun of isolated finger pointing and puppet manipulation of Strobel's interviewees. Come on Doherty - what is this a joke? Very very sad and a deeply incorrect use of socalled, "cross-examination." No wonder Doherty had to self-publish this thing - no publisher worth their weight in flies would have touched it. I mean what kind of strategy is this puppet manipulation of the statements??? Where's the Beef?! Where's your attack platform? I need stuff that's usable, not a comedic script suitable for sitcoms. Very sad - wasted my money. I should have bought a different book. Think twice before lining Doherty's pockets - if you want laughs or something to cringe on, then that's fine. If you want meat and something you can actually use in real life for debates or conversations - RUN! Zero stars. Bill.
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