First, the Old Testament contains numerous prophecies concerning the rise and fall of various nations and cities surrounding Israel, such as Egypt, Tyre and Sidon, Babylon, and Nineveh. 37 Montgomery, “Death of the ‘Death of God,’” in Suicide of Christian Theology, 101. The bibliographical test does not establish the factual accuracy of the historical narratives in the documents, only that the documents as we know them are substantially the same as they were when originally written. In other words, there is no one explanation for each instance of evil. Geivett, R. Douglas. 515 b.c.–a.d. 36 In 2004, Antony Flew acknowledged that recent scientific discoveries had convinced him that some kind of God along the lines of Aristotle’s “God” (a powerful, intelligent being that is the uncaused cause of the universe) probably exists. . Paperback, 9780840743787, 0840743785 Using secular evidences and other historical sources, Josh McDowell's faith-building book is a "must read" for every Christian. Parenthetical references in this section are to the former work by Beckwith; emphasis is in the original. Although most scientists admit that the universe had a beginning, many try to remain agnostic as to its cause. 13 See further The Evidence of Prophecy, ed. Logically, we can reverse this challenge to other ‘gods’ and ask if the God of the Bible can predict the future Himself. 44 The expression “convergence of independent probabilities” comes from Montgomery, who in turn attributes it to Cardinal John Henry Newman; see Beckwith, “History and Miracles,” in In Defense of Miracles, ed. (62-63). We see here a telling, even defining, difference between the evidentialist and the classical apologist. . Specifically, the theory that God exists helps explain the existence of the world (the cosmological argument), its order and basic beauty (the teleological argument), as well as human consciousness (the argument from mind) and morality (the moral argument).25, Likewise, William Lane Craig has developed the cosmological and teleological proofs into complex arguments combining philosophical reasoning with scientific evidence. (2) We must know that it was given before the event. For example, Francis Beckwith objects to the Baha’i teaching that all the world’s major religions were inspired by God. “Introduction” – Here Sean and Josh take some valuable space to deal with misconceptions about Christianity and the “assumptions behind those misconceptions.” I thought this was a very thoughtful section to add. The internal test considers the claims of the writings as to their historicity and internal consistency. Montgomery tells of a conversation he had with Eliade in which the renowned scholar agreed that “Christianity’s unique, historical focus on a ‘once-for-all’ incarnation of God in Christ” sharply distinguishes it from mythical and mystical religions. Main Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Life-Changing Truth for a Skeptical World. Montgomery emphasizes that we have many more manuscript copies for the New Testament writings than for other ancient writings, and that the time gap between the earliest complete copies and the originals is smaller for the New Testament than for other ancient writings (26-29). . Geivett’s own response to the evidential problem of evil is based on the positive evidence for God’s existence. “PART IV: Evidence for Truth” – The final section deals with the philosophical issues that are very relevant in dealing with our culture today. You’ll also notice a variety of endorsements across the board from different professions which is a testimony to the impact earlier versions of this book have had in the past. 27), how and why you can know the truth (ch. Ever since David Hume’s critique of belief in miracles, answering skepticism about the rationality of believing any such events occur has been of crucial importance in Christian apologetics, and this problem is the focus of Beckwith’s book. How about dealing with the objection that Christianity is a copy-cat religion? It is a bold statement, but untrue. Below I’m going to list the sections in the book and a brief synopsis of each. Be sure to pick this up when it comes out tomorrow! 5 On fulfilled prophecy in apologetics, see Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, 609-617. He is the God of the Jewish people who inspired the Old Testament, who sent Jesus his Son into the world for our salvation, and who commissioned the apostles and their associates to establish the Christian church and to produce the New Testament. To begin, not every book gets the accolades it deserves, but this book has been endorsed by some top tier apologists: Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias, William Lane Craig and Mary Jo Sharp are a few. Josh McDowell's book Evidence That Demands a Verdict has been variously described as an authoritative defense of Christianity and a masterpiece of Christian apologetics, which provides scholarly, intelligent, well-grounded answers to questions about the Christian faith. Like many in my generation, I grew up with a copy of Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict (henceforth, Evidence) on the bookshelf.Over the years, I frequently consulted Evidence to quell doubts and provide ammunition to fire back at the skeptics on topics like evolution and the authorship … Hume himself had enunciated the evidentialist principle that “a wise man . . Theists, in my experience, usually agree with atheists that the amount of evil in the world makes it harder to believe in a good God. . Again following Montgomery, Beckwith favors “the legal model of evaluating evidence” as the best method for determining whether to believe a particular miracle claim (122). . He will suffer ignominiously yet be vindicated and exalted as universal ruler (Psalm 22; Isaiah 52:13–53:12). 4. He performed deeds that were interpreted as miracles. Evidentialists are aware of the common criticism that the Gospel writers take the Old Testament texts out of context, but they reply that this criticism is without merit. Habermas writes: “In particular, when the early and eyewitness experiences of the disciples, James, and Paul are considered, along with their corresponding transformations and their central message, the historical Resurrection becomes the best explanation for the facts, especially because the alternative theories have failed. Evidentialists marshal evidences from a number of directions to build a cumulative case for the truth of the Bible. Craig makes the same point in somewhat more developed fashion: . Given its human impossibility, its uniqueness (i.e., nobody who has made similar claims, except C, has ever performed R), C’s claim that God is responsible for R, its existential and teleological significance (i.e., C performed R at a particular time t, not at any other time), and the religious context of the event (i.e., C performed R when his claims about himself hinged on the actuality of R occurring at time t), it becomes apparent that a particular message is being communicated through this event, namely, C is God’s chosen one. (3) Stroll begs the question by assuming that the miraculous events reported in the Gospels could not have happened simply because they were miraculous (19-21). “There is room for speculation about the mystery surrounding God’s actual reasons for permitting evil. . These claims should be accepted at face value as truthful unless and until evidence to the contrary is produced. 48 For example, Habermas and Flew, Did Jesus Rise from the Dead, 19-20; Craig and Crossan, Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up, 26-28; and especially Habermas and Licona, Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, 43-77. Only at this point does Beckwith discuss God’s existence. . . 52 See especially Habermas, “Resurrection Appearances of Jesus,” in In Defense of Miracles, edited by Geivett and Habermas, 262-275. . With the original Evidence That Demands a Verdict, bestselling author Josh McDowell gave Christian readers the answers they needed to defend their faith against the harshest critics and sceptics. See “My Pilgrimage from Atheism to Theism: A Discussion between Antony Flew and Gary Habermas,” Philosophia Christi 6 (2004): 197-211. "[] According to the table of contents of ETDAV, this chapter lists "documented sources of the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth apart from the Bible. Sean noted that in Chapter 3 there are some outstanding new evidences they included to support the reliability of scripture! (239-240). “APPENDIX: Responding to the Challenges of Bart Ehrman” – A special section dealing with the (well-known at least in apologetic circles) skeptic Bart Ehrman who has made a career out of creating popular-level books casting doubt on Christianity. 7 Bernard Ramm, Protestant Christian Evidences (Chicago: Moody Press, 1953), 85. That is, a miracle is (a) scientifically inexplicable, (b) religiously significant, and (c) supernaturally (or, divinely) caused. 34 Notable discussions include Moreland, Scaling the Secular City, 52-55; Richard Swinburne, “Argument from the Fine-Tuning of the Universe,” in Physical Cosmology and Philosophy, ed. Well now there is an outstanding resource at your fingertips to deal with these objections and more! Securing belief in God is not considered a prerequisite to taking this first step; only clearing away any methodological or philosophical assumptions that prejudge the question of the truth of the biblical narratives is necessary. Whether you’ve read the earlier version of the book before or not you’ll want to cover each of these! “He Changed My Life” – Here Sean interviews his father Josh McDowell about what brought him to consider Christianity and what truly brought him to his knees before Christ… you may be surprised to find that although the evidence played an important part, it was not the evidence that made him a Christian! Evidence That Demands a Verdict - Introduction SECTION III. The Gospels, especially Matthew, strongly emphasize the idea that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. Afterword by John Hick. Geivett and Habermas, 98; cf. Championing the Faith: A Layman’s Guide to Proving Christianity’s Claims. . It invites readers to bring their doubts and doesn't shy away from the tough questions. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1997. Therefore, it may be concluded that the Resurrection is a probable historical event.”53. 4:4-7), 3. I bought an older version (maybe this one is better) which was written as bullet points so reading it wasn't easy. “Evidence is not for proving the word of God, but rather for providing a reasoned basis for faith,” claims McDowell. 6), the lofty claims he made (ch. Flew asked us to imagine a situation in which we are told that an invisible gardener visits a garden every day and tends it. See also Robert C. Newman, “The Time of the Messiah,” in The Evidence of Prophecy, ed. An excellent example of an evidentialist treatment of miracles may be found in the work of Francis Beckwith, particularly his monograph critiquing David Hume’s argument against miracles.41. Extra props goes to Sean and Josh for adding this section! Unlike the classical apologist, though, he does not think such arguments are necessary. I am employing inductive reasoning understood according to the model of inference to the best explanation. The argument is now commonly based on the so-called anthropic cosmological principle, or more simply the anthropic principle.32 This term refers to the observation that numerous factors inherent in the universe appear to be just right for sustaining a universe in which life, including humanity, has even the possibility of existing. Besides passing tests of general historical reliability, Scripture functions in more profound ways as the source of evidence for its own truth and the truth claims of Christianity. ... Newman points out various paradoxical features of Old Testament messianic prophecies that find their natural and obvious fulfillment in Jesus. Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell. This is an extremely notable area because a lot about the historicity of specifics in the Old Testament are dealt with here. This assumes, of course, that we have already concluded that the event occurred at all. “How To Know God Personally” – A four page gospel presentation! Bloom identifies four criteria that need to be satisfied in order to conclude that a genuine prophecy has been given. Despite the similarities between the two approaches, there are some differences that justify recognizing them as two distinct ‘families’ or types of apologetics. The Gospels themselves report that the disciples were quite surprised, no doubt because no amount of preparation could overcome the shock of Jesus’ horrific death and the seeming end it put to all their hopes (cf. More plausible or factually based than the Resurrection of Jesus is presented 4 ) its content must be unusually or! Major non-Christian religions a good reason for permitting evil, a persecutor of the ‘ Death of,. 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