A New Book that Demands a Verdict

If one McDowell was able to encourage Christians a generation ago with evidence for the truth of Christianity, simply imagine what two McDowell's could do!

Josh and his son, Sean, have completely revised and updated the hugely influential Evidence that Demands a Verdict that was first released in 1979. Josh wrote the original book after so many people kept asking him for his notes that he would use for his apologetics talks. I had my own copy of this book in the 80's as a young teenager, and I remember being astounded at the comprehensive information and level of detail that was available as a resource.

Fast forward to 2017. Josh's son, Sean, is a fully qualified professor and apologist in his own right, working now as Assistant Professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University in La Mirada, California. This father-and-son team came together to update this material for a new generation of Christians and seekers looking for evidence for the truth of Christianity.

Josh and Sean have accomplished their goal swimmingly by providing comprehensive evidence like it was their job. Actually, I think it was their job. They have a very full introduction that covers a lot of ground with the nature of what apologetics is, why it is important for the Church, and answering some objections and misconceptions that some will bring up.

Following this introduction, McDowell and McDowell offer a robust prologue which stands as an introduction to natural theology, that is, evidences from nature that point beyond the physical world to a Creator. It is here that Josh and Sean begin to target the philosophical idea of metaphysical naturalism, which is the reigning prejudice of our age, especially in the sciences. In simplified form, naturalism is the idea that all that exists is matter and energy operating according to natural law. Anything like a god or gods are denied to exist. They offer six evidences for the existence of God, including the origin of the universe, the fine tuning of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of consciousness, and the existence of free will and morality. These evidences then form the backdrop for the rest of the book since they offer good reason to think that something like the Christian God is reasonable. Given that it is entirely plausible that God does exist, we are now ready to explore the particular Christian evidences that take up the vast majority of Evidence.

Team McDowell has divided the book into four parts. Part I deals with the reliability of the Bible. Part II covers the evidence for Jesus, including his life, his unique claims and his resurrection. Part III offers evidence for the reliability of the Old Testament. Finally, Part IV answers skeptics and post-modernists with an exploration of what is truth and the possibility of miracles.

This book is a serious resource for all Christians. If you share your Christian convictions enough with others, someone is bound to ask you a question or to offer a challenge to Christianity. The only question is: will you answer those questions well or poorly? The updated Evidence that Demands a Verdict belongs on your shelf as a go-to in order to help you answer those questions well.

The verdict for this book? Buy it! (If you pre-order, you will be able to download and read two chapters now: "The Martyrdom of the Apostles" and "The Historical Existence of Jesus")

For more information, go to www.ReadEvidence.com.

When Disappointment Comes

I don't know if you've ever noticed something.

In Ephesians 3, Paul makes a well known declaration to God's power:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (ESV; 3:20-21)

In a high and exalted prayer, Paul is clear that God is able to do anything beyond our wildest thoughts. We could do worse than to memorize and meditate on this truth regularly.

But notice this. In the very next verse (4:1), Paul, almost in passing, says, "I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called..."

Did you catch that? The very same apostle who is confident in a powerful God, is yet a prisoner for the Lord. Paul is still captive.

Why is he a prisoner if God can do anything? Certainly God could bring himself glory in other ways. Why does God's glory require Paul's captivity?

These questions are ultimately unanswerable by us, but please notice that Paul did not use his imprisonment to doubt God's power or care for his people. Quite the opposite. Paul rejoices in the Lord that he serves.

Further, in Colossians 1, Paul prays for the church in Colossae, and as part of that prayer in verse 11, Paul prays that they would be "strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy."

If God has all power, why do we need endurance? Why do we need patience? Because God's power is not to get us out of trouble, but to get us through it with joy.

Disappointment will come our way. Incomes will fall. Someone will die. Children will rebel. When these difficulties come, let's remember Paul's attitude. God's purpose is ultimately to make us like his son, Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Pray that God will use disappointment to make us like Jesus. That is what God's power is for.

Was Christianity Invented?

Many skeptics will say that most of the details about Jesus' life, particularly his miracles and resurrection, were added on later due to legend or crafted to make a viable religion out of their dead Messiah. But, ask yourselves, who was this new religion crafted for? Assuming for the moment that the resurrection was made up, the new Christians' message of a resurrected Jesus would not have appealed to Greeks or Romans. To them, our body was a cage, and the goal was for our souls to "fly away" (sound familiar - even some hymns have non-Christian influences...). No Greek or Roman would want a resurrection. For them, the body is crude and vulgar, and the soul craves freedom.

So, who's left? The Jews. Yet the idea of a crucified Messiah was appalling to the Jews. Their Messiah was a victorious ruler, not a dead-dog of a man hanging on a cross.

What, then, is the point of this new religion that focuses on a man come back to life? Why craft a new religion that makes no sense to or offends all of your potential converts? Oh, and preaching this new thing you just made up will get you beaten or killed by these people you've just upset. If you're going to make up a narrative about your Messiah, why that one?

No Jew would have made up a crucified Messiah, and no Greek or Roman would have wanted a resurrected one. 

Thus the best explanation for the birth of Christianity, rather than being an invention, is that this dead-dog Jesus actually got up again a few days later and appeared to his followers. Imagine the shock of seeing your Rabbi walking toward you a couple of days after you just saw him killed. That's the sort of thing the one doesn't forget.

The rise of Christianity must be explained in a way that makes sense of the historical realities.