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Allyson van den Herik's The Shortest Leap combines extensive research in a wide spectrum of disciplines with cogency of thought and clarity of expression to demonstrate the reasonableness of the Christian faith in our postmodern world. Her university studies in the natural sciences have equipped her well to weigh the Bible's worldview in the light of evidence from astronomy and physics, biochemistry, paleontology and anthropology, and to demonstrate the weaknesses of naturalistic evolutionism as an alternative cosmology. She then presents the historical evidence for the authenticity and reliability of the New Testament documents as testimony to the historicity of Jesus the Messiah, the events of his life, and his resurrection from the dead. Throughout her discussion, whether addressing the origin of the universe and of life on Planet Earth or the reliability of the New Testament documents—from the irreducible complexity of micro-organisms to New Testament textual criticism—, van den Herik calmly and insightfully engages the writings and arguments of historic Christianity's "cultured despisers," critically analyzing the evolutionary faith of the New Atheists, the Gnostic agenda of The Jesus Seminar, the skepticism of Bart Ehrman, and others. Throughout the tone is respectful of opponents but forthright in exposing their presuppositions and their (often long) leaps of faith in their desire to dismiss the biblical record. This is a book that could well be given to friends who are open but unpersuaded that the Bible is God's Word and that Jesus is the divine-human redeemer who alone gives eternal life.
Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California Author of The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption, Triumph of the Lamb, Let's Study Acts, Him We Proclaim The Shortest Leap is simply the most comprehensive apologetic for the Christian faith in print. The book is easily accessible for teenagers and "scientifically challenged" older folks like me, yet remains stimulating for even the most erudite among us. With subjects ranging from the evidence for the biblical God in scientific disciplines like physics and paleontology to historical and biblical grounds for faith in Christ, The Shortest Leap leaves no stone unturned. The ancient (now modern) heresy of Gnosticism is rebuffed, as are historical objections to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and the trustworthiness of the Bible. Allyson van den Herik has indeed done the Church a great service, as we each seek to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15 - NIV).
Author of several Christian books including The Wisdom of Proverbs. We rarely see a proposal as publisher-ready as yours is! We were impressed with the excellence and organization of your well-researched, practical, and timely work. We feel you have created a valuable tool by collapsing the work of so many into information accessible for audiences of almost any age. We realize that this is a true achievement, considering the complexities of the information you are distilling and organizing here. We congratulate you—and we hope, along with you, that your work will gain the notice of one of the publishers subscribing to our report. Normally, we extend some advice for continuing to shape your work while you wait for a publisher to make contact. In this case, we simply offer congratulations.
The most important decision a person ever makes is what he or she believes about God. This choice will determine a person's destiny, both in this life and the next. As William James said, the choice is both momentous and forced. If we are confronted with claims that the Bible came from our Creator, we must evaluate these claims. Either the Bible is actual history, or it is not. Either Jesus actually lived, died and was resurrected, thereby proving his claims that he was God, or he did not. If we decide not to decide one way or another, that is also a decision that has the same effect as a "no." If Jesus actually was God, then his life, teachings, and resurrection are the most important events in the history of the world. Therefore, shouldn’t we evaluate these claims with the utmost care and urgency, as the matters of life and death that they are? Allyson van den Herik poses these life-shaking questions in the first chapter of her book, and then proceeds to answer them using the most scrupulous scientific method and razor sharp logic. She says she wrote the book because she wishes she would have had one like it when she was an atheist studying science at Stanford and baffled by data in conflict with the atheistic world view. Like C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, myself, and many others, she became converted to Christianity when she started examining the evidence for it—in her case, using the same rigorous methods as she used in biology. Van den Herik's book has several strengths compared to other books of its type. One is her clear, elegant, finely tuned writing style. Her object is to illuminate her reader, not obscure the truth in academic jargon, dictionary-like overkill, or journalistic drama. She simply spells out the intellectual problem, presents the evidence, and then evaluates the atheists' answers compared to the Christian answer. The fact that she is familiar with the atheist's way of thinking because she used to be one is helpful to the reader. She demonstrates the illogic of the atheist's position. First, she tackles the scientific evidence. Contrary to what atheists like Richard Dawkins claim, the preponderance of scientific evidence, especially discoveries made in recent decades, supports theism and Intelligent Design, not atheism. She discusses the Big Bang theory, the distinct parameters within which life on earth exists, Darwinism and its problems, problems in biochemistry and molecular biology, and evidence for God from paleontology and anthropology, using detailed documentation and footnotes. Then van den Herik looks at history using the scientific method known as historiography: "the writing of history based on critical analysis, evaluation, and selection of authentic source materials and composition of these materials into a narrative subject to scholarly methods of criticism." Contrary to what I was told by some dishonest or deluded professors, there is more evidence—that is, eyewitness accounts, authentic documents, archeological evidence, and other data supporting the life and resurrection of Jesus—than just about any other ancient figure. Van Den Herik lays out this evidence and also discusses competitors to Biblical Christianity such as Gnosticism and the Jesus Seminar. Lastly, she analyzes the Bible using the same rigorous techniques, evaluating it in light of the discoveries of science and historiography. I was not surprised when Allyson herself told me this book was the result of ten years of study. The ten years of diligence have borne abundant fruit. Anyone who grapples to understand Truth intellectually will find this book to be very helpful in answering life's greatest questions.
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