The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—tell the story of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ while he was on earth. But how do Christians know if they are true? What evidence is there that the events actually happened? This accessible introduction to the historical and theological reliability of the four Gospels, written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams, presents evidence from a variety of non-Christian sources, assesses how accurately the 4 accounts reflect the cultural context of their time, compares different accounts of crucial events, and considers how these texts were handed down throughout the centuries. Written for the skeptic, the scholar, and everyone in between, this book answers common objections raised against the historicity of the Gospels in order to foster trust in God's Word.
“The wild and unscholarly yet widely accepted assertion by Richard Dawkins that the only difference between The Da Vinci Code and the Gospels is that the Gospels are ancient fiction while The Da Vinci Code is modern fiction deserves a measured and scholarly response. There is no one better qualified than Peter Williams to provide it, and this book is a masterly presentation of a compelling cumulative case that ‘all of history hangs on Jesus.’”
---John C. Lennox, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford
160 pages
View an excerpt here.
Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
1. What Do Non-Christian Sources Say?
2. What Are the Four Gospels?
3. Did the Gospel Authors Know Their Stuff?
4. Undesigned Coincidences
5. Do We Have Jesus's Actual Words?
6. Has the Text Changed?
7. What about Contradictions?
8. Who Would Make This All Up?
General Index
Scripture Index
Can We Trust the Gospels? is in the following collections:
