Review: History, Law and Christianity

In assessing the claims of Christianity, you will have people who want to observe from a historical point of view, seek evidence, and make a decision from there. Others look on the grounds of legal evidence, using legal reasoning. What about both? This is exactly what John Warwick Montgomery gets at in History, Law and Christianity. In part one, he looks at the historical evidence, asking “Who is Jesus Christ” (his life and claims) and exposing four historical-philosophical errors made by an opponent of his, Professor Avrum Stroll, on this subject. Montgomery’s conclusion is the New Testament documents are trustworthy and the portrait of Jesus in these documents (the New Testament) are reliable and reveal who Jesus was and is. In part two, John takes a look at the legal evidence, with the resurrection on display, and finds that through legal evidence, we can have confidence of the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for our lives. (By no means, is this a sufficient summary of the book; there is more content which cannot be covered here.)

I was surprised with the wisdom and fruitful arguments made for the Christian message in such a short form (only 76 pages and 96 pages including the appendices). Montgomery does an exceptional job dealing with both the historical and legal evidence for the Christian message. It strengthened my understanding. Although it was not its intended purpose, one critique I have is I would have liked to see a presentation of the gospel with a response to it in this book. Still, History, Law and Christianity is a book for the believer who wants to rest in the confidence of the historical and legal claims for the Christian message and for the unbeliever who is intrigued by it.

I received this book for free from 1517 Legacy publishing via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and are my honest review of the book.