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: 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.
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