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[T]he gospel portrait of Jesus of Nazareth appears far clearer, more consistent, and more credible than contentious scholarly discourse often makes it out to be. The Jesus of the gospels emerges as a bearer of hope, a doer and sayer of the unexpected. His message and miracle [sic] correspond. And the unknown man from Galilee becomes less of a stranger to our times. & amp;#hellip; The New Testament & amp;#hellip; bears strong and credible witness to two important pieces of historical data: an empty tomb and reports of post-resurrection appearances of the risen Christ. That, of course, falls far short of proving as incontestable objective fact the gospel claim that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead. But it is no small thing. It establishes a credible historical foundation—a basis beyond mere fantasy or wishful thinking—upon which a resurrection faith can stand.

Unfortunately, Sheler then looks at the dubious "Bible Code" theory of Michael Drosnin and others, a part of the book that should have been omitted—though one can understand why a journalist would want to tackle it, for the theory has attracted a lot of attention. Certainly Sheler is to be thanked for his popular-level debunking of this nonsense.

For his concluding chapter, Sheler tries to answer the question, "Is the Bible true?" The last paragraphs break the tone of detached coolness that characterizes much of the book. He reminds his readers that something deeper still is going on in the Bible: "It is not merely to ancient history that the Bible directs our attention. It is to the God who is active in history, redeeming it and infusing it with meaning, that the Scriptures ultimately point."

For Christians, there are better light introductions to almost all of the topics Sheler discusses. On particular points, Sheler's volume can appear thin next to more rigorous treatments: on the Jesus Seminar, for instance, one might read Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus (1995), edited by Michael J. Wilkens and J. P. Moreland. Nor will this book satisfy the new wave of students whose view of history has been heavily influenced by postmodern epistemology: Sheler's book is an eminently "modern" approach.

Still, I would happily recommend this book—indeed, give it away as part of responsible Christian witness—to the substantial numbers of people who know virtually nothing about Christianity or the Bible except for the esoteric and way out things they have picked up from the more skeptical media. Wilkens and Moreland are far too technical for them, and standard New Testament introduction would put them to sleep. This book might help them question the dogmatic agnosticism they have imbibed and leave them open for more serious conversations.

D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

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May 22 2000, Vol. 44, No. 6