I was recently asked to do a book review for the latest edition of Evidence That Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth For a Skeptical World. I was more than willing to accept because this book has been important to me for a long time. This book definitely belongs in your apologetic library.
Authors
Evidence is written by Josh (father) and Sean (son) McDowell. Josh first published the book back in 1972 after his journey to faith from skepticism. He began publicly speaking about the evidence for Christian faith and soon compiled his research in the form of a book. The latest edition has updated information, as the evidence continues grow!
Sean McDowell has a PhD in Apologetic and Worldview Studies from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Following in his father’s footsteps, he travels all over the world to speak about the Christian faith. Personally, I have found his ministry to be very helpful.
Content
The book is very large. As such, you may not want to approach it like a novel, but as a resource – like a textbook. Or, if you’re a nerd like me, you will read it from cover to cover! The book is broken down into four major parts:
- Evidence for the Bible.
- Evidence for Jesus.
- Evidence for the Old Testament.
- Evidence for truth.
I would add that the “Prologue” could be classified as a fifth major section that could’ve been titled “Evidence for God”. The prologue is good stuff; read it!
One-Stop Shop
My favorite aspect of the book was how detailed and thorough it was. This book leaves nothing un-turned. Every question is scrutinized, and objecting voices are dealt with throughout. If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for apologetics, this book is for you!
Love Josh Mcdowell! So does it have a good appendix to aid in looking up various topics? Is it eazy to find what your looking for on specific subjects?
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Yes, it does. Also has a great “recommended reading” page at the beginning for further resources.
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Thanks
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Thank you so much for this review. The first book made such an impact on the Christian world, and know the second is as timely and needed today! God bless!
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Having a degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is most likely the reason we don’t see a section titled: Evidence for the New Covenant. Of course, most denominations love the law of the Old Covenant because it makes the controlling and corralling of people so much easier.
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No one at Help Me Believe has a degree from there. Thanks for your thoughts have a good day!
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Thank you for the excellent review. I have the first set of these as they came to me in two volumes. McDowell is one of my favorites along with several others such as Ravi Zacharias. I am going to have to add this updated work to my library. Blessings to you and yours continually,
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