I see Josh McDowell's "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, SJ's "Handbook of Christian Apologetics" (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1994), and Lee Strobel's "The Case for Faith" (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000) as companion volumes. In fact, McDowell frequently references Kreeft and Tacelli, while they return the favor. One chapter of Strobel's book consists of an interview with Peter Kreeft.
For the believer, "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict," is a delightful collection of basic Christian apologetics, marinated in tasty data from biblical archeology and other branches of modern science. As a compendium of basic common sense, it comprises an in-your-face (but loving for all that) challenge to unbelievers (or better said, "not-yet-believers") and other skeptics, as it will knock one off that familiar and oh-so-comfortable high horse. It challenges the mushy sentimentality behind the notion that all religious creeds are basically equal - the idea that choosing a creed is akin to choosing an ice cream from any one of 31 delicious flavors.
Very methodically and with the precision which we have come to expect from all those "Law and Order" and C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation) television shows, "Inspector" Josh McDowell looks at "The Case for the Bible," "The Case for Jesus," and "The Case for and Against Christianity." A final section, "Truth or Consequences," not only sums up overwhelming evidence for the jury - but reviews basic logic, in case we try to skip out on bail into a state of denial!
The Case for the Bible: Just as a collection of historical literary works, the Bible is so undeniably unique that no intelligent person would want to be ignorant of it (Yet, plenty are!). As per McDowell, "The Old Testament has been shown to be reliable in at least three major ways: (1) textual transmission (the accuracy of the copying process down through history, (2) the confirmation of the Old Testament by hard evidence uncovered through archaeology, and (3) documentary evidence also uncovered through archaeology" (p. 69)." He introduces us to the science of historiography (with its bibliograhical, internal evidence, and external evidence tests), to gauge the historical reliability of New Testament documents.
While McDowell's book makes powerful arguments, I do not agree with everything he has written. He treats the Septuagint (i.e., the Greek translation of the Old Testament done for Jews of Alexandria, around 250 B.C.) inconsistently: At times, he treats inclusion in the Septuagint as confirmation of authenticity (eg.,
- "These books appear with the rest of the Hebrew canonical books in the Greek translation of the Hebrew canon called the Septuagint (LXX)" (pp. 26 - 27);
- "Paul Enns notes that [the Septuagint] '...is based on a Hebrew text one thousand years older than our existing Hebrew manuscript....'" (p. 83).
- "The Septuagint was the Bible of Jesus and the apostles. Most New Testament quotations are taken from it directly" (p.89)).
In the sixteenth century A.D., Martin Luther rejected the Septuagint and several of its books or parts thereof. McDowell's treatment could seem disingenuous:
- "the Greek Old Testament of the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew canon in the quality of its translation as well as its content and arrangement" (p. 83).
- "The Apocrypha consists of the books added to the Old Testament by the Roman Catholic Church. Protestants reject these additions as canonical Scripture" (p. 29).
The Case for Jesus: No one ventures to put forth the position that Jesus Christ is a fictional character; no one denies that He walked this earth. In one chapter, McDowell takes us on a fascinating exploration of Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Directly and indirectly, Inspector McDowell maintains that there is no getting around the fact that this Jesus Christ claimed to be God. As per John 8:58, for example, "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (p.142). The people of Jesus' time knew what this meant: "the renowned [Catholic] biblical scholar [Father] Raymond Brown writes in reference to this passage, 'No clearer implication of divinity is found in the gospel tradition" (p. 143). Now what sort of sane, moral "fella" goes around saying He's God - if He's not. Either, He's telling the truth, He's lying, or He's nuts. McDowell insists that logic does not give us a fourth option. Perhaps, the easiest way to discredit Jesus would have been to come up with His body, disproving His disciples reports of the resurrection - no one ever did so! And not for lack of trying!
The Case For and Against Christianity: As per McDowell, "it is important to understand a common misconception and faulty mind-set held by most antagonists of the Bible: the presupposition of anti-supernaturalism" (p. 349). "The anti-supernaturalist bases his thinking on the presupposition that God has not intervened in history. Therefore he rejects evidence indicating the supernatural no matter how convincing" (p. 368).
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