The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell

When Josh McDowell was a pre-law student, he was challenged by a group of Christians to investigate the claims of Jesus from a purely intellectual standpoint. At the time, he felt supremely confident Christianity would fail such an examination, so he set out to prove that Christianity was a sham. Along the way, he discovered something else; he discovered Jesus.

The Evidence that Demands a Verdict may have started out as an attempt to prove Christianity intellectually false. What is has now become is something completely different. McDowell uncovered in his research the incredible resiliency of the Christian faith, and the strength of its intellectual claims. Thus, when he came to setting out his findings, he ended up creating one of the best Christian apologetic references available. And now he has made that reference work even better, revising it and updating it for the 21st century.

The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict maintans and strengthens McDowell's original arguments for the validity of Christianity. Jam-packed with information, this book looks at why the Bible can be trusted, including its historical reliability and accuracy. McDowell explains who Jesus is, and why the New Testament record of his personality and ministry is the best and most authentic source available. He also explains how several worldviews have attempted to discredit Christianity, particularly through the methods of biblical, form, and textual criticism. McDowell also examines several philosophical systems, including skepticism, agnosticism, and mysticism, and offers a cogent defense of the idea and reality of miracles.

Few apologetics books can claim the intellectual breadth that The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict has. It's extensive bibliography and documentation give it a firm foundation that enables it to weather even the strongest criticism. It has been a classic apologetic reference since its first publication, and it is now even better.