Killing Jesus

By:  Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard

Genre:  Biography

Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Book!  I was VERY skeptical when this book first came out around Easter 2013.  Given that I haven’t heard Bill O’Reilly profess to be a Christian (although his religious affiliation is Roman Catholic), I wasn’t sure what angle the book would take.  Would it portray Jesus as just an extraordinary man?  However, after reading O’Reilly’s Lincoln’s Last Days with my ten year old and loving it, I decided to give this one a try!  The introduction included a disclaimer that the book was written for the purposes of history and was not to be considered a religious (or faith-based) manifesto. I wondered how this would play out in the pages of the book.

As it turns out, O’Reilly and Dugard did a superb job of writing the life of Jesus, including providing facts about the culture and time period in which He lived on earth.  At one point, the details of the corrupt Roman leadership was a little too graphic for me, but I appreciated understanding the picture of the world where Jesus walked.  I was THRILLED when they included the truth that Jesus called Himself the Son of God and He was either a lunatic, a liar, or what He claimed to be!  Several times while reading, I found myself reaching for my Bible to double check the facts.  I was learning new things!  O’Reilly seemed to rely heavily along the timeline of John’s gospel but also included scripture references to the other gospels as well.

When I finished reading this book, I remember thinking along these lines:  I don’t know how O’Reilly and Dugard could not believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah and God in the flesh.  How could someone know so much and believe so little?  I’m certainly no expert, so you may read this book and find Biblical errors that I missed.  Still, I think if you read this book, you are bound to come away with a renewed awe about the God who came to this earth to save a people for Himself.  In fact, I have bought the young adult version (The Last Days of Jesus) in the hopes that my son will love it as much as I did.  (I’ve encouraged him to ask me any questions he may have as he reads.)

If you have read the book or read it in the future, please leave your comments below!  I’d love to know what you think!