Book Reviews
Bible Based Book Reviews – The Testimony of the Evangelists
Reviewed by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
The Testimony of the Evangelists
by Simon Greenleaf
Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI: 1995
128 Pages, Paperback
How would the Gospels be regarded if they were submitted as evidence in a court of law? Applying the same rules of justice as a lawyer would in a courtroom, Greenleaf applies these procedures to a the New Testament Gospels. Would they be rejected? Greenleaf shows that it is unwarranted to dismiss the Gospels as those which do pose questions beyond a reasonable doubt. If they were admitted in a courtroom, they would unquestionably stand the test of the justice system and hold up to their testimony. This continues to prove the reliability and relevance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Salvation which is found in Him alone.
Greenleaf’s book is excellent. Its chapter “An Examination of the Testimony of the Evangelists” is superb. I would love to see the Bible placed in a court room before the whole world and placed under the scrutiny of Greenleaf’s book. He also address the members of the legal profession and implores them to consider the work.
Not only does he examine the Gospels, but also the trial of Jesus, the Jew’s account of Christ’s trial, and the trial before Ciaphas and Pilate. He concludes with an examination of the various translations of the Bible. This is a an excellent resource and well worth the time of the responsible Bible apologist.
Some Quotes:
“He [Man] must forever remain enslaved to his idols, unless a new and pure object of worship were revealed to him, with a display of superior power sufficient to overcome his former faith and present fears, to detach his affections from grosser objects, and to fix them upon that which alone is worthy. This is precisely what God, as stated in the Holy Scriptures, has done.”
“in trials of fact, by oral testimony, the proper inquiry is not whether it is possible that the testimony may be false, but whether there is sufficient probability that it is true.”
“A proposition of fact is proved, when its truth is established by competent and satisfactory evidence.”
“In the absence of circumstances which generate suspicion, every witness is to be presumed credible, until the contrary is shown; the burden of impeaching his credibility lying on the objector.”
