"Who Was Jesus?" New Reviews!

I thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of new reviews of my book Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ at Amazon.

The first is from a gentleman who was a Franciscan missionary to Japan and who has an interesting perspective. You may recall his remarks on my earlier blog post - boy, did that kick up a storm! 120 comments!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fingerprints that Touched Me
May 26, 2009
By Brian Redmond "truthseeker" (Japan)

"Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of the Christ" has touched me greatly, and with a healing touch at that. I have spent a lifetime trapped within the inconsistencies of institutionalized Christianity, with the consequent frustrations and attempts to rationalize the irrational that such a position entails. D.M. Murdock has freed me with this book. Gently, but irrefutably logically, by quoting impeccable sources, she shows that the basis of Christianity, the Four Gospels, are not inerrant, and not even history. This enlightenment has lifted a huge burden from my shoulders, and far from destroying my belief in Christ or God has strengthened my belief in both. Now I see that God, our maker, has never and can never be described in words, and that Christ, our Saviour, will always have to be ourselves doing what God wants, that is being decent people, and thus we will be saved, by God and by ourselves being the Sons and Daughters of God.

Brian Redmond, real name

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Case Against Christ
May 22, 2009
By A. Richins (Salem, OR United States)

Christian scholars have made careers being apologists for the Christian faith. This book reveals that they may in fact owe their readers an apology.

I think the title may mislead some. The book isn't about discovering who the real Jesus was, and it certainly has nothing to do with the Templar Knights or whether or not Jesus was married. It's a critical analysis of the gospels, and the dogmatic belief held by many Christians that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, which was written by eye witnesses.

The author, who is fluent in Ancient Greek herself, and an expert in ancient mythology, draws from the research of several biblical scholars, including Christian sources.

For being such a short, easy to read book, she does an incredible job and laying out both sides of the argument. I came away with a better understanding of exactly what source materials biblical scholars actually have to go on, and the methods by which they've approximated their dates.

No one will miss the point that Murdock doesn't believe the gospel accounts are history, but it's not presented in a rash or deliberately abrasive manner.

Though this book is a great resource for those who may choose to engage a fundamentalist Christian in a debate, I believe her target audience for this book was actually Christians. She avoids for example, attacking Christianity on the grounds that it proposes donkeys can talk, people can fly up into outer space, and that loving God will fry you for eternity for not believing he committed a human sacrifice to himself. But rather, she pose questions like, if zombies really rose from the dead and walked around town, why didn't anyone record it? If King Herod knew the precise location of the infant Jesus, why did he need to have every young male in Bethlehem killed? Why does Jesus suggest that men castrate themselves?

If you have a Christian friend of family member who tries to pressure you from time to time to convert to their faith, ask them to read this book in exchange for going to church with them a few times.

For more information, read my book Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ. If you haven't seen the great reviews by scholars and ministers there, do take a look!

Enjoy!