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Summary: A Book Every Christian Must Own
Review: This truly is a book every Christian should own and consult. It isn't designed to be read straight through (although you certainly can do this...I have). It's designed to be an encyclopedic-style reference to questions that pop up from believers and non-believers. This book will educate you on WHY you believe.A powerful tool.
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Summary: This book changed my life
Review: Allow me to start by addressing some of the negative reviews of this book.
First of all, Josh McDowell doesn't make any money off his books. For more than 35 years, the profits for all his books have gone directly to a Christian organization (i.e. Campus Crusade for Christ). He doesn't even know how much money his books make. (I heard this from his own mouth when he spoke at a church a few years back.) Second of all, Josh doesn't claim to be a great writer or theologian; he's just presenting the facts that he's discovered. You have to do the work yourself and decide. You may even have to read other books that offer opposing evidence. (Incidentally, Josh started doing all this research before he became a Christian.) And thirdly, the gospel of John was written by an apostle who lived and followed Jesus for three years. That's a first hand account. The book of James was also written by Jesus' brother (who did not initially believe Jesus, himself).
That said, I know this book doesn't end any debates about the Christian faith. For me, however, before I became a Christian, reading Josh's stuff opened my eyes to the fact that you can't easily dismiss the Christian faith the way most uninformed non-Christian do (the way I did at one point.)
So if you're the type of person to get caught up on debating grammatical mistakes and nitpicking over the difference between a few decades within the scope of 2000 years, don't read this book. But if you're open to having your perspective (and possibly your life changed), take a look. I guarantee that when your life is changed in a dramatic way, you can write about it 30 or 60 years later and remember it like it was yesterday.
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Summary: Archaeology Proves the Bible...
Review: Archaeology proves the bible... As a Ph.D. student in Near Eastern archaeology I wouldn't say that exactly. Rather I would say that archaeology has helped to demonstrate that the Bible is an amalgamation of the mythology, morality, and history of the ancient Hebrew people.
McDowell is correct, the evidence does demand a verdict. Here is mine: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are based largely on mythology.
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Summary: Keep searching!!!
Review: If you think you're going to win people to your religion by having the "HA! I'm right!!!" attitude, you are much mistaken. Trust me, I used to be a hard-core Christian fundamentalist who used every opportunity I had to evangelize. Throughout all of this, I had the opportunity to meet many people who have changed and influenced my life.
After all I've studied and learned, any time I see someone claiming to have PROOF that his/her particular religion is the TRUE religion, then I begin to get very skeptical. First of all, if science and archaeology PROVED that Christianity was the true religion, then why doesn't everyone believe it? Most secular scienctists don't even claim that they have undisputable proof. They simply offer the evidence and tell people to decide for themselves.
If you truly have a compassion for humans and want to seek the truth, I would recommend studying the other side of the coin. Who's to say God doesn't reveal himself in all religions?
Some books I would recommend to start off with are "A History of God: The 4000 year quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam" by Karen Armstrong, "Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths we Never Knew" by Bart D. Ehrman, and "Jesus: Myths and Message" by Lisa Spray. You might also do some research into other beliefs such as Zorastrianism. There's a good website, which is unbiased (it only offers both sides of the argument), is www.religioustolerance.org.
Again, if you really want to find the truth then do a thorough search and not a one-sided search. You'll be surprised what you might find!
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Summary: Re Allen Irwin's review
Review: You comment on someone else's grammar and spelling; have a closer look at your own. Don't throw stones in a greenhouse pall.
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Summary: Read it!
Review: Aren't you supposed to read a book before writing a review on it? If you are interested in sound research, read this book. If you have questions about who Jesus is, read this book. Please don't let pseudo-intellectuals who have never read the book and who are only reciting the atheist agenda deter you from reading this book. Go one step further than they have - use your own mind and come to your own conclusion.
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Summary: Pompous Intellectual Charade to Mask a Blind-Faith Adherence
Review: This book is McDowell's latest version of the same pseudoscientific and pseudo-historical drivel he's peddled in the past to enrich himself. He makes citation after citation allegedly documenting Jesus' miracles and resurrection. Yet, incredibly, not one of these secular historical references was written by an individual who lived DURING the years Christ supposedly walked the earth. There was NO secular eyewitness cited -- not one. All of the "historical references" were written by individuals who, even according to McDowell's own flawed data, weren't even born until years AFTER Christ supposedly lived. Therefore, the "evidence" cited in this book documents only the LEGEND of Christ, rather than the reality. Even atheists acknowledge that the legend of these "miraculous" events was extant during the first and second centuries. So this book proves absolutely nothing that an avowed atheist wouldn't quickly agree with.
Books of this nature are written deliberately in a jargon-filled "overly intellectual" way to great the illusion of scholarship for those who are embarrassed by their blind-faith religious adherence. Witness the reviewer below who began his review by telling us that his IQ was among the top two percent (yet his review was filled with grammar and spelling errors). It is to this type mentality that this haughty, pretentious book is addressed -- individuals who delusionally imagine themselves to be intellectuals and who don't want to admit (even to themselves) that their beliefs are, in actuality, articles of blind faith contradicted by all true science, history, and logic. Read "Atheist Universe" by David Mills for a rebuttal of every "proof" in this entire book.
Now, go ahead and click the button below, indicating that this review was not helpful to you, since none of you pseudo-intellectuals want to know the truth about this book, nor about yourselves.
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Summary: What evidence??
Review: Kudos Mr. McDowell for assimilating a massive amount of information in support for the Christian faith. But come on, evidence?? Quoting a source is simply a quotation, not evidence, and McDowell does this again...and again....and again....and again, ad infinitum. I anticipated McDowell to write a chapter which said "Ok folks, here are some conclusions we can make; here is the completed puzzle which we can construct given the previous information I've given you.." but no such chapter is to be found in this book, to my profound disappointment. I also saw no address to critiques of the many views which he purports. It appears that Josh simply looked for sources which supported his belief in Christianity, and overtly ignored any sources which didn't. Simply put, McDowell repeatedly appeals to authority and ignores any semblance to organized, critical, analytical thinking. There are many pieces of a puzzle here, but you the reader must assemble these pieces.
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