Book Review : The Jesus Inquest

The Jesus Inquest : The Case For and Against the Resurrection of the Christ
An unbiased examination and compelling courtroom presentation revealing the undeniable facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Or so says the book cover.

Unlike most books which will take one viewpoint or the other, this book spends 50% of the time and space arguing against the resurrection, and 50% arguing for it. Both sides are well researched, and fairly well presented.

This book is not for everyone. And I don’t think it should be.
Foster argues both sides of the question with great skill, and his points are well researched and thorough. At times however I found that his arguments for the resurrection were a little… wishy-washy. I kept wanting to shout out “No, don’t say it like that. There’s a better argument.” I suppose it is the natural inclination of every lawyer to give his best effort to the version he has the least faith in.

I am concerned that many of the queries raised by his doubting “X” persona are not adequately responded to by his faithful “Y” persona, and that those without a thorough knowledge of the points raised might be led into further doubt or confusion.

I was also concerned by his constant refrain of “Of course no Christian actually believes that” and similar phrases. He seemed to be trying to portray all Christians as logical rationalists, whereas some of the points raised are in fact believed by Christians, myself included.

An interesting academic work, but not one I would recommend for light reading.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review.