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Jesus: The Evidence

Jesus: The Evidence

List Price: $27.95
Your Price: $18.45
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A repetition of old ideas in a fresh manner
Review: Ian Wilson attempts to be both honest and neutral, "just the facts" you understand. In doing so he repeats (more or less) what has been said for the past three hundred years from people who have taken the time to objectively study the origins of the most important faith in the world.

Many sections are weak from a technical point of view but none more so than the first on documents. It is a breezy, strictly for the layman review of how the Gospels originated. (Robin Lane Fox's THE UNAUTHORIZED VERSION is an excellent source for this subject.) Wilson opines on the existence of Jesus since no contemporary witnesses exist. He discusses the "Jewish" question, then why he was killed, the Resurrection, and last - and most important - how a lowly Jewish rabbi was transformed into the creator of the universe.

In the process, the original Christians (Orthodox Jews), were swept away by the growing tide of Gentile influence until the scriptures themselves became anti-Semitic tracts without being able to rid themselves of their Jewish roots. Lastly is the look at how a movement based on Jesus's teachings rapidly became one based on Jesus's life. An excellent bibliography is included in the book.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A repetition of old ideas in a fresh manner
Review: Ian Wilson attempts to be both honest and neutral, "just the facts" you understand. In doing so he repeats (more or less) what has been said for the past three hundred years from people who have taken the time to objectively study the origins of the most important faith in the world.

Many sections are weak from a technical point of view but none more so than the first on documents. It is a breezy, strictly for the layman review of how the Gospels originated. (Robin Lane Fox's THE UNAUTHORIZED VERSION is an excellent source for this subject.) Wilson opines on the existence of Jesus since no contemporary witnesses exist. He discusses the "Jewish" question, then why he was killed, the Resurrection, and last - and most important - how a lowly Jewish rabbi was transformed into the creator of the universe.

In the process, the original Christians (Orthodox Jews), were swept away by the growing tide of Gentile influence until the scriptures themselves became anti-Semitic tracts without being able to rid themselves of their Jewish roots. Lastly is the look at how a movement based on Jesus's teachings rapidly became one based on Jesus's life. An excellent bibliography is included in the book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Logical leads to ancient questions about Christ
Review: In a more civilized era, one might say, you would be burned alive for writing a book like this. With a skeptical eye, Wilson examines the core tenets of the Gospels, questioning not only the Trinity but also the status of Mary and the Resurrection itself. Wilson is at his best when he dissects the various texts and discusses their antecedents, including the famous "Q" text. He also shows how sophisticated the different Gospels were, with each aimed at a different audience (e.g. Luke for the Romans - hence Pilate gets a sympathetic treatment; Mark for the Judeans - hence a stronger biblical theme). Doubtless there are other, mainstream Christian texts which deal with the same themes, but the novelty of Wilson is that you are dealing with a genuine heretic - if that's what turns you on. . .

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An unbiased look at the most controversial topic of all-time
Review: No matter what religion or creed you are, or aren't, you cannot deny the fact that Jesus: The Evidence is a thoroughly-researched, well-written book.

Ian Wilson, who tells us that he is a practicing Christian, sets aside his bias to write a very authoratative book on this subject. In it, he examines the gospels and their supposed and suspected writers, archaeological sites in Jerusalm and Nazareth and a myriad of sources both pro-Christian and anti-Christian.

His views and findings are unique and he expresses them well. His theories are very intelligent. Mr. Wilson has established himself, with this book, as an authentic biblical scholar.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Logical leads to ancient questions about Christ
Review: The author, Ian Wilson, must truly be commended for investigating, and furthermore putting together a book about the proof and lack of proof for the numerous aspects of the life of Jesus Christ, which has no bias in it. Normally such books relating to Christian matters with the word "evidence" in the title tend to be nothing more than biased, mindless and self-indulgent in their own beliefs. As an atheist/agnostic, I was glad to find that the author kept an open mind on both ends, leading neither towards skepticism nor theism, leaving the reader of the book to discover their own answers about the "evidence" for Christ.

Although many reviews will say that this book allowed them more evidence for the proof of Christ's existence and divinity as God, I would have to say that the text leaned rather the other way. While it does establish that Christ was more than likely a flesh and blood human being who lived and taught in the first century, many references, scientific pieces of evidence, and even passages as stated from the Bible which are brought forth tend to take Christ off the pedestal that modern day Christianity has stuck him upon. After reading this, my questioning of Christianity and my lack of belief has only been fueled even more.

Chapters such as "The Fallibility Of The Gospels", "Did Jesus Even Exist?", and "Man Of Miracles" establish some basic scientific, historical, and modern leads to show that Christ was a teacher and a devout Jew who was only trying to put a new twist of forgiveness on his religion, not trying to start a revolution or whole following. Christ's miracles are also explained through various processes of hypnosis and other mind-body connections, showing that Jesus was more of a magician and hypnotist rather than a miracle worker being guided by the hand of God.

For the Christian reader seeking evidence of Christ, this book will only go so far to show that he probably existed as a human being. As an atheist/agnostic, I have never doubted the existence of a human and physical Jesus Christ in history. However, the fact that he was God in human form has always seemed ludicrous to me, and this book has not proved me wrong or changed my mind about the matter. Historically this is a great piece of work though, outlining how the various evidence was discovered, and thankfully stating the fact that the Bible has numerous flaws and historical errors in it, many of them serious ones, which many modern-day Christians don't like to accept in their weak minds. I would recommend this for either side of the debate, skeptic or theist. But the theist had better be prepared to see that Christ wasn't necessarily all he was made out to be, and the full-blown skeptic might have to accept that humanly, Christ was real.

God will not be proven or disproven. That is why the subject is a debate and not scientific fact. However, in my mind God has been everything except completely disproven. Either way, the author must be commended for presenting the evidence without bias and altogether writing a great book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: scholarly and inspiring
Review: The existence of Jesus? The Shroud of Turin? 2000 years of lost and garbled "evidence", 2000 years of awe-inspiring belief in the most profound searching of the Spirit. All of these come together in one absorbing narrative concerning Christ Jesus.

Do we live only in the flesh - the world of things physical? Have we not known that other world of the spirit - where even so called miracles are possible?
I try to read along with Ian Wilson's analysis the simple awareness that the natural order of things is way beyond our understanding, that real people have walked the earth and known how to "read" the wholeness of a man and have the "power" to heal imbalance and pain. We call miracles that which we can't understand. Death, the other side of Life is dark to us. Why to Jesus if he lived in completeness with physical, psychical and spiritual - was such clarity not possible, even to the point of healing that disintegration of the body we call death?
This is what Ian Wilson brings to me as I read those shells of discovery - those outward clues and observations that inspire us to think for ourselves - it really happened back there. And what - what is it all about?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The first televisual expose in script
Review: Whereas the information in this book was well established before it was published, a bare bones assesssment of the gospels had not been broadcast on British television until this programme came out for that is what the book is - to follow a TV series released around 1984-5. Sadly, since this book was published, Wilson has tried to recant from his position of being something of a sceptic or heretic (which he never was anyway) and this probably explains why the book is out of print - because Wilson has since disowned it and become more of a believer as attested by his eulogies to biblical history published recently.

The book attempts to cast a skeptical eye on Jesus but actually it is soft skepticism. None of the negative aspects of Jesus in the gospels is brought to light. Jesus' miracles are explained largely on the basis of hypnosis. Crucifiction and ressurection are explained very well.

Gospel scholarship has been lucidly explained to a layman including most of the evidence for Jesus from non Christian sources, possible datings and areas of controversy.

I was especially touched at the way that James the brother of Jesus was cast out from Gentile Christianity and how Peter was emphasised as the key disciple on which the Roman Church was established. The complexity of Jesus' family in that Mary was not really a virgin and probably had about 6 children is brought startlingly to light.

This is a very easy book to read and casts a critical eye on the formation of the Gentile Church, especially after emperor Constantine. It is clear that much has been lost from the original teachings of Christianity, largely in a Jewish form to begin with.

This book is a Christian perspective on Jesus, echoing "Honest to God" which the author mentions. More critical books have since been published.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent, factual, well supported and fun
Review: Wilson is a master of delivering the most information in the fewest words. His style is fascinating and clearly credible. I simply had to read this book in two settings. I came away with an excellent understanding of the short version of remarkably complex research material. My only problem with the work is I could not understand how such an objective and factual work could be written by a person who is seemingly so devoted to promoting the case for the existance of Jesus. The reader is treated with total respect throughout the book...no spoon feeding here. Yet, the material is so well documented and presented the reader can honestly draw his or her own conclusions. Thank you Mr. Wilson...I Greatly enjoyed your work and must read more.


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