Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
June 6, 2001
Lawyer's book puts `Faith on Trial'
Former agnostic became a believer when she put Christianity on the stand
By Roxanne King
Raised in a Christian home, Pamela Binnings Ewen lost her faith when she went off to college and embraced rational philosophy on her way to becoming an attorney.
It was the tumultuous 60s — popular media had announced "God is dead" and written the Bible off as myth and legend. Ewen graduated from college, married, had a son, and enjoyed a successful law career in Texas.
Married to a scientist, Ewen was agnostic and was raising her son the same. But in the mid-80s, she began to be plagued with the timeless questions "Why are we here?" and "Is there more to life?"
"I believe it was the influence of those early years — I wanted to believe," Ewen told the Register. So she put her honed attorney's skills to work and using the Federal Rules of Evidence she put the four Gospels on trial — and came away a believer.
"It took me 15 years to do the research," she said. "I spent maybe seven years on the science. I looked at archeology. I found a book by Simon Greenleaf, he wrote the very first `rules of evidence' that everyone reads. He said that if you treated the Gospel writers as if they were witnesses at a trial, it makes a very powerful case."
Following Greenleaf's footsteps, Ewen also compiled her research into a book, "Faith on Trial." The book examines the credibility of the Gospel accounts and addresses the questions "Did Jesus really live?" "Was he crucified?" and "Did he rise from the dead?"
Published in 1984 by Broadman and Holman, the book is now in its third printing with preparation begun for a fourth.
Ewen wrote "Faith on Trial" to convince her son, who had become a college student and dedicated agnostic, of Christianity's truth.
"I was astounded by this information I had found and I wanted to give him this information," she said. "His response was, `Oh, Mom, all religions are the same and have their messiah. You have your religion and I have my philosophy.'
"I thought, `If I write a book, he'll have to read it.'"
Penning the book deepened her own conviction.
"My book was my `aha' moment — it sustained me," Ewen said. "I believed it was true."
Written for non-lawyers, Ewen's book examines the credibility of the witnesses, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Ewen assumes the burden of proof and documents historical, archeological and scientific evidence to prove her case.
"You run into people all the time who say `That's all well and good but from the point of view of science it's absurd to think that someone could rise from the dead," she said. "Science accepts the unknown all the time. They don't understand why black holes are there but they accept that they are. This is the same with particle physics, the neutrino, one of the tiniest quantum particles, no scientist has ever seen it but they know they exist from circumstantial evidence.
"Scientists never say because they can't see or feel or touch it that it can't happen," she continued. "Scientific protocol sets the standard for how we should view the resurrection. Because we don't understand doesn't mean that you ignore the evidence."
Christians will find her book an interesting analytical confirmation of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. But Ewen really wrote it for those who doubt or don't believe.
"It's for people who have questions, whether they are religious and have the gift of faith, and it's for people who want to believe but can't quite get there," she said. "There's a quote from I Corinthians on the spiritual gifts — faith is only one of these and at the end Paul says everyone did not get every gift. I believe everyone did not get the gift of faith and those who do have an obligation to help them have it.
"The book is meant to be a rational jumping off place for those who would like to believe but don't," she said.
The book builds a case by linking each piece of evidence to another, like a puzzle, until a solid picture appears. For Ewen, the most compelling evidence may be the testimony of the apostles.
"To quote from the Book of John 19:35: `He who has seen has borne witness ... so that you may also believe' — those who do not believe need to explain that statement," Ewen said. "It was a death sentence to teach that the resurrection had occurred. All these people died for that. What kind of person would make that statement if it wasn't true?
"The real critical issue is, terrorists die for things they believe in all the time, but nobody dies for what they know to be false," she continued. "These were people who lived in that place at that time. They died for what we're reading today and we have to believe what they said. Nobody dies for what they know to be false."
The author said her research changed her life — she's now a practicing Episcopalian. And her son believes in the resurrection.
"My focus is on something completely different now — not making the most of my life in a material sense but, instead, trying to do what's right according to the four Gospels," Ewen said.
A partner in the large international law firm BakerBotts, L.L.P., which specializes in corporate finance, Ewen continues to practice law. Proceeds from the book are donated to charity.
"My motivation is to present the information to people to be used as a tool for those who want to believe but can't," she said.
"Faith on Trial" is available at Barnes and Noble or through Amazon.com. A free study guide can be downloaded from the internet at www.faithontrial.com.
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