Historical Evidences for the Christian Faith - Evidence that Demands a Verdict

Excellent work! Volume Two answers the critics of Volume One. You can huff n' puff, rant n' rave all you want. But the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

This is an incredible book. However I do NOT recommend the Kindle ddition. The book is written in a very scholarly format which requires you to navigate back and forth between various pages for cross references, etc. Buy the paper edition, for sure!

This book was recommended to me by a Christian when I mentioned that I am mostly interested in the topic of historical accuracy and historical evidence (or lack there of) when it comes to the Bible. I made it clear to my friend that I do not accept the Bible as both the evidence and the claim that it is true. That is exactly what this book is. Strategically picked "scholars" are chosen by McDowell to support his claims while actual evidence is severely lacking. Not only is the evidence lacking, but there are many cases when the truth is stretched or completely made up by the author. Before purchasing this book, I'd suggest looking up many of the responses to this book which shatter it's credibility.

Joslin "Josh" McDowell (born 1939) is a Christian author best known for his many works of apologetic; he has been affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ (now "Cru") since 1964. His many books include Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidence for the Christian Faith,Daniel in the Critics' Den,More Than a Carpenter,The Islam Debate,The Resurrection Factor,Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Diety,He Walked Among Us,Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions, etc. His life story was told in Joe Musser's book Josh: Excitement of the Unexpected and also in the DVD Undaunted.

This 1975 book is very different from the broad presentation in Volume I; this book targets "radical critics" of the Bible. He says in the Preface, "I will probably be accused of being unfair or lopsided in the presentation of the material in this volume. It will more than likely be said that more space was given to the answers to radical criticism than to its assumptions and their support. I am of the opinion that the university textbooks are abounding with explanations of the assumptions of radical criticism. However, there seem to be few answers in textbooks (if any, in the majority of them)." (Pg. iv)

He also clarifies, "I have included long quotes so that individuals using the material can better understand the context... Another criticism is that many quotes are very similar and therefore unnecessary. Again my purpose here is to give the person using the material ample sources so that he can choose what he thinks is relevant... Others will criticize that I didn't deal with Source Criticism, Historical Criticism, the New Quest... the Q document or the Synoptic Problem... etc. The purpose of this book is to clarify the issues and give some practical answers to the questions that students have asked me over the last three years. It is not to give the pros and cons of the multitudes of problems, questions and schools of criticism." (Pg. v)

He begins the book with a long critique of the "anti-supernaturalism" of the critics (e.g. "We live in a closed system... There is no supernatural... Miracles are not possible..."), arguing that "The anti-supernaturalist... rejects evidence indicating the supernatural no matter how convincing." [While he makes some valid points, one could also wonder whether this is not "ad hominem" argumentation.]

The second section of the book looks critically at the JEPD documentary hypothesis of Pentateuch (i.e., five books of Moses). This widely used yet admittedly speculative theory is examined in detail, and many of its flaws and unsupported assumptions are pointed out; although, at times, Josh seems mostly to counteract the assertion of a "radical critic" with some assertions by "conservative" scholars, without really refuting the critic.

The section on the New Testament is only about half as long as the section on the Pentateuch. He makes many telling points against the assumptions of scholars such as Bultmann. Unfortunately, he does not deal in any real detailed way with the divergencies between the various gospels; the issue of the historicity of the fourth gospel; the authorship of the most disputed New Testament documents (e.g., Jude; 2 Peter, etc.).

Overall, the critique of the JEPD theory is effective, but the remainder of the book is much less effective. This book is not one a Christian would normally hand to a non-Christian for evangelistic purposes, as the non-Christian would probably get lost in a forest of quotations. (Josh's other, later books are much better in this regard.) This book makes an excellent reference work for Christians, however.

This is one of the more nonsensical, illogical books I've come across. It attempts to prove the existence of magic, mysticism, enchanted relics, and incantation rituals through circular reasoning, cherry picking, confusing coincidence with cause and effect, and first assuming that it is true and then attempting to prove that the Bible is true by using scripture quotes.

I rarely give bad reviews, but this book is absolute nonsense.

Joslin "Josh" McDowell (born 1939) is a Christian author best known for his many works of apologetic; he has been affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ (now "Cru") since 1964. His many books include Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidence for the Christian Faith,Daniel in the Critics' Den,More Than a Carpenter,The Islam Debate,The Resurrection Factor,Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Diety,He Walked Among Us,Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions, etc. His life story was told in Joe Musser's book Josh: Excitement of the Unexpected and also in the DVD Undaunted.

This 1975 book is very different from the broad presentation in Volume I; this book targets "radical critics" of the Bible. He says in the Preface, "I will probably be accused of being unfair or lopsided in the presentation of the material in this volume. It will more than likely be said that more space was given to the answers to radical criticism than to its assumptions and their support. I am of the opinion that the university textbooks are abounding with explanations of the assumptions of radical criticism. However, there seem to be few answers in textbooks (if any, in the majority of them)." (Pg. iv)

He also clarifies, "I have included long quotes so that individuals using the material can better understand the context... Another criticism is that many quotes are very similar and therefore unnecessary. Again my purpose here is to give the person using the material ample sources so that he can choose what he thinks is relevant... Others will criticize that I didn't deal with Source Criticism, Historical Criticism, the New Quest... the Q document or the Synoptic Problem... etc. The purpose of this book is to clarify the issues and give some practical answers to the questions that students have asked me over the last three years. It is not to give the pros and cons of the multitudes of problems, questions and schools of criticism." (Pg. v)

He begins the book with a long critique of the "anti-supernaturalism" of the critics (e.g. "We live in a closed system... There is no supernatural... Miracles are not possible..."), arguing that "The anti-supernaturalist... rejects evidence indicating the supernatural no matter how convincing." [While he makes some valid points, one could also wonder whether this is not "ad hominem" argumentation.]

The second section of the book looks critically at the JEPD documentary hypothesis of Pentateuch (i.e., five books of Moses). This widely used yet admittedly speculative theory is examined in detail, and many of its flaws and unsupported assumptions are pointed out; although, at times, Josh seems mostly to counteract the assertion of a "radical critic" with some assertions by "conservative" scholars, without really refuting the critic.

The section on the New Testament is only about half as long as the section on the Pentateuch. He makes many telling points against the assumptions of scholars such as Bultmann. Unfortunately, he does not deal in any real detailed way with the divergencies between the various gospels; the issue of the historicity of the fourth gospel; the authorship of the most disputed New Testament documents (e.g., Jude; 2 Peter, etc.).

Overall, the critique of the JEPD theory is effective, but the remainder of the book is much less effective. This book is not one a Christian would normally hand to a non-Christian for evangelistic purposes, as the non-Christian would probably get lost in a forest of quotations. (Josh's other, later books are much better in this regard.) This book makes an excellent reference work for Christians, however.

Joslin "Josh" McDowell (born 1939) is a Christian author best known for his many works of apologetic; he has been affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ (now "Cru") since 1964. His many books include Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidence for the Christian Faith,Daniel in the Critics' Den,More Than a Carpenter,The Islam Debate,The Resurrection Factor,Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Diety,He Walked Among Us,Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions, etc. His life story was told in Joe Musser's book Josh: Excitement of the Unexpected and also in the DVD Undaunted.

This 1975 book is very different from the broad presentation in Volume I; this book targets "radical critics" of the Bible. He says in the Preface, "I will probably be accused of being unfair or lopsided in the presentation of the material in this volume. It will more than likely be said that more space was given to the answers to radical criticism than to its assumptions and their support. I am of the opinion that the university textbooks are abounding with explanations of the assumptions of radical criticism. However, there seem to be few answers in textbooks (if any, in the majority of them)." (Pg. iv)

He also clarifies, "I have included long quotes so that individuals using the material can better understand the context... Another criticism is that many quotes are very similar and therefore unnecessary. Again my purpose here is to give the person using the material ample sources so that he can choose what he thinks is relevant... Others will criticize that I didn't deal with Source Criticism, Historical Criticism, the New Quest... the Q document or the Synoptic Problem... etc. The purpose of this book is to clarify the issues and give some practical answers to the questions that students have asked me over the last three years. It is not to give the pros and cons of the multitudes of problems, questions and schools of criticism." (Pg. v)

He begins the book with a long critique of the "anti-supernaturalism" of the critics (e.g. "We live in a closed system... There is no supernatural... Miracles are not possible..."), arguing that "The anti-supernaturalist... rejects evidence indicating the supernatural no matter how convincing." [While he makes some valid points, one could also wonder whether this is not "ad hominem" argumentation.]

The second section of the book looks critically at the JEPD documentary hypothesis of Pentateuch (i.e., five books of Moses). This widely used yet admittedly speculative theory is examined in detail, and many of its flaws and unsupported assumptions are pointed out; although, at times, Josh seems mostly to counteract the assertion of a "radical critic" with some assertions by "conservative" scholars, without really refuting the critic.

The section on the New Testament is only about half as long as the section on the Pentateuch. He makes many telling points against the assumptions of scholars such as Bultmann. Unfortunately, he does not deal in any real detailed way with the divergencies between the various gospels; the issue of the historicity of the fourth gospel; the authorship of the most disputed New Testament documents (e.g., Jude; 2 Peter, etc.).

Overall, the critique of the JEPD theory is effective, but the remainder of the book is much less effective. This book is not one a Christian would normally hand to a non-Christian for evangelistic purposes, as the non-Christian would probably get lost in a forest of quotations. (Josh's other, later books are much better in this regard.) This book makes an excellent reference work for Christians, however.

My Young Earth Creationist / Pentecostal father sent me this book. I grew up in his religion and followed it for 28 years or so,and I imagine it bothered him to find out I no longer believed in religion and had stopped believing in God. (Still love and believe in my dad though!)

Yes, I read the whole book, and I wrote in the margins what my thoughts were on every assertion and apologetic theory stated.
In short: I didn't leave my religion and whole basis for my belief system easily, so I spent a lot of time reading apologetics and debating, so I am very familiar with the arguments of Christian apologetics.
This book is clearly meant to shore up cracks in the faith of someone that already believes, it is not meant to to change the mind of skeptical people that are familiar with logical fallacies or has read up on some general philosophy/comparative religions/general science.

Most of the apologetics within fall into simple circular reasoning, non evident assumptions, changing definitions of words,etc.

This book contains invaluable research in support of the Bible, particularly in chapter 4, where McDowell points to the 24,000 manuscript copies preserving the text of the New Testament, some of which date as early as 125-200 A.D. (e.g. John Rylands MS and Bodmer Papyri), as well as to the 100,000 Dead Sea Scroll fragments preserving the virtual entirety of the Old Testament from 350 B.C. to 65 A.D. McDowell in chapter 4 also points to other sources in making the claim that the Bible is the most reliably preserved historical document, by far, of antiquity. And that's just the first half of the chapter. In part 2 of Chapter 4, McDowell points to a number of archaeological discoveries supporting the Biblical record such as the Ebla Tablets, Ugarit Cuneiform texts, and excavations of Jericho. While groundbreaking for its time, this does not of course mention more recent discoveries such as the Ipuwer Papyrus, Khirbet Qeiyafa pottery shard, Execration Texts, or the Merneptah and Mesha steles.

Chapter 5 is also highly useful for its listing of extra-Biblical sources verifying the existence of Jesus as a historical figure, including Tacitus, Lucian, Josephus, Suetonius, Tertullian, Pliny the Younger, and others. Also recommended is Chapter 9's detailed listing of messianic prophecies.

I strongly recommend this book for its extremely useful and well-researched chapters, for anyone wondering what the hard evidence is supporting the reliability of the Bible. McDowell makes one of the best-researched arguments for the Bible's reliability that you will find, and if it only contained chapters 4, 5 and 9 it would still be an invaluable work of research to both Christian and skeptic alike.

Along with many others, this was my introduction to apologetics and the many reasons supporting Christianity. It was foreign to my young mind at the time that any religion was more than just a matter of faith. Even though I knew internally Christianity was true, with a deep sense that I had finally found the truth amidst all of the worldviews vying for embrace, I couldn't articulate why exactly. This book was a pioneering work and started a modern trend using reason, argument and evidence as to why Christianity is the only truth. The quotes of scholars and other figures in history affirming the faith are fascinating and surprising (for example, Napoleon lending credence to Christ), and this work I have used on many occasions.

Scott Chandler, author
Darwin or Design? What Biology Reveals About the Secrets of Life

Darwin or Design? What Biology Reveals About the Secrets of Life: Intelligent Design Introductory Guide

Josh is one of this generation's foremost apologists for the Christian faith, having begun his journey in college as a skeptic himself setting out to disprove the Bible. To his amazement, the evidence was overwhelming and 'demanded a verdict'. The vast range of source material cited (and updated for new audiences) from personal research and extensive Scriptural and soul searching have produced a monumental one-volume arsenal to defend the faith in a friendly but firmly factual way. This belongs in every church library and should be read by every church member to re-examine the documentary evidence for believing in Christ: there is no need to apologize for accepting the Bible at face value, since it has never been disproven and the preponderance of the evidence points to its truthfulness beyond a reasonable doubt. Great companion books would be Lee Strobel's Case For Christ; Case For Faith; C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity; Norman Geisler When Critics Ask; D.James Kennedy Solving Bible Mysteries. Josh's masterpiece has stood and will withstand the test of time as a classic component of the 20th/21st Centuries' apologetic arsenal. Meaty but more than manageable for the patient Bible student/sincere seeker.

I ordered Volume 1 of Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, and you sent me Volume 2 of Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell. If I would have wanted Volume 2, I would have ordered it, thanks and Goodbye.

This popular book contains a lot of scholarly information. It is written in a easy style.
For those for want some more philosophical works, I can recommend the books of Geisler, Norman; Moreland, James; Craig, William; Geivett, Douglas; Kreeft, Peter; Habermas, Gary; Blomberg, Craig; Wenham, David.
Some atheists (Internet infidels) have immoraly written many lies about this book, as they do on many other topics. Fortunately, their ignorance and lies are graciously refuted by J. P. Holding at:
ttp://[...]

This is a good starting place for someone looking for religion or looking to increase their faith in Christianity. It is difficult reading, but the format would work well as a reference guide. I truly glory in the things in this book and I hope it can advance the Christian cause. I do consider myself a Christian believer, but putting myself on the outside looking in, I can see there is no slam dunk here. As one can readily see from previous reviews, the physical evidence can be explained away. There is some very compelling evidence in this book, but the vast majority of the evidence consists of reasoning (though I believe the reasoning for the most part to be sound) with the accounts written from within the Bible itself, or theologians commenting on it. The most credible accounts are from the Jewish historian, Josephus, though in recent decades even some of his accounts have come into question. There is reference to some lost Old Testament cities that have been recovered in recent decades.

I do not base my faith on whether or not there is physical evidence to support it, as it would truly be shaky ground to stand on, especially in this day. On the other hand, it was Austin Farrar that said, "Though argument does not create conviction, lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish." This book is a wonderful example of just such "rational argument" that at times is very convincing.

There is no doubt that there is power in evidence to advance the nurturing of faith. But this should not overshadow the fact that there is an even greater power to be had beyond physical evidence or reasoning. The Savior Jesus Christ tells us himself of a much greater, even more powerful witness that man can have in Matthew 16, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." I don't think the need for faith will ever be completely diminished in this life.

but complete.. if you question something, it can be found in here. Anyone still refusing to believe after truly seeking the truth is simply trying to justify a life without God..or they are so closed off to the truth they fail to see what is there. If this cannot be seen as truth to you, then you must discount any book you have ever read. There is more proof in Christ than in anything the world has produced. Be like the author, truly attempt to prove it wrong, you will find the truth. Some people will need the day of judgement as proof, sadly by then it's too late.

This book provided the information for both myself and my husband to be TRUE believers. If you read this book you don't need to just believe by faith alone but by common sense. It is a true eye opening experience.

The readers would do much better by reading Scripture. Unfortunately, too many people want the quick-fix and something easy to look at. This is not to say that all of McDowell's "verdicts" are wrong, but some are. People should think twice when a person is defending this book instead of defending from the Bible itself. Unfortunately, of the readers that I know, many of them do not have a strong biblical background. This is an easy way out for them. As a result, it has often led to disputes within churches that should not have occurred (our denomination is very scholarly and clear on most positions). For that, I would have given zero stars, but there are some points that it may benefit new Christians.

This book (formerly called MORE EVIDENCE THAT DEMANDS A VERDICT) is heavier reading than MORE EVIDENCE, Vol. 1, and is more amenable to using as a resource, for selective perusal of topics, rather than reading it all the way through. (You can read it cover to cover, but it's not easy.) This second volume addresses things like archaeology, form criticism, literary criticism, and historical research into the claims of the Bible. Volume I deals more with the life of Christ and New Testament events.

This and the companion volume that McDowell has made constitute a thoroughly researched and well packaged presentation of the claims for the truths and beliefs of Christianity. This is a book of apologetics, so is intended to explain Christianity and the claims of Christ in a persuasive manner. I think it is about as good as any Christian apologetic work out on the market.

Too often, apologetics ranges into the "the Bible said it, that settles it." McDowell takes it a bit deeper: identifying common arguments that Christians will face from non-believers and giving counter-arguments backed up not only with Biblical testimony, but with testimony from scholars. Also to be noted and employed by the reader is McDowell's urging that the arguments shared be used in a pastoral spirit--good evangelism and good apologetics shouldn't be used as a club to beat someone over the head with, or used to shove belief down the throat of a non-believer. This book is a useful resource for those who are concerned with communicating their faith to the non-believers in their midst.

This book is primarily a compilation of the works of earlier critics of the documentary hypothesis and New Testament form criticism, glued together with McDowell's own thoughts and investigations. The format is excellent: every category and subcategory is easily divided for quick reference, and there is a concise summary at the close of each chapter. Solid arguments are presented against the hackneyed liberal assertions of the nineteenth century, which attempted to disclaim the authenticity of the Bible. After reading this book, I do not see how anyone could still cling to the outdated JEDP theory or NT form criticism. Such interpretations of the Bible are shown to be misunderstandings of the text--hopes to show not only that the Bible is contradictory and inconsistent, but also that there are historical antecedents to these inconsistencies. McDowell does a commendable job in reaffirming the monolithic integrity of the most influential book to date.

I have both used and taught ETDAV several times over the past 20 years. Vol. 1 is more useful to the average reader than vol. 2 which is a college level treatise adressing weightier issues (presuppostion etc.).
I recommend this book to anyone researching the `whys' behind the `whats' they believe.

Josh McDowell has produced a fine volume of Christian apologetic research, which has been (and will continue to be) a persuasive argument for the veracity of the Bible and it's teachings. Secondary proof of this is the great degree of opposition that "scholars" like the "Jesus Seminar" falsely attack it with. If these critical unbelievers despise it, it must be good!

As a Christian, I found this book very interesting to read, and I learned a lot of things I had never realized before. I will address some of the criticisms I have read of it.
Some people write that the "evidence" it presents consists of Bible quotes and support from Christian scholars. It does use the Bible extensively to give the reader background on the events written about -- AFTER spending several chapters discussing the reasons why the Bible is the most authentic historical document ever written, and pointing out that with so many eye-witnesses still alive at the time the Gospels were published, they couldn't have gotten away with misrepresenting even minor details of the events or of Jesus's words. Furthermore, McDowell's arguments DO NOT rely solely on Biblical evidence, but on common sense. An example is the story circulated by the soldiers guarding Jesus's tomb -- they claimed that the disciples stole Jesus's body while they slept. McDowell asks, If the soldiers were asleep, how could they know who stole the body? The soldiers' story is clearly false; McDowell goes on to tell the reader such things as why the soldiers would not have been sleeping in the first place, and why they would not have stayed asleep while the stone was rolled away.
McDowell does fill a lot of space with selected quotes from scholars and writers who agree with his point of view, but I see these as simply different ways of looking at it. His arguments DO NOT rely on this support.
His arguments do, however, rely on the reader to approach the subject with an open mind; in other words, if the reader has already decided that the miraculous events of the Bible are impossible, then there is nothing that will convince him/her that they are possible and did, in fact, happen.

Documentation is extensive in the book, and arguments are clearly stated and easy to understand. There is a useful index, and sections are labeled and can be used to find specific topics. If there is a weakness in the book it is that McDowell tries to cover too much ground. I found the treatment of religions outside of Christianity to be so general as to not be too useful. The book is very useful, however, to answer a great deal of criticism of the Bible and Christianity, and I recommend it highly for that purpose.

There is ample testimony here. If one wants to begin an inquiry of arguments about the bible and its historical accuracy, this is THE place to begin, as there is a voluminous quantity of fully documented evidence. The introduction carefully explains that the reader must be intellectually honest in approaching the subjects dealt with, if they wish to discover the truth. This work is made by humans and thus is not perfect but it is ironclad in its assertions regarding treatment of the subject matter. It is carefully written from a studied and deliberate thinker's point of view, devoid of bias as anything I have ever read except the bible itself. You do not need an unabridged dictionary and an encyclopedia of philosophy to adequately dissect it. It is plainly written for all levels of adult thinkers. Get it, it is more than worth the money.

This is a perfect example of a vivid imagination justifying his idol worshiping. The New Testament is not the "word of God." God is not that stupid. The New Testament is the worst book i have ever read. it is filled with blatant contradictions. This author writes explanations that have no logic and requires you to become a little child so you can believe anything he says. The author needs to grown up and become an adult. Anyone that believes your can provide prof of all the contradictions in the New Testament is a fool.

This is the first book on Christian apologetics I had read and it is still a favorite. Mr. McDowell admirably tackles the variety of subjects that the believers of today face. Not an "easy" read but worth the effort and one that will remain one of my favorite reference books. It is worth the time and money.

This is a great reference book for apologetics. Learn about why so many people are into this "Christianity thing". This is not a book to curl up with on a stormy night, rather, it is most useful as a reference book. Whenever you have a "why believe this when..." question, this is the resource to check!

Lets be honest: people will believe WHAT THEY WANT. If you want to believe in Jesus, you will. If you want to believe that either Jesus didn't exist, or he wasn't from God, you will.
This book is a great book that is in outline form with clear and precise arguments. It addresses several issues non-believers have with Christianity. It is not the end-all be-all of book, but it's a great start. This book wittles away at the illogical arguments against Christianity and the Bible, but it will only be effective if the reader has an open mind.
I didn't give it five stars because it is far from an 'easy,' casual read. It is a great reference book. I also recomend the 'Case for Christ,' 'Case for Creation,' and 'Case for Faith' by Lee Strobel, written with the same sentiments as "Evidence."

This is a sequal to Josh McDowell's earlier book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict. The author presents more historical evidence that Christ's Resurrection dates back to the earliest time of the church and so cannot be a mythological invention of the church. Christ's Resurrection is compelling proof that He is God and Savior. One can either reject Him or else come to Him for salvation.

McDowell's first section in this book, "The Bible - I trust it" should tell you all you need to know about his "evidence". His argument is that the Bible is unimpeachable and therefore is acceptable as 100% truth. So, inevitably, he uses the age-old circular argument: Christianity must be true because the Bible says it is. I expected OH SO MUCH more.
And this, after the book jacket claims to provide "Answers which will satisfy anyone who is willing to honestly weigh the evidence." Too bad the author wasn't willing to offer up any non-tainted evidence.

This book would be very impressive to someone with very little education in biblical criticism and scholarship. Many fundementalists like to carry it around and quote it as evidence of the Bible as the literal, inerant Word of God because it does give the impression of being very learned to someone who doesn't know any better. If you do know better, you will be irritated and frustrated by his simplistic and dogmatic scholarship. Still, it's not breathtakingly bad like most conservative Bible books, just very limited and one sided in its approach. There are any number of writers, such as Crossan, Paigels, Borg, Spong, and many, many more that present a far more comprehensive and intelligent analysis.

I read this book many years ago after first becoming a Christian and it is a classic in Biblical apologetics. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to find out if the Bible is reliable or not.

This "handbook" of alleged Christian evidences leaves much to be desired. So much, in fact, that I have edited a book-length rebuttal to McDowell at the above URL. If you really do want to love God with all your mind, you will check out what I and my colleagues have to say before making a decision

This book convinced this skeptic over thirty years ago, and now I'm using it to convince my skeptical friends. The other books are good, but this one is small, easy to understand, and something that a skeptic might actually pick up and read.

This book is quite a joke in learned circles. It's shallow arguments based on nonexistent or little supported facts are clearly designed for those who want "good" reasons to believe but who aren't looking for crticism.
That McDowell was an atheist as most would understand it is debatable; and that he was going to find answers to prove Christianity wrong at the library of the religious school he attended is unlikely.
Any book that quotes Napoleon's belief in Jesus as a proof of Christianity (by way of "intelligent people sure believe it so it must be true") is suspect.
If anyone is interested in more thorough arguments, search the web for "A Verdict that Demands some Evidence." This is a point-by-point refutation of volume 1.

This book is very thorough... it will definitely come in handy to the student of the bible and to those seeking the truth.
Please ignore any previous comments made about the book from The Jesus Seminar... it was a panel of pseudo-intellectuals that had already decided before hand what they were going to find out: That anything Jesus said about His divinity wasn't true. They basically drew straws to come to their conclusions.
At least Josh Mcdowell did research!

McDowell is the most brilliant researcher in Christianity. His Harvard background and legal research expertise show through in the thoroughness and logic of his arguments for the gospel, while his earthiness as a youth minister make the message humorous and understandable. I cannot immage being a Christian leader without this information. It has enabled me to share the gospel with many Jews and Athenists with boldness, confidence, and success.

What is the best and most highly recommended book on the market is actually in my not so humble opinion the worst book on the market! ... A HUGE problem is that McDowell seems to state his thesis, bury his readers in an advalanche of quotes, and then draws a highly questionable conclusion!
McDowell has in my opinion several pointless chapters that don't need to be included in his book! The first chapter is pointless. How is the uniqueness of the Bible evidence of it's reliability or of it's divine inspiration? ...And why a chapter on the Trilemna? Rather than try to argue that Jesus was more than just a liar or a lunatic..why not just get to the meat of the debate between the faith and it's critics and go straight to the resurrection? These chapters along with that pointless chapter on how the Bible was prepared is excess baggage and is non-essential to forming a good case for Christianity.
The chapters that I would see as essential are chapters on the reliability of the Bible ( chapter 4) and the chapter on case for the resurrection. ( What about fulfilled Bible prophecy and Christian experience? I will comment on why these are unnecessary as well)...McDowell merely quotes some of the NT authors for the internal evidence test and doesn't defend their reliability of as eye-witnesses... McDowell doesn't explain away any alleged Bible contradictions... McDowell does nothing to defend the reliability of the Bible against various attacks such as contradictions, inconsistencies, etc.
... McDowell than goes into some of the archeological findings. Here again readers are getting buried with quotes from authorities. However, there was one or two quotes I found questionble! Consider his quotes regarding the tower of Bable and the diversification of languages! ... No tests are shown, no studies are referenced, no arguments are put forth! ... Refuting alternative theories of the resurrection is helpful, but not convincing... McDowell failed miserably in the most important chapter of the book... In conclusion, McDowell's case is only slightly better than Henry Morris' case for the Christian faith. I would recommend this book only to test the effiency of a document-shedder. For Christians who think highly of McDowell's works..for crying out loud! Raise your standards! No wonder the Secular Web had a field day picking this book apart! No judge in his right mind would allow evidence like this to be presented to a jury in the first place!

Documentation is extensive in the book, and arguments are clearly stated and easy to understand. There is a useful index, and sections are labeled and can be used to find specific topics. If there is a weakness in the book it is that McDowell tries to cover too much ground. I found the treatment of religions outside of Christianity to be so general as to not be too useful. The book is very useful, however, to answer a great deal of criticism of the Bible and Christianity, and I recommend it highly for that purpose.

While the book is a good referance source for Christians, I find it lacking enough evidence for conversion of non believers let alone skeptics. I would have to equate it with using Peter Pan to validate Captain Hook. Still all in all it is interesting reading.

Who was Jesus? After reading this book you should have no doubt! If you are really interested in knowing the truth about Jesus Christ, then research what this book says! You will become a believer, if you really want to know the truth! This book puts the intellect on the back burner! Thanks, Josh for your wonderful book!