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The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today
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Average Rating:  out of 98 Reviews
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Price: $29.99
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Sale: $13.00
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Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780785242192
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Hardcover
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Author: Josh McDowell
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Publisher: Thomas Nelson
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Edition: Rev Upd
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Dewey Decimal Number: 220.601
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Publication Date: 1999-11-23
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Reading Level: 800
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Description: Bestselling author and Christian apologist Josh McDowell hopes The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict will further document historical evidence of the Christian faith. As such, it is a straightforward compilation of notes prepared for his lecture series, "Christianity: Hoax or History?" The entire book (over 750 pages) is laid out in outline form, which makes it easier for researchers, scholars, and students to access. As a result, this is not reflective fireside reading. Rather, it is a tool for locating supporting "evidence" whenever the need arises. Part I addresses the trustworthiness of the Bible; Part II offers historical evidence and supporting attestations for Jesus' claim to God; Part III addresses "radical Christian criticism" of the Bible; Part IV is devoted to quelling the voice of numerous skeptics, including "a defense for the existence of miracles" and "answers to divergent worldview."
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Logic in Short Supply Here |
Date: 2008-12-22 |
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Details: Sorry fundamentalists to rain on the parade here, I noticed the average rating for this book was 4 stars. That says a lot in itself about folks' abilities to reason clearly (or not).
McDowell (and other Christian apologists like him) tend to browbeat believers (apologetics are almost never read by outsiders), using a lot of ink to present arguments that, if one steps outside the religious conditioning involved, seem rather silly. Never mind what avowed atheists think, we're talking here merely of sheer lack of common sense. The "enemy" for fundamentalist apologists isn't necessarily those atheist arch skeptics, it's even worse- the enemy is simple logic.
Take, for example, McDowell's many arguments in defense of the supposed "infallacy" of the Scriptures. McDowell does what all evangelical apologists do, and tosses out various scriptures supporting this view, never once realizing that this is a circular argument. One simply cannot use a source text as "proof" of it's own assertions. What's funny is, his preaching buddies on the evangelical TV circuit also use the same tactics and don't realize these simple logical errors make this whole effort highly amusing to non-believers. Actually, you'll see fundamentalist apologists use this tactic for ALL of their literalist readings, trying to convince outsiders with the "evidence" being ultimately only that source material itself :-).
Let me give another example that is my own personal favorite. McDowell (and others) like to quote the old "trilemma" argument from C.S.Lewis that supposedly gives you only 3 choices: Jesus was either God, lunatic, or liar- take your pick. But he has to be one of the three, and we know he wasn't a liar or lunatic...er...but hold on...
Now, most skeptics easily see through the numerous holes in this line of reasoning, but for some reason apologists like McDowell dutifully repeat these old chestnuts, seemingly unable to examine the assertions carefully at all.
First of all, why only these three choices? It's a false trilemma. One can easily come up with other possibilities of who Jesus was, and modern biblical criticism has presented many different portraits (doing so considering the weight of historical material much more rigorously than McDowell is able to).
Furthermore, let us note that, according to some of the Gospel passages, even Jesus' own family thought he was nuts (early in his preaching career) and wanted to seize him and take him home :-). So the "lunatic" angle, ironically, was evidently considered by his OWN FAMILY...Now I don't think the lunatic angle really describes Jesus well, but there is no question his preaching promoted a lot of different reactions, which the fundamentalists gloss over in their simplistic summaries.
Probably the most logical picture of Jesus as his own contemporaries saw him is as a Jewish Rabbi, or "teacher". One sees him addressed as such many times in the Gospel accounts. Contrary to McDowell's reasoning (and C.S. Lewis' as well), the idea of Jesus as a human "teacher" (or perhaps an apocalyptic prophet, or both) is pretty much how his contemporaries viewed him. Theological views which see him walking around as the 2nd Person in the Trinity should properly be seen as add-ons coming several centuries later, which even the Catholic Church now admits.
So much for the "analysis" (I use the term loosely) by McDowell and Co...
I could go on and on, but no need to. McDowell's arguments, which are typical of the whole field, are supposedly intended to convince outsiders, but in reality are written for true believers. It is pretty much brain-washing intended for "insiders"; the outsiders don't bother. And it does it's purpose well, serving to give well-meaning folks a false sense of security that their literalist beliefs are on solid ground intellectually. That probably sums up the great majority reviewing the book here.
It does take some effort for an avowed fundamentalist to separate from religious conditioning to see some of the logical flaws, and it is the rare one who will make that effort. When they do, apologists like McDowell loose their grip. Are there any "heroes" in the fundie crowd here that are willing to take this leap? After all, Christianity is much larger than your current fundamentalism...
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Review Summary: The New Evidence |
Date: 2008-11-18 |
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Details: This book is an amazing reference for the individual who does not know what to believe about the Bible as well as the young Christian who wants to be able to answer those difficult questions from non-believers. |
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Review Summary: An Appeal to the Mind |
Date: 2008-08-25 |
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Details: This update of Mr. McDowell's original "Evidence" book should help it become a favorite for a new generation inquiring minds. A careful read is akin to taking a college-level course in Christian apologetics, except there's no final exam. It arms the reader with an enormous array of facts, figures, stunning quotations, and arguments that support the reasonableness of the Christian faith. It also debunks a lot of specious assertions against important tenets like the accuracy of scripture and the historicity of Jesus. It can be a huge eye-opener, even for people who grew up in a church. I particularly like the way he handles the "liar, lunatic, or Lord" question, the demonstration that today's scriptures are very close to the original writings, and the arguments that many people who saw the resurrected Christ were willing to die for their beliefs. If you want to be fully equipped to give a complete and compelling answer the question of why you believe what you do, you need to say more that "it works for me". (After all, in times of trial you will be asking yourself this very question!) A command of this material will provide you with innumerable legs on which your faith can firmly stand. This is not a quick read; it is more like diamond mining, where your persistence will be richly rewarded. |
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Review Summary: good reading |
Date: 2008-06-04 |
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Details: This is a readable book for the lay person. Very thought provoking. It is written in the comman man's language. |
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Review Summary: This book changed by life |
Date: 2008-06-02 |
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Details: This is easily one of the best Christian books in print today. This book took my faith to the next level, and reinforced it with clear undeniable FACTS. It's a tough read, as the format isn't for relaxing bedtime reading, but you won't regret time spent studying this fantastic book. |
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