The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ

You'd think the title was trying to be a pun of some sort. But no, The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ by Randy Singer is just that. It's a study of the way Jesus answered the questions of His critics and what those answers say about Him, who He is, what He does, what He's all about. Singer, a former trial lawyer, puts the book together pretty well. I didn't particularly care for his book-end story, a fictional retelling of Jesus' trial before Pilate from Pilate's legal assistant's point of view (I've seen it done before and it was done better). But when Singer wades into the questions and answers, it's much more interesting. I especially appreciated some of the stories he wove into his arguments, especially the one about the bloody Band Aids.

Up to a point, that is. Singer really doesn't cover any new grounds. There are no real stunning apologetical insights . I've heard a lot of these arguments made before.

On top of that, there were a few minor historical mistakes made through the text (debatable mistakes, I guess) and some theology that made me cringe (I tend to get bent out of shape by anything premillennial). But that's no reason to not read the book. If you're looking for a book on apologetics that covers the basics, then this is a pretty good one. And it's relatively inexpensive on Amazon right now, so you really can't go wrong.