Michael Licona

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  Jesus Contradicted : Why The Gospels Tell The Same Story Differently

  $34.99

  The differences and discrepancies in the Gospels constitute the foremost objections to their reliability and the credibility of their message. Some have tried to resolve Gospels contradictions with strained harmonization efforts. Many others conclude that the Gospels are hopelessly contradictory and, therefore, historically unreliable accounts of Jesus.

  In Jesus, Contradicted, New Testament scholar Michael Licona shows how the genre of ancient biography, to which the Gospels belong, actually allows biographers to be flexible in how they report events, construct a narrative, and make an argument. Licona demonstrates that the intentional changes to the Jesus tradition by the Evangelists reveal that the differences in how the Gospels report events are not grounds for their rejection. Instead, they are a result of the Gospel writers employing standard literary conventions common in their time for writing ancient biography.

  Licona introduces readers to the genre of ancient biography through Plutarch, who wrote 48 of the 90 extent biographies written within 150 years of Jesus, giving numerous examples of compositional devices employed by Plutarch, and comparing them with instances in the Gospels where the Evangelists appear to use similar techniques. Licona also examines Theon’s Progymnasmata, a first-century textbook that provides six techniques for paraphrasing one’s sources when writing a narrative. In doing so, he helps readers understand why the Gospels report many events differently. Finally, Licona concludes by addressing the thorny question of whether the editorial moves commonplace in ancient biography are compatible with the doctrines of the divine inspiration and the inerrancy of Scripture.

  Rather than trying to resolve discrepancies by bending the Gospel narrative, which risks making them say things they aren’t saying, Jesus, Contradicted situates the Gospels within their proper context and helps readers account for differences in the Gospels in a cohesive and historically cogent way.

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  Raised On The Third Day

  $29.97

  Did Jesus rise from the dead? Is resurrection even possible? There are numerous historical and philosophical challenges to belief in Jesus’ resurrection. For many, these questions are insurmountable.Raised on the Third Day approaches these questions with critical and believing eyes. Edited by W. David Beck and Michael R. Licona, Raised on the Third Day collects essays from prominent contributors in the fields of philosophy, history, and apologetics. Contributors–including J. P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, Craig A. Evans, Beth M. Sheppard, and Sean McDowell–evaluate scriptural, historical, moral, and apologetic issues related to Christ’s death and resurrection. Essays on the Shroud of Turin and near-death experiences round out the volume. Inspired by the foundational work of Gary Habermas–arguably the greatest contemporary Christian thinker on the resurrection–these essays build upon his work and move the discussion forward.Readers will better appreciate how Habermas has shaped scholarship on Christ’s resurrection and further areas for exploration and discussion.

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  Resurrection Of Jesus

  $64.99

  The question of the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection has been repeatedly probed, investigated and debated. And the results have varied widely. Perhaps some now regard this issue as the burned-over district of New Testament scholarship, while others have come to believe that we simply do not have th adequate methods to make the controversial results of the field of any use. Could there be any new and promising approach to this problem?

  Yes, answers Michael Licona. And in The Resurrection of Jesus: A Historiographical Approach he convincingly points us to a significant deficiency in approaching this question: our historiographical orientation and practice.

  So he opens this study with an extensive consideration of historiography in general, and the particular problem of investigating claims of miracles. This alone is a valuable contribution to the ongoing struggle for methodoloical viability in historical Jesus scholarship.

  But then Licona carefully applies his principles and methods to the question of Jesus’ resurrection. In addition to determining and working from the most reliable sources and foundational historical evidence, Licona critically weighs tegh viability of others’ prominent hypotheses.

  His own argument is a challenging and closely argued case for the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. Any future approaches to dealing with this “prize puzzle” of New Testament study will need to be routed through The Resurrection of Jesus.

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