The following is a review of my book Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ. While excerpts of it have been posted at Amazon, the entire review is republished here.An important and enlightening book
5.0 out of 5 stars (September 10, 2009)
By Donovan Haagensen (Johannesburg, South Africa)
At first, it would seem almost needless that the Bible should be examined and dissected to such an extent as to reveal its seemingly obvious man-made fabrication. After all, there appears to be no need to apply the same painstaking investigation into debunking the works of Hans Christian Andersen, or the Brothers Grimm, or C.S. Lewis, or any children's fairytales, considering that they have long been unquestionably accepted as fictional creations originating from the minds of the authors who wrote them. And it doesn't take a learned academic to spot the apparent similarity of the writing styles of these fictional tales and the texts contained in the Bible, the most predominant resemblance being the abundance of verbal exchanges between characters whose names, incidentally, change according to the language they’re translated into – something you don’t generally find in historical accounts.
But the difference is, innocent children's fables are not the basis for world-dominating cults or religions; and if they were, most people would surely think it to be absurd, fanatical, and outrageously extreme, or, in simple terms, just plain crazy. Yet, is it not just as crazy and ludicrous that millions upon millions of people on this planet are doing exactly that when it comes to these religious texts?
Sacred allegories historical events?
However, since the vast majority of the world actually believes these sacred allegories to be authentic records of actual events, it is therefore necessary to expose the folly of such gullibility in logical and easily understandable terms, which is what D.M. Murdock has quite clearly done (in this case, focusing specifically on the four Gospels of the New Testament) in her book Who Was Jesus?: Fingerprints Of The Christ.
"Murdock reveals the obvious erroneousness and fictional nature of the Gospels in a very rational and objective manner."Not only has she revealed the obvious erroneousness and fictional nature of the Gospels, but she has "dismantled" and carefully laid out all the essential elements and clues on the table, so to speak, focusing on each individual component, and plainly demonstrating, in a very rational and objective manner, the indisputable facts, as well as highlighting the evident flaws. Even if the information she divulges seems obvious to anyone who has long been suspicious or sceptical of the content contained within the "Good Book", it is nevertheless a riveting and enjoyable read – uncomplicated and coherent, and free of condescension and convolution. Furthermore, she does not express personal opinions, make speculative judgments, or attempt to sway anyone to a particular school of thought, but instead applies the same acumen and impartialness that any scholar or scientist would be expected to employ in the investigation of any subject under examination. In short, Ms. Murdock’s conclusions, which are reached by use of logical deduction and rationale, appear to be incontrovertible.
"Murdock’s conclusions, which are reached by use of logical deduction and rationale, appear to be incontrovertible."
Personally, I believe that all it takes to be suspicious of the Bible’s claims is to read it with an objective approach, and it will soon become apparent that it does not follow the natural laws of logic, reason, common sense, or consistency, and very much of it has no correlation with the real world. In addition, it is written in a blatant puerile fashion, is replete with implausible events, and, more importantly, contains no dates whatsoever (which suggests to me that its writings are very unlikely to be historical records). Surely it would be naturally expected that anyone recording such events, or authoring the so-called letters, would include the dates in their accounts, such as any historian or custodian of historical records would do. And if "God/Yahweh" was indeed the actual guide behind these writings, then surely they would have been put down in such a way as to appear a lot more convincing and indubitable, and not riddled with confusion, vagueness, and ambiguity. Surely, these issues alone provide enough food for thought and legitimate questions concerning its validity.
If the same people who are convinced that these bizarre tales are inerrant truths are also capable of accepting the fact that children’s fairytales are clearly made up fantasies, then perhaps it’s about time that they apply the same logic when examining the Bible. And although this would normally be apparent simply by reading the Bible with an open mind, Ms. Murdock has gone the extra mile by not only stating the obvious, but also showing, in meticulous detail, how things just don’t quite add up (or, conversely, how certain things DO add up).
Regrettably, in this modern age, faith is just no longer an acceptable justification, when common sense and methodical enquiry demonstrate otherwise. And this is why it is important, if not essential, that more people read books by authors like D.M. Murdock, in the hope that these outdated and primitive notions will be appropriately seen for what they really are, that the "penny will drop", just as the Flat Earth was eventually rightfully "corrected".
Who Was Jesus? is an important book, essential in the ongoing enterprise of exposing the truth and enlightening the world, so that we may have a future where morals, ethics, integrity, and simple goodness are the order of the day.
D. Haagensen
Johannesburg, South Africa
For more information about this "important and enlightening book," please go to Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ.
If the same people who are convinced that these bizarre tales are inerrant truths are also capable of accepting the fact that children’s fairytales are clearly made up fantasies, then perhaps it’s about time that they apply the same logic when examining the Bible. And although this would normally be apparent simply by reading the Bible with an open mind, Ms. Murdock has gone the extra mile by not only stating the obvious, but also showing, in meticulous detail, how things just don’t quite add up (or, conversely, how certain things DO add up).
Regrettably, in this modern age, faith is just no longer an acceptable justification, when common sense and methodical enquiry demonstrate otherwise. And this is why it is important, if not essential, that more people read books by authors like D.M. Murdock, in the hope that these outdated and primitive notions will be appropriately seen for what they really are, that the "penny will drop", just as the Flat Earth was eventually rightfully "corrected".
Who Was Jesus? is an important book, essential in the ongoing enterprise of exposing the truth and enlightening the world, so that we may have a future where morals, ethics, integrity, and simple goodness are the order of the day.
D. Haagensen
Johannesburg, South Africa
For more information about this "important and enlightening book," please go to Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ.
