A Case for the Divinity of Jesus: Examining the Earliest Evidence

by Dean L. Overman

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1442203226
• ISBN13: 9781442203228
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An Extraordinary Treatment

The treatment subject matter herein is unassailable. Given the probability factors and historicity of events, there is an exceptional wealth of factors demonstrating the reliability of extra-Biblical as well as Biblical history surrounding the claims of Jesus The Christ, (as well as those within Jesus' scope of association). This is the best logical, historical, and rational treatment of the subject of the Divinity of Jesus Christ written since Dr. Benjamin Warfield's treatise on the "Person and Work of Christ". If you are a disciple of such men as Bart Ehrman, this book will restore you from fanciful misguidance, loose handling of ancient texts, and enlighten all to the accurate scholarly handling of historical documents.

A Case for the Divinity of Jesus

Dean Overman's recently published work, A Case for the Divinity of Jesus: Examining the Earliest Evidence, is masterful in doing just that -- examining the very "earliest" evidence. It is a wonderful and enlightening sequel to his previous two books, A Case for the Existence of God and A Case Against Accident and Self-Organization. Throughout the book he emphasizes the earliest creeds, hymns and liturgies of the very earliest church. Here he is actually describing the beliefs about Jesus held by those who were most closely associated with him in the days immediately preceding his crucifixion and the days following his resurrection. He describes in detail how these creeds and hymns were incorporated in our very earliest Christian writings and sets forth evidence validating the reliability of these writings and the dramatic patterns of the worship of Jesus as divine prior to the composition of these writings. Of key interest and importance is the focus and extensive research Overman has done on the second-century Gnostic gospels. Overman clearly explains the speculative nature and inaccurate information disseminated by persons promoting these Gnostic gospels in an attempt to distort the traditional, orthodox faith of the earliest church. This is unfortunately a growing and popular sentiment in today's world. For the history buffs, this book is a history book. Overman's continuing extensive research in the theological area is also profound and invaluable to any reader. His comprehensive writing style and consistent attention to detail and factual information is remarkable in his honest effort to seek the ultimate truth.

A book to clear your head of the cobwebs of doubt

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.

A Careful Examination of the Earliest Evidence concerning Jesus of Nazareth

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.

A Clearly Written Logical and Well Researched Presentation

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.