The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

by Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona

Book Overview

"There is nothing like this on the market. It is interesting, engaging, and crucial material."
--Norman Geisler

This is an accessible, comprehensive, and persuasive resource providing detailed evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It also demonstrates how to share the material clearly, honestly, and definitively. Included is an interactive CD which tests the reader's knowledge of the material by using an entertaining TV game...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0825427886
• ISBN13: 9780825427886
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Kregel Publications
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

One of the most useful books on the Christian faith

Knowing why you believe what you believe is one of the hardest parts of being a Christian. Just as parents answer a child's endless supply of "why?" questions and usually run out of answers, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas ensures that we Christians don't. It begins with "why" it is important for us to know the information provided in this book. The answer is found in God's Holy Word, I Peter 3:15, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." This book takes several arguments disputing the resurrection of Christ and tears them to shreds. It demonstrates that the very sources used against the resurrection are biased and partial. The amount of information and biblical knowledge contained within is astounding. It includes a CD-ROM which is pure genius, educating the public about the resurrection. Habermas dissects common questions that argue against Jesus' resurrection, making it an easy reference for the future. For example, say the person you are witnessing to says, "The disciples stole the body;" it is easy to find the information to refute that false belief. Every known argument for why the resurrection didn't happen is accounted for in this book, and proven wrong. This book is an excellent learning tool for every Christian. I recommend it for pastors as a reference tool and a study guide, regardless of where they are in their walk with the Lord. All of life is a time to learn, and learning never stops. We can never know too much about God. With the inclusion of a detailed outline of the arguments contained in this book, the notes taken to write the book ( listed by individual chapter),and the bibliography of other reference books used in this one, there is an limitless supply of Bible studies and/or sermons. What pastor could not use this book? This book is by far one of the most useful books on the Christian faith. -- Tammy Hornbeck, Christian Book Previews.com

A Comprehensive Defense for Jesus' Resurrection

The authors of "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" are both skilled Christian debaters who regularly take on committed atheists in arguing for the resurrection. Their book reflects this background: it utilizes a top-down approach of first presenting each major argument, then delving into every objection with the refutations that can be made. Even with a lot of data it is easy to follow, since they lay out everything in an orderly progression and make use of copious, clear diagrams to keep the information straight. It covers in detail the alternative naturalistic theories to the resurrection (body theft, apostolic hallucinations, "swoon" theory etc.) and then touches on other evidences for God's existence and how a resurrection might be consistent with this. The authors do NOT assume the inerrancy/inspiration of the new testament documents, the deity of Jesus, or other remarkable assumptions that would invalidate their arguments with a skeptic before the exchange of ideas even began. The book also includes a CD that contains two in-depth quizzes of the presented information. The CD is professionally designed and first-rate, with a humorous talk-show host, and the questions are challenging! The quizzes by reviewing the material help to cement the facts, conclusions and refutations. The case for Jesus' resurrection is astonishingly strong and will shake a naturalistic world view (the view that this universe is all there is). This book is a self-study course on the evidences for Jesus' resurrection and how to use these to present your faith. And if you are not a believer read it with an open mind. You might be surprised.

The Excellent Case for the Resurrection of Jesus

I have used the "minimal facts" approach several times since I finished reading "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus." Three weeks ago I used it to witness to a Muslim, and she granted that Jesus could have risen from the dead, but she argued this would not mean Christianity was true. However, I pointed out that Jesus' resurrection would have served in confirmation of the claims He made, and she agreed with me. I also used the "minimal facts" approach while witnessing to and debating three agnostics at once this past Saturday night. The approach was extremely effective against their objections, and the best they could come up with was that the disciples were subconsciously predisposed to believe Jesus rose from the dead, grave robbers stole Jesus' body, and that Paul was just sick of his job so he converted to the Christian faith. However, I pointed out that the disciples were not in the right frame of mind to believe Jesus had risen from the dead, because they had just seen their leader, and friend die a horrible death. I also explained how the grave robber theory could not account for the resurrection appearances to Paul, nor James. Regarding Paul's conversion I reminded them of Paul's own words stating that he was an excellent Pharisee, and he apparently loved his job before his conversion. The agnostics also tried to negate the four minimal facts by pointing out that many people sincerely believe they have been abducted by aliens, and that more people have claimed to have been abducted by aliens than those who claimed to have seen the risen Jesus. However, I pointed out that this objection failed to address the minimal facts presented. Needless to say, I found "The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus" to be a very powerful, and effective witnessing tool.

great for beginners, good for the experienced

This is the best book I've seen for introducing people to the evidence for Jesus' resurrection and preparing them to answer objections. I've never seen a book address such a large variety of objections and alternate theories: the disciples were hallucinating, the disciples stole the body, Jesus survived the crucifixion, He should have had more of an influence on the ancient world if He did what the New Testament claims He did, miracles in other religions count against Christian miracle claims, Jesus was a space alien, the sightings of the risen Christ are comparable to Elvis sightings, etc. Some of these arguments aren't made by scholars, but this book is directed primarily to laymen, and laymen will come across such arguments on the Internet and in other places. I would think that at least the large majority of objections to the resurrection that most people will come across are addressed to some extent in this book. The book is well-written and well-organized, with many charts and an interactive CD that tests the reader's knowledge of the material. Basic issues of the nature of historical evidence and evidence for the existence of God and the supernatural in general are addressed, so the reader will be knowledgeable of more than just the resurrection itself. People who are already highly informed on these issues should still find the book helpful. It does contain some significant new material, such as the results of Gary Habermas' recent survey of modern scholarship on the resurrection and excerpts from the authors' personal correspondence with other scholars. Although the main body of the text is easy to follow and is aimed primarily at laymen, the notes go into more depth (more than 80 pages) and have a goldmine of information and sources.

Resurrection School

(...) New Testament scholars Gary Habermas and Michael Licona have produced quite possibly the most comprehensive book on the market, at the popular level, in regards to examining the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Habermas and Licona build the case for the resurrection around 5 data points accepted widely by New Testament scholars, 4 of which are accepted by virtually ever scholar: 1) Christ's death by crucifixion; 2) The disciples' sincere belief of Christ's post-mortem appearances to them; 3) The conversion of the skeptic James; 4) The conversion of Paul; 5) The empty tomb. Following a discussion of some of the evidence that establishes these data points on very solid historical ground, the authors discuss a wide range of alternative theories to Christ's resurrection touted over the centuries by critics (e.g. The Swoon theory; Fraud theories; Hallucinations), demonstrating each to not satisfactorily account for all of the widely accepted data. So thorough is the authors' treatment of alternative theories that they cover probably about anything, no matter how outlandish (e.g. Jesus was a space alien), that has ever been reasonably popular, in some detail.Included within this book is a helpful discussion of the nature of the resurrection body (i.e. spiritual vs. physical); a brief chapter on Christology; a brief chapter detailing common apologetic arguments for the existence of God; and very informative data in their end-notes section. What makes this book truly unique is its design, however. The authors' intent is to prepare the reader to be able to share with others the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Helpful flow charts are presented throughout the book; the last chapter is dedicated to suggestions regarding how one should approach a spiritual seeker with the data; and an outline of the main points of the book are placed in an appendix at the end. The book even comes with its own CD with quizzes for the reader on material presented! While the authors could have added other widely accepted historical facts regarding Christ's resurrection to augment their case, they still compellingly debunk all alternative theories and established that the only reasonable fit for the data is a bonified resurrection. This book should be of value to all students of the resurrection of Jesus on a beginners and even intermediate level.