- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Nov 15 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1442203226
- ISBN-13: 978-1442203228
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16.3 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #398,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
I admire this book's elegant, efficient, and clear style, formulated by a trained jurist. The argumentation is lucid and strong throughout, giving readers important and solid knowledge in 'good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.' It is a clearly written presentation against the proposition that early Christians freely constructed the words and traditions of Jesus. The reader is in good hands. (Birger Gerhardsson )
Skillful lawyer Dean L. Overman has carefully marshalled the earliest evidence available from the early church's earliest confessions and set out a compelling case for the divinity of Jesus. What results is not just an enjoyable 'good read'—it is an excellent and perceptive 'must read' for laypeople and scholars alike, which calls for an intelligent response in the court of public opinion. (Longenecker, Richard N. )
Dean Overman covers a lot of very important ground in this well organized and easy-to-read book. He makes a solid case for the divinity of Jesus, as seen especially in the historically credible accounts of the resurrection. But Overman deals with many other important topics, such as the reliability of the New Testament Gospels and the unreliability of the second-century gnostic Gospels and the complicated question of how other religions of the world fit into the picture. Students, clergy, experts and non-experts alike will benefit greatly from this book. (Craig A. Evans )
Dean Overman brings the investigative skill of a brilliant lawyer together with the insights of an outstanding Christian intellectual leader to make a compelling case for the divinity of Jesus and his resurrection. The careful argument he makes needs to be taken seriously by all who want to examine the foundations for the astonishing claim that Jesus uniquely is the Son of God. No assertion of truth is more revolutionary in the world's history than this. Overman presents an accessible, persuasive case for why this assertion is historically grounded and intellectually trustworthy. (Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson )
Dean Overman has produced a carefully written, helpful book that investigates this exceptionally important issue in a persuasive and convincing manner. (Rev. Polkinghorne, John )
The divinity of Jesus Christ has been a matter of fervent dispute since the Galilean made his appearance on the human stage. Following his death and resurrection, numerous schools of thought arose to try to explain who this man was and why he mattered. Overman, former Templeton scholar at Oxford University who studied religion at Princeton and Harvard, brings his considerable talents to this question, focusing on the scholarly evidence for early belief in the divinity of Jesus. This is the third in a series of studies from his able pen, including a volume examining the case for the existence of God. He spares no effort in dissecting and analyzing early liturgical practices and documentary bases. His examination of Gnosticism and its impact on Christian belief is nothing short of masterful; his reflections about a resurrected messiah among the Jews are thoughtful and pointed. . . . He maintains a level of readability such that any student of Christianity and its leader will benefit from Overman’s thorough examination. (Publishers Weekly, Religion in Review Online, November 2009 )
This book is one of the best examples of a solid argument for Jesus' divinity and His relationship with God the Father. . . . He carefully traces the evidence from an enormous collection of sources to prove his book's argument beyond any doubt. . . . Overman writes and discusses as a skillful lawyer would argue his case in a crowded courtroom. (Edmonton's Living Light News, January/February 2010 )
After describing the evidence concerning Jesus of Nazareth, Overman, a former senior partner in the international law firm of Winston & Strawn, develops his case for the divinity of Jesus with reference to the worship patterns in the earliest church, Jesus' use of "I am" sayings and his conviction for blasphemy, the reliability of the canonical Gospel accounts, the reliability of oral Gospel tradition, the resurrection as a plausible event, and the basis of the new and old gnosticism in fantasies. Then he argues that one cannot logically maintain that all religions describe a path to the same ultimate reality, and considers how one should engage a person of another faith concerning diverse religious beliefs. (New Testament Abstracts )
Skillful lawyer Dean L. Overman has carefully marshalled the earliest evidence available from the early church's earliest confessions and set out a compelling case for the divinity of Jesus. What results is not just an enjoyable 'good read'—it is an excellent and perceptive 'must read' for laypeople and scholars alike, which calls for an intelligent response in the court of public opinion. (Longenecker, Richard N. )
Dean Overman covers a lot of very important ground in this well organized and easy-to-read book. He makes a solid case for the divinity of Jesus, as seen especially in the historically credible accounts of the resurrection. But Overman deals with many other important topics, such as the reliability of the New Testament Gospels and the unreliability of the second-century gnostic Gospels and the complicated question of how other religions of the world fit into the picture. Students, clergy, experts and non-experts alike will benefit greatly from this book. (Craig A. Evans )
Dean Overman brings the investigative skill of a brilliant lawyer together with the insights of an outstanding Christian intellectual leader to make a compelling case for the divinity of Jesus and his resurrection. The careful argument he makes needs to be taken seriously by all who want to examine the foundations for the astonishing claim that Jesus uniquely is the Son of God. No assertion of truth is more revolutionary in the world's history than this. Overman presents an accessible, persuasive case for why this assertion is historically grounded and intellectually trustworthy. (Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson )
Dean Overman has produced a carefully written, helpful book that investigates this exceptionally important issue in a persuasive and convincing manner. (Rev. Polkinghorne, John )
The divinity of Jesus Christ has been a matter of fervent dispute since the Galilean made his appearance on the human stage. Following his death and resurrection, numerous schools of thought arose to try to explain who this man was and why he mattered. Overman, former Templeton scholar at Oxford University who studied religion at Princeton and Harvard, brings his considerable talents to this question, focusing on the scholarly evidence for early belief in the divinity of Jesus. This is the third in a series of studies from his able pen, including a volume examining the case for the existence of God. He spares no effort in dissecting and analyzing early liturgical practices and documentary bases. His examination of Gnosticism and its impact on Christian belief is nothing short of masterful; his reflections about a resurrected messiah among the Jews are thoughtful and pointed. . . . He maintains a level of readability such that any student of Christianity and its leader will benefit from Overman’s thorough examination. (Publishers Weekly, Religion in Review Online, November 2009 )
This book is one of the best examples of a solid argument for Jesus' divinity and His relationship with God the Father. . . . He carefully traces the evidence from an enormous collection of sources to prove his book's argument beyond any doubt. . . . Overman writes and discusses as a skillful lawyer would argue his case in a crowded courtroom. (Edmonton's Living Light News, January/February 2010 )
After describing the evidence concerning Jesus of Nazareth, Overman, a former senior partner in the international law firm of Winston & Strawn, develops his case for the divinity of Jesus with reference to the worship patterns in the earliest church, Jesus' use of "I am" sayings and his conviction for blasphemy, the reliability of the canonical Gospel accounts, the reliability of oral Gospel tradition, the resurrection as a plausible event, and the basis of the new and old gnosticism in fantasies. Then he argues that one cannot logically maintain that all religions describe a path to the same ultimate reality, and considers how one should engage a person of another faith concerning diverse religious beliefs. (New Testament Abstracts )
Product Description
Whether Jesus was really the Son of God or not is a central question for Christians-and one that has provoked heated debate since the time of Jesus' birth. Dean L. Overman examines the earliest Christian records to build a compelling case for the divinity of Jesus. Addressing questions raised by books such as Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus and Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels, Overman builds a carefully reasoned case for Jesus truly being the Son of God.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Careful Examination of the Earliest Evidence concerning Jesus of Nazareth, Nov 7 2009
By Christopher Ward - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Case for the Divinity of Jesus: Examining the Earliest Evidence (Hardcover)
In this easy to read book the author discusses the Aramaic or very early background to many of the hymns and creeds incorporated into our oldest Christian documents. He gives powerful evidence of very early liturgical formulae that consistently worship Jesus as divine. These creeds and hymns are hidden but identifiable in our earliest Christian materials. They pre-exist our earliest written Christian sources and yet are incorporated into these sources, hidden in plain sight before our eyes.The author clearly explains how they can be identified, drawing on the best scholarship used to identify and analyze these very early hymns and creeds. This information will be new to many Christians, clergy and even scholars. Yet the author sets forth the means of identifying these very valuable liturgical formulae in a lucid and understandable way. He then discusses many of these creeds and hymns and demonstrates how they show that, despite the threat of flogging or death, the very earliest church worshipped Jesus as divine. He also discusses the absence of any first century documents that contradict these early hymns and creeds. He then shows how the tradition from Jesus and about Jesus was maintained and preserved in a trustworthy manner in a reliable oral gospel tradition prior to the existence of any writings. Using materials from his study under the highly regarded German Aramaic scholar Joachim Jeremias and expanding on the work of more recent European, British, Canadian and Scandinavian scholars he clearly shows why we can trust that the oral tradition maintained the central basic core of the deeds and sayings of Jesus. The linguistic analysis presented is fascinating and persuasive. He also shows why the canonical gospels and the earliest letters of the faith are reliable, why the resurrection is a plausible event,and why the gnostic or alternative gospels are based on fantasies and late second century materials. He dismisses the idea that earliest first century Christianity was a chaos of diversity and shows that it consistently had a solid, central orthodox core. He concludes the book with a discussion of world religions and some very useful ideas on how to engage persons of other faiths in a manner consistent with grace, truth, and mutual esteem. He presents powerful evidence that supports the traditional Christian perspective and dramatically calls into question some of the speculations of Elaine Pagels and Bart Ehrman The book is organized in a sentence structured outline that gives the reader a guided access through a scholarly and yet comprehensible study. This is a rewarding book that should be read by every person concerned with or considering the Christian faith.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Clearly Written Logical and Well Researched Presentation, Nov 7 2009
By Johannes Oppenheim - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Case for the Divinity of Jesus: Examining the Earliest Evidence (Hardcover)
This book examines the very earliest evidence available concerning the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The author presents profound and well documented evidence of the very earliest creeds, hymns, liturgy and other worship patterns of the very earliest Christians, most likely the mother congregation in Jerusalem where Peter, James, John, and Mary worshipped. He also presents extraordinarily powerful evidence showing the Gospel of Thomas and other Nag Hammadi texts to have no independent historical information about Jesus that can be truly traced back to the first century. His explanation of Perrin's evidence concerning the late second century date of the Gospel of Thomas and its dramatic reliance on Tatian's Diatesseron (A.D. 173) deals a decisive blow to the speculations of John Crossan and Elaine Pagels concerning this widely touted alternative gospel that now is shown to be based on fantasy. The author presents a highly logical and detailed discussion of the reliablity of the earliest churches oral transmission of the faith, a strong argument for the reliability of the canonical gospels and compelling evidence for the resurrection. His discussion of world religions is most useful for today's diverse society. He appears well qualified to make his arguments, because he not only studied under Joachim Jeremias, widely considered to be the world's leading Aramaic scholar concerning Jesus of Nazareth, but also received high praise from Richard N. Longenecker, one of the world's leading authorities on the earliest Jewish Christian church. Longenecker admires the careful presentation of the evidence in this book, stating that it is the earliest evidence of the early church's earliest confessions and sets out a compelling case for the divinity of Jesus. In his words: "What results is not just an enjoyable 'good read'--it is an excellent and perceptive 'must-read for laypeople and scholars alike." I highly recommend this clear and persuasive presentation.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book to clear your head of the cobwebs of doubt, Nov 24 2009
By Hurd Baruch "author of "Light on Light"" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Case for the Divinity of Jesus: Examining the Earliest Evidence (Hardcover)
Has the scholarly quest for the "Historical Jesus" shaken your faith in the verity of the Gospels? Have you been bedazzled by purported "alternative Christianities" from Apostolic times? If so, here's a book that will clear your head of the cobwebs of doubt, and your bookshelf of second century gnostic nonsense, like the "Gospel of Thomas," as well as books which argue that Jesus himself made no claim to divinity and was divinized only many years later by writers who neither knew him nor had access to reliable reports about him. Dean Overman's clear and meticulous analysis bolsters the credibility of the Gospels by showing that the oral, rabbinic tradition by which religious knowledge was passed on was highly reliable, and so accurately preserved the events and sayings of Jesus reported in the Gospels. And, his review of first century sources such as creedal statements and hymns shows that not only "Doubting Thomas," but Jesus' other contemporaneous followers as well were convinced by his resurrection that Jesus was indeed God's divine son--as he himself had claimed by his repeated use of the name of God--"I AM." This book is a compelling read for both believers and honest inquirers.
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