This
review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained
therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to
copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions.
Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, & Librarything by
Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: New Evidence That Demands A
Verdict
Authors: Josh
McDowell
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Non-fiction, Christian Apologetics
Pages: 800
Words:
400K
Table of Contents
Table
of Contents
Forward
Preface
User's
Guide
Explanation
of General Format
Acknowledgments
He
Changed My Life
Introduction
PART
ONE: THE CASE FOR THE BIBLE
1.
The Uniqueness of the Bible
An
intelligent person seeking truth would certainly read and consider a
book that has the historical qualifications of the Bible. Unique
qualifications that set the Scriptures apart from every other book
ever written.
2.
How We Got the Bible
Materials
used. Bible divisions. Why just thirty-nine Old Testament books and
twenty-seven New Testament books? What about the Apocrypha? Why not
other books?
3. Is
the New Testament Historically Reliable?
The
tests applied to all ancient literature to determine reliability. How
does the New Testament compare? Archaeological finds confirming the
New Testament.
4. Is
the Old Testament Historically Reliable?
Bibliographical
test. Internal evidence test. Archaeological evidence demonstrating
the trustworthiness of the Old Testament.
PART
TWO: THE CASE FOR JESUS
5.
Jesus, A Man of History
Documented
sources of extrabiblical historical references to Jesus of Nazareth.
6. If
Jesus Wasn't God, He Deserves an Oscar
The
character of Christ and His claims to deity, with emphasis on secular
and Jewish sources.
7.
Significance of Deity: The Trilemma--Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?
If
the New Testament records about Jesus are historically accurate,
there remain only three logical choices concerning His identity.
8.
Support of Deity: Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus Christ
Illustrations
of the probabilities that all prophecies could be fulfilled in one
man, in response to the critic who says, "It is all just a
coincidence." Emphasis on Jewish sources to answer the
accusation, "That's the way you Christians look at them, but
what about the Jews?"
9.
Support of Deity: The Resurrection--Hoax or History?
This
heavily documented section of evidence for Christ's resurrection
refutes theories set forth to disclaim this miracle.
10.
Support of Deity: The Great Proposition
The
"if…then" argument applied to Christ: "If God became
man, then what would He be like?" Quotations and observations of
great Christians and non-Christians about the person, character,
life, and death of Jesus of Nazareth, and His impact on the world for
two thousand years.
PART
THREE: THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST CHRISTIANITY
Section
I. Introduction
This
section deals with inspiration of the Bible, anti-supernaturalism,
and archaeology. All three topics relate to the documentary
hypothesis and form criticism. There they are treated at the
beginning rather than under each of the following two sections.
11.
Is the Bible from God?
Part
1 presents the case that the Bible is historically accurate. Here the
case is made that the Bible is trustworthy in that it is inspired by
a perfect God.
12.
The Presupposition of Anti-supernaturalism
A
presentation of the presuppositions of both documentarians and form
critics. Often the alleged objective historical conclusions are
molded by a subjective worldview.
Section
II. Documentary Hypothesis
The
discipline of literary criticism applied to the Pentateuch is
examined along with evidence for Mosaic authorship.
14.
Introduction to the Documentary Hypothesis
What
is the documentary hypothesis? What are the JEDP documents?
15.
Introduction to Biblical Criticism
Biblical
criticism defined and the different critical schools explained.
16.
Introduction to the Pentateuch
The
purpose and importance of the first five biblical books.
17.
Development of the Documentary Hypothesis
A
description of the various documentary theories and their modern
revisions.
18.
Ground Rules
The
ancient oriental environment provides various principles to apply to
the Old Testament.
19.
Documentary Presuppositions
An
investigation of the four basic documentary assumptions: (1) The
priority of source analysis over archaeology; (2) a natural view of
Israel's religion and history; (3) the theory that there was no
writing in Israel at Moses' time; and (4) the legendary view of the
patriarchal narratives.
20.
Consequences of Radical High Criticism
A
discussion of the results of Israel's history being viewed as
unhistorical, fraudulent, and naturalistic.
21.
Evidence for Mosaic Authorship
The
internal and external testimony for Moses' authorship of the
Pentateuch.
22.
The Phenomenon of Divine Names
The
various uses of the divine names (Elohim, Yahweh, and others) are put
in perspective.
23.
The Repetition of Accounts and Alleged Contradictions
Certain
stories in the Pentateuch are said to be repeated, and others to have
contradictory details.
24.
Incongruities
The
writing in the third person and the record of Moses' death are
factors said to be incongruous with Mosaic authorship.
25.
Internal Diversity
A
discussion of the assumed difference of subject matter, style and
diction.
26.
Conclusion to the Documentary Hypothesis
Section
III. Biblical Criticism and the New Testament
Basic
tenets of form criticism examined. Practical answers to basic
assumptions and conclusions. The modern quest for the historical
Jesus.
27.
Introduction to New Testament Form Criticism
Form
criticism is defined and its purpose and proponents discussed.
28.
Historical Skepticism
The
reliability of the record of the historical Jesus is examined.
29.
Jesus Under Fire
An
examination of the historical quests for Jesus and their culmination
in the Jesus Seminar.
30.
Conclusion to Form Criticism
A
look at the contribution and limitations of the form critical
approach.
31.
Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism
by C.
S. Lewis
PART
FOUR: TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
Personal
Note from the Author
32.
The Nature of Truth
33.
The Knowability of Truth
34.
Answering Postmodernism
35.
Answering Skepticism
36.
Answering Agnosticism
37.
Answering Mysticism
38.
Certainty vs. Certitude
39.
Defending Miracles
40.
Is History Knowable?
Bibliography
Biographical
Sketches of Selected Authors
Author
Index
Subject
Index
The
Four Spiritual Laws
This version of “Evidences” was published in 1999 and consisted
of McDowell's previous Evidences I & II with updates for a
changing culture. Since this version there has been another version,
updated by McDowell and his son Sean as our culture continues to
change and the questions asked are different from even 20 years ago.
I read this mainly for the first part about whether we can trust the
Bible or not. I feel that Part 2 and Part 3 flow from that answer and
so am not nearly as concerned about that. The final and fourth part
is for people who sit up at night worrying about whether there is a
God and the consequences of deciding either way. Somebody needs to
address those, but I'm not concerned with them.
McDowell himself recommends not reading this straight through but
simply choosing an area that interests you or that you have questions
about and diving in. This is setup in the way a scholarly paper would
be, with main points and then sub-points drillling down so a chapter
might look like 1, A, A1,A2,B,B1, 2,A, A1, A1a etc. Because of this,
there is a lot of repetition as many of the same answers apply to
different questions and challenges.
I started reading this in October of last year and used this for my
work read. I'd read 5 or 10 minutes a day at work and have finally
wrapped this up. The final part was hard for me to get through
because it wasn't what I was looking into, but as I knew that going
in, it wasn't a frustrating experience.
Thinking about this, I'd recommend it to Christians who feel a need
to bolster their knowledge about how what they believe is based on
more than Airy Fairy Nonsense. For non-Christians, I'd say it would
help someone who is genuinely seeking an answer to “What is
Truth?”. McDowell does address the fact that there are a lot of
people who are asking questions but who either don't want a genuine
answer or who simply want what they already think confirmed. You
can't MAKE someone believe something, no matter how much evidence is
presented to them.
Overall, this was a very strengthening read for me, a shot in the old
arm, as it were. I am sure I will be revisiting various parts of this
book as the years pass.
★★★★★