Book Review — Can We Trust the Gospels?

April 4, 2008

I will get back to the other two books I read in March, but in keeping with my desire to write these reviews as soon as I finish reading a book, I thought I’d post a review of the book I’ve just finished:

Can we Trust the Gospels? By Mark D. Roberts

I doubt you will be surprised that Mark Roberts’ answer to this question is ‘Yes!’While I knew that would be Roberts’ conclusion, and agreed with it before I read the first page, I think this was a helpful and profitable book.

The book started as a series of blog posts that Roberts wrote (which you can read here), and then developed into a book.Roberts’ aim in the book is to give an introductory level explanation of how the four biblical gospels came to be in the canon of Scripture, and why they can be trusted as accurate accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

In a day when the Gospels are attacked as false everywhere from academia to best-selling novels and movies (The Da Vinci Code), a short, clear and simple defense of the historical reliability of the gospels is quite timely.While many other books dive into this topic with more depth, Roberts’ book is valuable because it can be grasped by a wide audience with no prior background in this field of study.

he sixteen chapters answer very relevant, practical questions like:

- When were the Gospels written?
- Did early Christian oral tradition reliably pass down the truth about Jesus?
- Are there contradictions in the Gospels?
- Did the political agenda of the early Church influence the content of the Gospels?

If you speak with people who doubt the validity of the Gospel records, this is a good book to give to such people, or better yet, to read for yourself so you can be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that you have.Roberts is honest when engaging with doubts, and some of what he says will surprise conservative Christians (For example, Roberts acknowledges that we can’t be absolutely sure that the fourth Gospel was written by the Apostle John), but I think this honesty will resonate with those who have genuine doubts.

Some of my family members have shared their skepticism about the reliability of the Gospels, and I am thankful for how this book helped me to be better prepared to answer those questions with integrity and clarity.

Posted by Larry | Filed Under Book Reviews, Seeking Him 

Comments

3 Responses to “Book Review — Can We Trust the Gospels?”

  1. pdf collection on April 6th, 2008 11:02 am

    I found the book well written and believable in every way. My Pastor concured.

  2. Mark D. Roberts on April 6th, 2008 10:08 pm

    Thanks, Larry, for this review. Peace to you!

  3. Larry on April 8th, 2008 6:41 am

    Thank you, Mark, for visiting our blog, and for your service to God’s people in equipping us to speak intelligently about the great hope we have in Jesus!

    Larry

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