I am often asked which books I recommend for defending the reliability of the Gospels/Acts and Christianity in general, so here is my list. It is not exhaustive, but it will definitely give you a good start.
The categorized as “mandatory” are more basic, while some of those labeled as “recommended” or “supplementary” delve into more profound and scholarly content. Any item marked with a * can be accessed for free online as PDF files. A significant number of these works are downloadable from http://historicalapologetics.org, http://books.google.com, or http://archive.org.
Mandatory Reading:
| Author | Book Title |
| Bennett, Edmund | * The Four Gospels from a Lawyer’s Standpoint |
| Lewis, CS | Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism (Essay in Christian Reflections) |
| McGrew, Lydia | Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels |
| Paley, William | * A View of the Evidences for Christianity |
| Pitre, Brant | The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ |
| Williams, Peter J. | Can We Trust the Gospels? |
Recommended Reading:
Supplemental Reading:
| Author | Book Title |
| Bernier, Jonathan | Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Composition |
| Ramsay, William | * St. Paul the Ancient Traveller and Roman Citizen |
| Smith, James | *The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul |
Reference Reading:
| Author | Book Title |
| Carson, DA and Moo, Douglas | An Introduction to the New Testament |
| Hemer, Colin | The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History |
| Lardner, Nathaniel | * The Credibility of the Gospel History, 17 volumes |
| Norton, Andrews | * Internal Evidences of the Genuineness of the Gospels |
| Norton, Andrews | * The Evidences of the Genuineness of the Gospels |
Erik is the creative force behind the YouTube channel Testify, which is an educational channel built to help inspire people’s confidence in the text of the New Testament and the truth of the Christian faith.
