In The Man of Galilee, Atticus Haygood sets out to show the reader that Jesus is the Son of God. He directs his writing toward the skeptic, and presents arguments that can be used to show the deity of Christ to someone before they believe that the Bible is the word of God.
Haygood addresses the claims that Jesus was an invention of the gospel writers and that Jesus was just a man. He makes his case by considering who the gospel writers were, and Jesus’ words, plans, worldview, and life to show that Jesus could be none other than the Christ, the Son of God. Overall, the material in the book was rather good.
However, there were a couple issues I had with the book. The first is the lack of Scripture citations. Granted, the author wrote this for the benefit of those who would not even acknowledge the Bible as God’s word. But even when one quotes a regular piece of literature or reference material, a citation is given. There is little to none of this in this book. So one who wants to verify that the quotations do in fact come from the Bible, or wishes to study them further, needs to have a concordance to find the verses Haygood cites.
The second problem I had with the book, which in my opinion is the more serious one, is with the author’s view of the church. Haygood writes, “He did not so much as establish a Church. […] He ordained no form of church government… All those things may be good, and order in government is necessary; but he did not provide them. He left all such things to the common sense and best judgment, guided by the providence and the Holy Spirit, of his disciples” (p. 78-79).
Haygood’s claim that Jesus established no church flies in the face of Jesus’ words to His disciples: “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). The apostles did not establish a church. They did not invent the rules, doctrines, and practices of the church according to their own “common sense and best judgment.” They certainly were guided by the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13). But the Holy Spirit’s guidance did not just give them better judgment and common sense, it revealed to them the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), so that the things they taught were “the Lord’s commandment” (1 Corinthians 14:37; see also 1 Thessalonians 4:2; 2 Peter 3:2).
Haygood has a skewed perception of the role of human judgment in the church. His words suggest that men today can do whatever they please according to what their common sense and judgment dictate. Instead, we are bound by what the word of God teaches (Colossians 3:17). I cannot recommend this book without this disclaimer.
But if one recognizes this fault, there is still much valuable material contained in this book. There are many good points in it that can help us teach unbelievers about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
This book is available at Amazon.com – The Man of Galilee (affiliate link)
