Book Review: "Man, Myth, Messiah" by Rice Broocks

Rice Broocks, Answering History's Question: Man, Myth, Messiah, Nashville: W Publishing Group/Thomas Nelson, 2016.

Review by Clark Bates
March 17, 2016

      Author Rice Broocks is co-founder of Every Nation church, spreading it's family of congregants over seventy nations. Having spent many years in both campus ministry and full time pastoral ministry, Broocks has a finger clearly placed on the pulse of this generation's young believer. Having authored more than four books in his time, Broocks has found public notoriety with his previous work, God's Not Dead and the feature film attached to it. Now, the author has focused his apologetic mind toward the person and nature of Jesus Christ in his newest release, Man, Myth, Messiah, also to have been acquired for film in the upcoming God's Not Dead 2 by PureFlix Entertainment.

      Having borrowed the concept of C.S. Lewis' famous Jesus apologetic of “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord,” Rice Broocks has updated it for the modern era with “Man, Myth, or Messiah.” In doing this the author clearly sets forth the thematic element of his latest work, focusing specifically on the historicity and believability of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The writing style is reminiscent of the author's earlier apologetic work, God's Not Dead, in it's efforts to take involved topics and present them in a more palatable discourse for the lay reader. For Broocks, the thesis of his work is summed up in the early pages of the introduction, where he writes, “The goal of this book is to build confidence in the reader that Jesus Christ was not only a real person, but that He was the promised Messiah (Savior) and the Son of God.”¹

      Broocks presents a careful layout of ten chapters, eight of which are designed to answer the various historical questions and claims surrounding the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the reliability of the biblical source documents that speak to this event. The closing chapters are set aside as a call to belief and discipleship in Jesus on the basis of what has been determined in the prior readings. The author makes every effort to include areas in which even skeptical scholars concede the biblical perspective regarding the person of Jesus Christ, quoting often from scholars such as Bart Ehrman.

      Much of the writing regarding the reliability of the biblical resurrection accounts, borrows from the work of Gary Habermas and Mike Licona, while the chapter on acceptance of miracles seeks the wisdom of scholars such as William Lane Craig and Craig Keener, while also accessing the early writings of church fathers of Athanasius and Irenaeus. Throughout the the text, Broocks conveys the thoughts an evidences of many previous scholars and relays them with a conventional tone and style, making what would otherwise be a lengthy and potentially tedious work a refreshing and informative survey. The evangelistic heart of author is clear throughout, as he repeatedly identifies the underlying spiritual warfare that creates the excess doubt of the modern skeptical age, and his call to salvation and discipleship at the close of the book creates a healthy, 250 page witnessing tool.

      With a book of this quality it is difficult to accept any critical aspects of it, but given that no work is without some dissension, Man, Myth Messiah is not alone. Granted, much of the criticism that may come from inside the Christian faith reduces to perspective rather than error, but is still worth noting. Early on in the author's writing, he takes the stance of a there existing a battle between science and religion. While this is a common belief on the popular level, much of the debate that exists now, does so on more amiable terms. Setting a tone of warfare in a book geared toward a popular level audience tends to promote animosity before any real engagement takes place. This is the similar tone found in Broock's previous work, and while it is not disputed that there are those with great animus on both sides of the discussion, it would be best to present the positive case for the co-existence of both rather than a negative perspective of incoming warfare.

      An underlying feature of the work is the use of critical scholars assessments of the facts presented, but only those positions that agree. In the many quotations of Bart Ehrman, not one gives his alternate position to the validity of the facts presented. While the author does state at the outset that his desire is not to create and in-depth investigation into modern biblical scholarship, presenting the case in this way can create a skewed perspective. In doing this, the author does bolster support for his consistent position that the only reason scholars would reject the objective data regarding Jesus and the resurrection is a lack of desire to be accountable to someone other than themselves. This is certainly the pastoral side of Broocks, and to a certain extent is true. However, to claim that all who see the evidence and deny it are seeking to avoid divine accountability paints too broad a brush and, given the purpose of the text to reach a large audience, may either turn off curious unbelievers to the greater message or influence new believers into thinking they have a deeper insight into the reasoning of unbelievers that simply is not necessarily true.

      Having said that, neither of these points or any other small critiques that might be addressed are damaging enough to detract , form the overall value of this work. The author's clear understanding of the case for Jesus of Nazareth and the minimal facts regarding his resurrection are apparent with the brevity and depth of what is presented. Broocks methodically disassembles the counter theories of Jesus as a reinterpreted myth and those of the survivability of Roman crucifixion. The format of the chapters begins and proceeds in a logical, sequential order, beginning with the argument, then the reliability of the source documents and building upon each position as a craftsman might establish the cornerstones of a church.

       The greatest value of this book is its ability to reach a broad audience. Much of what is written regarding the topic of the historical Jesus and the resurrection exist primarily as collegiate textbooks. As the author says quite clearly,

“It's humbling to me to be in the presence of men and women who have dedicated their hearts and minds to communicating the truth of the faith using their academic platform or profession. For some reason, much of their great wisdom and writing doesn't often make it down to the grass-roots level and make the impact that it could on the average believer.”²

It's because of this that writings like the author's are so deeply needed. Each chapter provides detailed notes for each scholar cited, providing ample opportunity for the reader, who so desires, to pursue a deeper study. Given the tantalizing amount of information presented in this work, it will be no surprise if many readers seek to avail themselves of more comprehensive texts on the subject.

 

     What Mr. Broocks has delivered with Man, Myth Messiah is nothing short of a modern day Case for Christ. He has done it in a manner enviable of many apologists-turned-writers and succeeded in breaking through the wall of academia into the public square. The added influence of the film adaptation of this work will only benefit its readership and create a large awareness of the text. While the book itself does not cover any “new” information regarding the historicity of Christ, it doesn't need to. The bulk of material that has existed for ages has gone largely unnoticed and it may be that a book such as this is exactly what will bring it to light. This book is a valuable addition to any library, be it a pastor's study, a student's references or a lay person's home collection. It is heartily recommended for all readers of mid to late teen years and forward.

Clark Bates is a graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and manages an apologetics and theology blog at http://www.exejesushermeneutics.blogspot.com.

I received this book free from W Publishing Group and Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLookBloggers.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

1Rice Broocks, Answering History's Question: Man, Myth, Messiah, (Nashville: W Publishing Group/ Thomas Nelson, 2016), xxii.

2Broocks, Man, Myth, Messiah, 219.