Hostile Witnesses: How the Historic Enemies of the Church Prove Christianity is one of the latest books from Catholic Answers Press and continue their excellence in offerings. I had previously read Gary G. Michuta’s book Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger and was impressed by his thoroughness.
This book takes a very interesting tack. It is sort of a compilation of back-handed compliments to the Church. How the assumptions made by her attackers in fact gave credibility to what the Church proclaims.
I had assumed that the book would take up the common extra-biblical sources of earlier non-Christian historians that I was somewhat familiar with. Instead it starts with the New Testament itself as the apt historical source for how people reacted to Jesus. For example assigning the source of Jesus’ miracles to demons, shows that they admit hew was a miracle worker. Time and time again he takes the New Testament critiques of Jesus and his disciples and shows what it affirms. Surprising how much information he was able to cull from this.
Later he does move on to Pagan and Jewish sources concerning what we can find from those hostile witnesses. Again the detective work he engages in confirm so many of Christianity’s claims from those who would deny them. There is a good deal more of this from sources than I expected. One detail concerning a change in law regarding the Holy Land I found quite surprising in that I had never run across it before. Not that I am such a scholar or expert – it is just that this piece of information would be one you would think would be more well-known.
He covers information in this period from the 2nd century to the time of Julian the Apostate. Besides the previous mentioned Pagans and Jewish writers, there is also information to be retrieved from Christian heretics of historical value.
Interestingly later chapters involve Islam, the Inquisition, the Protestant “Reformation”, Lourdes and Fatima, up to WWII. Once again there is a surprising amount of information to be gleamed from the Church’s enemies that actually validates the Church and her teachings.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable book and not dry reading at all. He addresses various controversies regarding some historical sources fairly and makes sure to spell out where there are disputes regarding historical writings.
