Rating: 
Summary: Cross Examining Witnesses That Are Not Present
Review: One can't help wondering how Mr. Doherty would have performed in a courtroom where the witnesses could actually answer for themselves. As the author not only controls the questions, but also the answers, his predetermined verdict should come as no surprise to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: A devastating refutal of biased Christian apologetics
Review: Apparently, Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" represents the best arguments that modern-day born-again evangelists have to offer.And considering how utterly deficient and unconvincing it is, that's pretty sad. However, Strobel is slick. A reader unfamiliar with the facts in the Jesus debate might well be snowed under by the subtlety with which he delivers his logical fallacies and the artfulness with which he conceals inconvenient counter-evidence. Fortunately, we have real scholars like Earl Doherty to clear the air. His first book, "The Jesus Puzzle", was a well-crafted and powerfully delivered argument against the historicity of Jesus Christ. Now, with "Challenging the Verdict", he takes Strobel to task by systematically destroying the testimony of the theologians he quotes, dissecting their arguments one by one to reveal the inconsistencies, circular reasoning and missing evidence inherent in each of them, and taking no prisoners in pointing out the embarrassing inconsistencies and other problems in the gospel accounts that Strobel would prefer to quietly gloss over. (For example: How is it that any of the gospels describe anything Jesus said or did in the garden of Gethsemane? All the disciples were asleep! Who was recording this?) It's not necessarily the best book when it comes to refuting Christianity in general, but if you've read "The Case for Christ" -- or even if you haven't -- and want an opposing view, this is the book you want to see. Most of the critics of this book complain about how Earl Doherty quotes Strobel's theologians to refute their arguments without giving them a chance to respond. But this charge is a monumental hypocrisy considering that Strobel himself only interviews people -- conservative and evangelical scholars -- who support *his* predetermined position. "The Case for Christ" gives no space to even liberal Christian scholars, much less atheists and others who are skeptical of the whole Jesus story. Of course, this is hardly surprising considering that any knowledgeable non-believer could punch dozens of holes in Strobel's flimsy mythology, exposing his numerous logical fallacies and selective use of evidence, which would rather ruin the book's intended purpose as an instrument of evangelism; but then Strobel's partisans should not complain when Doherty counters him on the only grounds he is willing to argue. If Strobel gave equal space to both fundamentalists and their critics, then these people might have a valid point in charging Doherty with unfairness. As it is, they're merely hypocrites, and they don't have a leg to stand on.
Rating:
Summary: Complete Malarky
Review: The whole reason no one has pointed out any specific flaws is because there are so many of them it just boggles the mind where to start. Since the author claims that many have said that his story is full of flaws but none have pointed to any specific flaws, I will point out a few of his flaws chosen at random and not completely I order.
"I ask you this, Dr. Blomberg. Do you not find it peculiar that a Christian bishop in Asia Minor, concerned with collecting and analyzing the sayings and deeds of the Lord (his lost writing was entitled The Sayings of the Lord Interpreted), would not possess a copy of any Gospel by the year 125?" A bishop in Anatolia didn't have copies of the gospels by the year 125 and that is supposed to somehow upset my faith? It was not uncommon for early churches to lack New Testament writings. Most early churches were still largely Jewish or steeped in Jewish tradition. They typically preached from the Old Testament texts. The church services of modern day Christian Jews still rely primarily on the Old Testament texts. The Ethiopian Bible still does not have all the books of the New Testament. "Well, Dr. Boyd, I just wish we were all as biased as the Seminar in rejecting the supernatural as authentic in the Gospels any more than it is authentic today. Considering that in our own lifetimes one would be hard pressed to point to any verified miracle or supernatural occurrence, and that science has increasingly uncovered a picture of a miracle-free and naturalistic universe," What is "science"? Is that the belief that the universe created itself from nothing completely on its own and that everything grew from a single living cell that miraculously appeared in a puddle of slush? No respectable scientist believes in spontaneous generation. No one was around to see that stuff which should make it more suspect than anything written during the entire expanse of human history, seems more like a system of faith to me. I have elaborated on the fallacies of evolution, or a Godless universe, see my personal xanga site. "Considering that in our own lifetimes one would be hard pressed to point to any verified miracle or supernatural occurrence." Go to church and you will see all sorts of weird things that your "science" cant explain. It just so happens I have seen miracles and acts of the supernatural but the point is that if you don't want to believe then it doesn't matter what I saw or how many other people saw it too because your mind is already set. "I suggest to the court that this is a very good presupposition to bring to the question of whether Western society in the 21st century should continue to govern itself by a set of writings that came out of far more primitive times and modes of thinking than our own." Last time I recalled the only country currently run by any kind of church was the Vatican, assuming that the set of writings referred to are the Bible. Even taking that into account the Catholic Church interprets the Bible fairly liberally so it is not really a society ruled by ancient writings. In western countries there are no laws stopping people from living a Godless lifestyle, so I do not see how the author can assert that a "set of writings" is governing him "The Gospels contain testimony to one of the most blatant superstitions ever to trouble the mind, a belief in evil, inimical forces which actively seek to inflict harm and damnation upon human beings."
"Yet science has uncovered nothing which would lead us to believe that such forces exist. We are finally in a position to throw off that long and sorry bondage." Superstition? There are definitely malevolent spirits that seek to harm and frighten human beings and they are still active today. I am still a college student (Georgia State University), but anytime the paranormal or supernatural will come up in any class there are always about 2 to 5 or 6 people that will claim that they have seen or been terrorized by spirits. I have heard way too many accounts from people who have experienced such things. People are bodily attacked sometimes, other times they hear inhuman voices chanting or screaming at them in alien languages. Several times I have heard of peoples beds being dragged across the room while the person lies awake in terror being taunted or threatened by monstrous inhuman voices. I have even heard cases where the evil spirits have frightened animals I have heard many of these accounts first hand, and second hand from both Christians and non-Christians, mostly from non-Christians. The difference is that unbelievers tend to believe that the spirits are ghosts whereas Christians tend to believe they are demons.
Since the author believes that anything said by Christians is suspect (even though Christians believe that lying is a sin and most unbelievers do not) I will recommend that anyone who shares his belief ask questions of their fellow students or co-workers. Also anyone who participates in any active internet communities may want to search for people who have seen these things because it is really surprising how many people see this stuff. I suppose that "atheists" will instantly attribute this all to drug hallucinations or dementia. That does not explain how people of all ages and walks of life see these things. Furthermore most drug users are not going to report their drug hallucinations because they do not want it to become known that they are doing drugs and to report such things would be incriminating and result in immediate termination of their jobs or enrollment at a university. I intend to give a more thorough critique of this book on my xanga site, keep watching for updates at http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=jmsnooks
Rating: 
Summary: Don't read Strobel without it!
Review: Books by apologists frustrate me because as I read, counter-arguments enter my head and the authors just ignore them! I could barely get through Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" because of his infuriating tendency to pretend he was getting at all the facts. He claimed he was being impartial but he never challenged the "experts" he questioned; he just accepted all they had to say. Anyone honestly interested in the truth won't read apologists' books without also searching for skeptical rebuttal. Lucky for us, Doherty has written a comprehensive rebuttal to Strobel's book highlighting all the arguments Strobel conveniently left out or glossed over. Don't buy one without the other!
Rating:
Summary: Beware which "review" you read...
Review: The contents of this excellent book have alreay been delineated by many other people. Please note, however, that the ONLY "bad" reviews are from Christian apologists or "Unbiased" people who are actually the same Christian apologists in disguise.
You only need to ask yourself a few simple questions? Can Christianity be proven by empirical evidence? Do dead bodies EVER come back to life, as the New Testament claims? Is being a rational skeptic "wrong" or even "blasphemous"?
Bottom line; far more Christians are reading and reviewing this book than skeptics. This is to be expected. If you are interested in rational, proof based refutation of the decidedly UN proven and UN scientific an IRrational "case For Christianity", then you've found the right book. However, if you believe in UFO's, "burning bushes", seas being parted in half by a supernatural force, dead zombies coming back to life, placing people's hands into their bloody, gaping wounds, and pregnancy without sex, then you may not enjoy this book, my friends.
Rating:
Summary: No book is going to settle the arguments over Jesus
Review: As a Christian apologist, I have dealt with skeptics and their arguments over the years. However, it is not my intent to refute Doherty in this review. Instead, I want to make the point that there is no definitive argument or evidence which would convince both skeptics and believers. If there was, then the issue of Jesus would have been resolved centuries ago. Even so, Doherty's book demonstrates how a thoughtful skeptic can address many of the arguments made by believers like Strobel. From that perspective, I found this to be a valuable book.
Rating:
Summary: Truth about Doherty, his method, and Strobel.
Review: This book should be labeled as fiction, plain and simple. Doherty wants negative reviewers to refute him. What do we refute Mr. Doherty? I cannot refute a figment of you imagination. Your entire method is is not only juvenile, it is asinine. You would have faired much better to present your material for what it is worth rather than trying to sell a book by piggy-backing on Strobel's success. It is obvious that those giving you positive reviews are simply romanced because you tell them what they want to hear. Yes, this describes most people on the Strobel bandwagon too, but this is not a review of Strobel, unfortunately. You keep asking for critiques of your content, but respectability MATTERS Mr. Doherty. To ask a question then quote an answer that was given to a DIFFERENT question is inconceivably unethical. I had problems with Strobel, but this is embarrassing. Honestly, I do not care that you are a nobody Mr. Doherty. Strobel is a journalist I believe, so he's just as much of a nobody in the academic world as you are. I would NEVER quote Strobel in an academic paper, nor would any respectable student. Strobel does not TRY to be an academic and he at least he lets the REAL academics speak for themselves. Yes, Strobel sets up the target where he knows the bullet is going to go, but that is not dishonest. He pursues the points that he can make, and is silent about those he cannot. I could go on, but like I said, this is not a review of Strobel. Obviously, this is a desperate attempt to get your work on the market. If you come out with a respectable book with a respectable method, then I will respectfully engage your material. Until then, all respectable scholars and critical readers will ignore you. Now, back to proof-reading the 40 page final paper that I have due tomorrow. Finals Week!
J.Wilson
Senior at Brown University
Honors candidate in Religious Studies- Dual focus in Ancient Hebrew religion and New Testament.
Rating:
Summary: Tektonics has hit the nail on the head...
Review: If you would like to see a thorough thrashing and a double-cross examination slam dunk, I would go to http://www.tektonics.org/doherty/dohertytrial.html
Rating:
Summary: No One is Refuting Doherty's Points
Review: All these religionist reviews on here attack everything but Doherty's arguments. Gimme a break you guys, I am seeing all these 1-star ratings without any of Doherty's points actually challenged. You guys keep claiming that Doherty did not interview any of Strobel's witnesses yet Strobel never interviewed any unbelievers in his own book. The book is a response and I have yet to see works that respond to his specific arguments.
Rating:
Summary: Poor
Review: Doherty does not know what he is talking about. He's trying to sound smart and educated, yet cannot accurately refute the Truth.
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