Reviewing <em>Killing Jesus</em>

Web-based Christian apologetics and evangelism nonprofit, TrueLife.org, has enlisted New Testament scholar Ed Gravely to comment on the current New York Times number-one bestseller, Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. In TrueLife’s forthcoming video, Dr. Gravely gives a fair-minded critique and uniquely qualified opinion on the content of the book.

Being Roman Catholic, O’Reilly claims belief in the Jesus depicted in the four Gospels of the Christian Bible. Despite this fact, his book is largely written as a work of history, devoid of much of the spiritual significance present in the Gospels themselves. Furthermore, O’Reilly is on record as saying that the Bible is not without error, and the content of his latest book reflects this sentiment. The authors claim that while the Gospels “sometimes appear contradictory and were written from a spiritual point of view rather than as a historical chronicling of Jesus' life,” their own book is “fact-based” and researched using “the best available evidence.” In TrueLife’s response video, Dr. Gravely sets out to establish that the Gospels are, in fact, the best historical record available concerning the life of Jesus Christ. Additionally, he offers viewers a three-part analysis of the book’s content on the basis of approach, source materials used and coherence.

Dr. Gravely is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies and History of Ideas at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Gravely holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in New Testament Textual Criticism from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Gravely has taught at Southeastern since 2005, and currently serves as Teaching and Discipleship Pastor at Christ Community Church in Huntersville, North Carolina.

Bill O’Reilly is host of The O’Reilly Factor, the highest rated cable news show in the country and has authored numerous number-one bestsellers. Author Martin Dugard’s bestselling historical works have likewise garnered significant notoriety.Killing Jesus marks the third, highly anticipated collaboration between O’Reilly and Dugard, following the success of their previous works, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever and Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot. National Geographic Channel has expressed plans to air a film adaptation of Killing Jesus in the future.

TrueLife’s video response to Killing Jesus is the first in a new series of videos directed toward cultural issues and current events. Jesse Connors, Founder and CEO of TrueLife.org, says that this new series of videos is intended “to offer widely accessible yet rigorous commentary on current events at the forefront of the cultural consciousness, and to do so from a distinctly Christian worldview.”

In just over two years, TrueLife.org has experienced significant growth, having secured partnerships nationwide with over 1,250 churches and state conventions. TrueLife is an independent nonprofit that aims to equip churches to increase evangelism and church attendance.  Additionally, they seek to provide website viewers with professionally filmed, biblically based video answers to “life’s hard questions.”