I Lost my faith in Jesus

Even though I have been an atheist for as long as I can remember, I always assumed that a guy named Jesus existed around 0-30 AD in Judea. Of course I never believed that he was resurrected three days after his crucifixion or that he could perform miracles that contradicted the laws of nature. These are clearly just stories made up by those who wished to glorify Jesus. Still, I assumed that there was an actual person to begin with.

David Fitzgerald, through this this relatively short book, changed my mind. It covers an awful lot of material showing the reader that none of the arguments that Christians use to convince others that Jesus was a real person holds up to scrutiny. For example, not a single alleged eyewitness testimony of Jesus was written by an actual confirmed eyewitness. The, gospels were written long after Jesus died, perhaps by as much as a 100 years. Moreover, the writings about Jesus contradict each other, not just on minor details such as what day Jesus died or whether there was or was not a rock in front of his tomb after his resurrection, but also what type of character he was. Was he a humble drawn back son of a carpenter who tried to stay out of the limelight or did he walk around proclaiming to all that he was the son of God?

In addition, Fitzgerald gives many examples of things in the new testament that directly contradicts other more reliable and unbiased sources from the same time. For instance there were several trusted historians writing about events in Judea at the time of Jesus but none of them even mentions him even though according to the new testament he caused quite an uproar. Indeed, of the four gospels only Luke actually claims to be writing history. Astronomers also strangely failed to notice the three days of darkness that texts in the new testament claim happened.

For being such a short book, it is very forceful. I doubt that any readers who believe in Jesus will walk away from this book unaffected.

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23 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A solid primer on New Testament scholarship

3.5 stars

The title doesn't quite deliver on its promise. A more accurate title would have been: Reasons the Jesus of the Gospels Never Existed.

David Fitzgerald shows quite compellingly the events of the gospels couldn't have happened as written. First, many reliable historians wrote about events in Judea during the early 1st century, including some with a special interest in religious movements. They documented the existence of other faith healers and so-called Jewish messiahs, but none makes any mention of Jesus, who was supposedly famous and had throngs of people listening to his teachings and witnessing his miracles.

Second, the gospels as written have historical problems. The trial of Jesus could not have taken place as described, for it contradicts known Jewish legal practice. The Sea of Galilee does not exist. Mark alone made many mistakes about Judean geography and custom, which Matthew corrected in his gospel.

Fitzgerald also documents the surprising lack of biographical details about Jesus in the epistles of Paul, the earliest written sections of the New Testament. It's as if Paul were writing about a purely spiritual figure, not an historical one. Fitzgerald also notes the allegorical style of the Gospel of Mark, the earliest account of Jesus on which all the others are based. He shows the gospel writers weren't composing biographies or writing down eyewitness testimony. They each wrote for different audiences with different portrayals of Jesus.

The author presents enough material to make listeners at least consider the possibility that Jesus the man never existed. However, I don't think he constructs an open-and-shut case, as the title promises. The book actually works best as a primer on New Testament scholarship. It would serve as eye-opening reading for any Christian who still believes the gospels were written by eyewitnesses, or that historical research confirms them.

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19 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

better on paper than audio

Where does Nailed rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

While the information is good I can't say it's worth owning as an audiobook. On paper it would be fine because you could go back later and reference it if needed. You can't do that with this kind of information in an audiobook format.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The information in this book is good but it's more laid out as a dissertation and not a simple "here it is" let me tell you a story. The first half of the book is him making references to events, people and places that feels like it needs an appendix (or that he's reading from someone else's) that sadly audio books don't come with. Several times throughout the audio book the author makes reference to a PDF file that accompanies it but I was not given one to download from audible.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of David Fitzgerald?

Anyone anywhere ever.
While the information in this book is good, David Fritzgerald is not a "performer" like so many others who narrate audible books. He has trouble pronouncing words he wrote in his own book. Several times throughout the performance sentences are read twice over. He reads it like a high school student reading in front of a class and nervous that the other students are going to make fun of him. It is not fluid nor does it float at all. It's an awkward bumbling mess the whole way through. It's hard to follow the "so and so in this century said this, and so and so disputed that in this century" with the author's uneasy reading style. I felt lost for the first half of the book. The information is useful but it wasn't until he got into the actual texts of the bible that one could follow along having something familiar to ground the text to.

Any additional comments?

the information in this book is good but you're better off having a hard copy to refer back to when necessary. Unless you have a photographic memory this is nothing more than a "hey that was good to know". This isn't really the kind of book you listen to, it's one you have in hand and highlight with markers as you go.

I enjoyed the book but not in an audio format. I'm going to have to buy the book in print so I can pick up the points the author failed to convey properly in his own reading.

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11 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Something to think about...

I am a person who constantly seeks truth and meaning to our lives.. I was brought up going to church and eventually, as an adult, attended an evangelistic church for a year.. I thought this church would help me find answers I could not figure out.. It didn't, but rather, added to my questions about all I'd been taught. So much of it just didn't make sense, and having people say things like "you just have to have faith", is not an answer anyone who truly wants to find answers can just blindly accept.. This book answers a lot of questions I've had, or rather, brings up the questions I've had and states why they make no sense and why they could not have happened the way we have been told, or the way the bible has been interpreted... It's full of historical documentation and facts that really just can't be refuted, that is, if you are open to the truth...
Not to put words in the authors mouth, but I ended with the impression that he is an atheist who does not believe in any kind of God.. I, however, do believe there is a creator, God, the power, the source, whatever one chooses to call it, and I do believe there is a spiritual world.. I don't believe we are here, and then just gone.. So it isn't that I'm blindly believing everything this man says, but quite honestly, the points he makes about Jesus and how Christianity began can't be ignored...

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8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

If only I was willing to make my grandma cry...

What did you love best about Nailed?

This well-written informative work uses the sources Christians accept to invalidate the sources Christians accept. I want everyone who was ever in the church to listen to this, with their logic glasses on.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

What day was the Jesus crucified? The writer that made it into the modern biblical canon can't agree. Also why didn't anyone else see a mob of Jewish zombies?

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8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great primer for the Christ-Myth theory

A a novice on the CM theory, I found this book very accessible. He gets right to the point in layperson language. Definitely a good starting point. I have previously enjoyed books by Richard Carrier and Robert Price on the same topic but found much of the material sailing over my head without slow and careful reading and rereading.

Looking forward to his upcoming book "Jesus: Mything in Action" as well!

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7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

great insight!

read several times. Each time I gained more insight. very logical, very informative takes a honest critical look into the historicity of biblical stories.

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6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Spot on

Any additional comments?

I new the Bible had contradictions and tripped all over itself but to have it all laid out blows your mind. How can anybody believe this stuff?

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6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Very compelling and evidence based.

David answered many of my dilemmas with Christianity and did it with referenced facts and organized into a coherent narrative.

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5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Good content, bad narration.

The author needs to understand his own limitations.
His speech is often muddled and garbled and he occasionally mispronounces and even MISREADS his own words!
Also, the editing and sound quality is terrible.

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5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile