The Incarnate Christ and His Critics: A Biblical Defense

by Robert M. Bowman Jr., J. Ed Komoszewski, Michael F. Bird (Foreword by)

Overview

A current, comprehensive, and clear defense of the deity of Christ.
The central theological claim of Christianity, that Jesus is God incarnate, finds eager detractors across a wide spectrum—from scholars who interpret Jesus as a prophet, angel, or guru to adherents of progressive Christianity and non-Christian religions and philosophies. Yet thorough biblical scholarship strongly supports the historic Christian teaching on the deity of Christ.
Authors Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski follow the approach of their landmark 2007 study on the same topic, Putting Jesus in His Place. They focus on five pillars of New Testament teaching, using the acronym HANDS, and demonstrate what both Jesus and the earliest believers recognized, namely, that Jesus shares in the

• Honors that are due God
• Attributes of God
• Names of God
• Deeds that God does
• Seat of God’s eternal throne

The Incarnate Christ and His Critics engages objections to the divine identity of Jesus from Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, progressive Christians, Muslims, Unitarians, and others. Bowman and Komoszewski show how biblical scholarship cannot reasonably ignore the enduring, wide-ranging, and positive case for the deity of Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780825445798
Publisher:	Kregel Publications
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Pages:	856
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.64(d)

About the Author

Robert M. Bowman Jr. (PhD, South African Theological Seminary) is the President of the Institute for Religious Research. He has lectured extensively in biblical studies, theology, and apologetics at Biola University, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and elsewhere. Rob is the author or co-author of fourteen other books including Putting Jesus in His Place, Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism, and the Gold Medallion Award book Faith Has Its Reasons: Integrative Approaches to Defending the Christian Faith.

J. Ed Komoszewski (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Equipping Pastor at Reformation Church in McKinney, TX, and the Advisor to the CEO at the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts in Plano, TX. His previous works include Reinventing Jesus, Putting Jesus in His Place, and Jesus, Skepticism & the Problem of History.

Michael F. Bird is academic dean and lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, and visiting research professor at Houston Baptist University.

Editorial Reviews

"Does the Bible teach that Jesus is God and, if so, did Jesus claim to be God? The former is an exegetical question, the latter is a historical one. Bowman and Komoszewski address both questions in this grand volume. They give keen attention to linguistic elements in the Christian, Jewish, and Greco-Roman literature and their historical method is sound. Their knowledge of the relevant literature is encyclopedic with no major scholar who has written on the topic ignored. Moreover, their interactions with scholars with whom they disagree are both substantive and refreshingly respectful. This book is a treasure trove for scholar and student alike. For specialists, abundant data are provided that are carefully argued without overreach. Yet all are presented in a manner easily accessible to non-specialists. Although other excellent literature on this subject exists, The Incarnate Christ and His Critics may be the finest book on the deity of Christ ever written. If I could have only one book on Christology, this would be it!

Professor of New Testament Studies, Houston Christian University - Michael R. Licona

"Christology is the lifeblood of the Christian faith. That’s what makes The Incarnate Christ and His Critics so important. The authors take a full look at Jesus’ divine activity, critiquing other views of Jesus by showing that they fall short of all that Scripture reveals about what Jesus said and did. By doing so, the book places the roots for this faith where they belong, with Jesus himself. This is a book to be read, studied, and referenced for what makes Christ so unique. I give it the highest recommendation."

Executive Director for Cultural Engagement, Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement, - Darrell L. Bock

"This book is a gift to the body of Christ! In a spiritual climate in which the deity of Jesus is challenged from all sides, The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is the definitive and comprehensive rebuttal to all attacks against this cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith. I hope every Christian will add this to their library as a resource they can turn to again and again whenever they encounter objections to the clear teaching of Scripture that Jesus is God."

Alisa Childers

"One might not think that unitarianism represents much of a threat to Christian theology today. But that would be a grave mistake. As Bowman and Komoszewski show, there are a wide variety of unitarian theologies today that challenge Christian belief, preeminently Islam, the second largest religion in the world, as well as various sects and cults, not to mention Christian unitarianism. It is vital that Christian theologians be able to provide a robust biblical defense of the deity of Christ, which is a dagger in the heart of unitarianism. Fortunately, that case is not merely available but has proven itself convincing to the wide majority of New Testament scholars today. In this panoramic book Bowman and Komoszewski marshal the full range of arguments that have convinced scholars that the New Testament and, indeed, the primitive Christian church out of which it came believed firmly in the full deity of Jesus Christ."

Visiting Scholar of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Professor of Philosophy, Houston Christian University - William Lane Craig

"The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is a reader-friendly treatment of a difficult topic. I am very pleased to see its appearance. Bowman and Komoszewski clarify the issues, focus on the key passages, and mount an impressive defense of a cardinal Christian doctrine—the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. Highly recommended."

John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Christian University, Author, Fabricating Jesus: - Craig A. Evans

"The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is an incredibly timely book. Here Bowman and Komoszewski respond to the growing plurality of views concerning the identity and significance of Jesus. This comprehensive study takes those different positions seriously, while rigorously working through the biblical texts that support the traditional understanding of Christ being fully God and fully human. Despite the complex issues under consideration the authors present their case with great lucidity and clarity. This book is a pleasure to read, it is full of insights for all, and it should be widely consulted by everybody who wishes to be better informed about what the Bible claims concerning Jesus and how those claims undergird the traditional views of the Christian faith held for two millennia."

Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh - Paul Foster Paul Foster

"This massive volume truly is a “comprehensive” defense of the deity of Jesus Christ. I wrote a volume of similar length called Christian Apologetics that claimed to be a “comprehensive case for biblical faith,” but it was not comprehensive as a defense of the deity of Christ! However, my book drew on the authors’ earlier book, Putting Jesus in His Place. Although I have written three books on Jesus, I learned a great deal from that book as it opened up the riches of Scripture about the divine and unique identity of the One I began to follow, by God’s grace, in June of 1976. This new book likewise possesses the virtues of thorough and meticulous scholarship, clear and compelling writing, and apologetic cogency. Not only is the deity of Christ rigorously defended through the helpful H-A-N-D-S acronym, the true teaching of Scripture is defended against the competing and fallacious Christologies offered by Mormonism, Islam, Progressive Christianity, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarianism. It is no overstatement to affirm that The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is a monumental piece of scholarship that will long serve the true church in her defense of and worship of Jesus Christ, as Lord and God! It will be of immeasurable help to those, like the late Emily Komoszewski, who want their "life so closely intertwined with the Lord that when they talk about me, they have to talk about Christ.'"

Professor of Philosophy and head of the Christian Apologetics Master’s Degree, Denver Seminary - Douglas Groothius

"The deity of Christ is no peripheral issue; the claim is not to be taken lightly, and the evidence favoring it is indeed quite strong. With all the gods being propagated at the universities and our culture surging with polytheism, this book by Bowman and Komoszewski nails their coffins shut. A mammoth work, The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is at the top in accessibly marshalling the case for the deity of Christ."

CEO/President of Ratio Christi,Author, In Search of the Good Life: Through the Eyes of Aristotle, Maimonides, and Aq - Corey Miller

"Some authors write long books because they enjoy putting words on a page (or screen). Some authors write long books because the subject demands a careful consideration of complex questions. The Incarnate Christ and His Critics belongs to the second category. The claims of Jesus and about Jesus have been controversial since the first century, and more often than not it was not cranks but well-intentioned and even pious scholars who questioned the classic Christian conviction that when Christians speak of God, they speak of Jesus Messiah at the same time. The subject of Jesus’ divine dignity touches on the foundations of Christian faith and practice and thus deserved to be treated in a long, comprehensive, carefully argued volume. Robert Bowman and Ed Komoszewski have written an important book which deserves to be read and studied by scholars, pastors, students, and indeed everybody who cares about what the New Testament texts say about Jesus specifically and about Christian doctrine more generally."

Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Eckhard J. Schnabel

"Only once in a generation or so do we come across a theological work that makes such a compelling argument that it renders virtually all other treatments on the topic obsolete. Such is the case with The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. The industrial-strength exegesis in this volume provides a solid foundation on which the edifice is built. The years of assiduous labor that went into its production, the integrity, almost superhuman comprehensiveness, and penetrating persuasiveness of its arguments (no straw-men here!), the clarity of its case, the charity of its interactions, and the obvious devotion of these two scholars put The Incarnate Christ and His Critics in a league of its own. Accolades from all quarters have labeled this book ‘masterful,’ ‘compelling,’ ‘remarkable,’ ‘exhaustive,’ ‘monumental,’ ‘magisterial,’ and the like. It is all of these things and more. And what ties it all together is the spiritual force of Bowman and Komoszewski’s magnum opus. This publication peels back the curtain of the Holy of Holies just enough to give us a peek into the brilliant splendor of the Lord Christ who shares the throne with God the Father. There is only one book I know of that can almost rival this one: Bowman and Komoszewski’s earlier offering, Putting Jesus in His Place. But this latest volume is on a new plane. It is clearly the finest defense of our Savior’s deity in the 21st century and perhaps in all of Christian history."

Senior Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological SeminaryCEO and Executive Director, Cent - Daniel B. Wallace

"As many Christians today beat a hasty retreat away from an early and well-established doctrine of Christ’s deity, Bowman and Komoszewski make an impressive case for the antiquity of this doctrine in our earliest sources. In addition, their book carries on a constant point/counterpoint argument against alternative Christologies, including skeptical, Muslim, progressive Christian, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Unitarian, and Oneness Pentecostal. One cannot help but admire how they have taken the acronym “HANDS” as a useful way of categorizing and recalling the extensive evidence. Expansive in scope and deep in historical and theological reasoning, The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is one of the best sourcebooks I know for understanding the breadth of early Christian assessments of Jesus’s significance."

Director, Lanier Theological Library,Author, The Divine Christ: Paul, the Lord Jesus, and the Scriptures of Israel, - David B. Capes

"The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is truly a comprehensive defense of the deity of Jesus. It is not an overstatement to say that this is a masterful contribution to Christological studies, for the world of apologetics, and for the local church. I am grateful to Bowman and Komoszewski for the years they committed to researching and writing this book. It lays out a defense for the deity of Jesus and responds to the most common and pressing objections against it. Although this book is massive, I wish every Christian would work through it carefully. We would then better understand the biblical case that Jesus is God and be prepared to offer thoughtful challenges."

Associate professor of apologetics, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, Co-author with Josh McDowell, Evidence - Sean McDowell

"In an age where Jesus is understood as fiction, a good teacher, an angelic demigod, a swearword, one of many gods, a construct, and more, this book is a brilliant defense of the deity of Christ. Engaging superbly with biblical texts and theological writers, Bowman and Komoszewski take readers on a journey that leads to the only possible solution considering the evidence—Jesus is God the Son. Great theology should lead to worship, deeper love for others, a desire to live as God’s Word Jesus did, and then to tell the world about him. This book does this outstandingly. This writing should be added to reading lists for Christians in churches and seminaries across biblical studies, history, theology, worship, evangelism, comparative religions, and apologetics. It should be translated into multiple languages and distributed throughout the world. It is exceptional."

Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Laidlaw College, Auckland, New Zealand, Author, Pneumaformity: Transformation by t - Mark J. Keown

"The Incarnate Christ and His Critics is an exegetically responsible, theologically nuanced, and remarkably complete argument for the deity of Christ – a fundamental doctrine of the church that needs to be defended and reasserted in every generation."

Wessner Chair of Biblical Studies, Wheaton College, Chair, Committee on Bible Translation - Douglas J. Moo