cover image Faith on Trial: An Attorney Analyzes the Evidence for the Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Faith on Trial: An Attorney Analyzes the Evidence for the Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Pamela Binnings Ewen. B&H Publishing Group, $12.99 (210pp) ISBN 978-0-8054-2026-5

Using a method that is hardly new, Ewen, an international lawyer who specializes in corporate finance, applies the legal rules of evidence to the case of Jesus' death and resurrection. Ewen invites the reader to act as a jury to which she will present archeological, scientific, historical, literary and even medical evidence in an attempt to defend the credibility of the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. The author examines the testimony of eyewitnesses--the writers of Matthew, Mark and Luke--to argue that the Synoptic Gospels indeed are fact, contending that they present factual evidence because of the authors' credibility. Based on the evidence she accumulates, Ewen argues that each of the authors of these Gospels would have been in a position to observe Jesus' death and resurrection. Her summation before the jury contends that a thorough examination of the evidence must lead one to believe rationally in the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The flaw in Ewen's argument is that there is little factual evidence that any of the Gospel writers would have observed Jesus' death and resurrection. Ewen's evidence depends only on the sources with which she agrees. Ewen's book is a perfect example of how historians and lawyers can manipulate ""facts"" to prove whatever assertion they wish. (July)