Chapter 1: The Book that Refused to Be Written Summary and Analysis

As a young man, Frank Morison began to study the life of Christ. He was compelled to do so because he felt Jesus' story rested on a very fragile foundation. Among intellectual circles in the 1990s, there was a pervasive notion that the story of his life was not reliable. What struck Morison was the physical science of the debate and science was diametrically opposed to anything purported to be a miracle. But Morison had a reverence for Jesus Christ, the man, who seemed to be a "legendary figure of purity and noble manhood" (p. 10). A harsh word about Jesus would immediately bring Morison to his defense despite any doubts he may have had about his story.

Morison began to look at the last seven days of...