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72 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece, August 17, 2001
I was raised a Roman Catholic as far back as I can remember. Tragedies in my life immeasurably challenged my belief in God. It was challenged to the point where I began to despise talk of religion, specifically the faith I was raised with -- Christianity. I began to consistently ask myself, "Is God real??" My "blind belief" wavered to the point where I found myself with a strong tendency to challenge religious believers, almost to the point of unconsciously trying to convince them out of their faith whenever I can. I became a man of logic and reasoning, and simply could not entertain "blind belief" in any way. Then I read this book. It was logical and compelling, and I found myself with no sound way to refute what Josh McDowell was saying. I could criticize his thoroughness, but diving into excruciating detail onto the sciences he employed would've been criticized as redundant. It did not have the "hype" and "hoopla" of "Praise the Lord!" mentality. It was just plain scientific reasoning, logic, and common sense. I saw the criticisms other people had of this book, and I find it hard to understand how they could castigate this book as they did. I was very steadfast in my resentment towards Christianity, but I was influenced otherwise -- I just had to be because the logic that the author used, for me, made sense. For example, I lost a great deal of faith in Christianity when I learned how the Bible was written many years after Jesus' death, and that it was largely a result of "word of mouth". But the author points out that if the miracles of Jesus were farce, how can it withstand its persistence through all those years? If any of us decided to make some sensational claim like being able to fly without wings, and if we were to start disseminating such information, how long do you think that will last? Will it last decades so as to eventually land on a book of "facts"? The point here is that the human way of doing things has a way of weeding out untruths and inaccuracies of "news", and that the words and deeds of Jesus would not have lasted as long as it did if there were no corroborations so strong as to withstand such forces; this is true for anything, religious incidents or otherwise. For me, this was a reasonable and persuasive argument that Jesus did do what he did, or it would have been shot down way sooner, much less making it into a book. I only have 1000 words for this review, so let me end it by saying this. I now am totally convinced that God and Jesus are REAL. It is hard to accept that at this day and age, and I've been through that phase of constant skepticism. My biggest arsenal against Christianity was my own intellect. But this book used the very foundation I had for disbelieving to show me otherwise. How can I not respect that?
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50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Day I Began to Doubt I Got This Book, February 2, 2001
Throughout my life, I have been proud of being intelligent AND a Christian. But never until high school did I start hearing from non-believing peers that I MUST be blind; how can a Christian be in any way intelligent? I decided not to listen to them -- until one day during college, EVERY doubt I ever had of my faith emerged. The day the earth came down -- I ran to my Christian friends in desperate help, and the first book I came upon through recommendation was this book. Evidently, this was a Christian classic. And so I began to read, and from this experience, I learned a couple things and other points in hindsight, for viewers to know. 1) Josh McDowell has a powerful testimony. Just that made me feel a little better. However, my intellect told me I can't base my beliefs completely on other people's experiences. 2) I found out I was an extreme skeptic, and I had no idea how powerful my doubts were. I even wondered if I had EVER been a Christian. 3) This is a great introductory book into apologetics. It outlines the basics of most arguments an apologist can give. It's almost a mini-handbook, insightful and a comfort. 4) However, the very fact that I was not completely assured or fully convinced afterward says something. The book only made me want to run right to Jerusalem and start doing my own personal research; why? The book's arguments were 80% of the time decent and challenging enough to keep you encouraged you may be on the right track, but the other 20% was vague and lacking in thought of other possibilities. Yet, in hindsight, I would still recommend this to skeptics as an introductory book and helpful in your search for truth (good enough to get 3 stars from me!!), but this should not be your sole source to the evidence of Christianity. Overall, I left this book a little disappointed but also encouraged enough to go on and read more. Yes, I persevered. McDowell's book became my steam engine due to its good qualities, and so I kept on. I researched for several months over other books by McDowell ("A Ready Defense" is incredible, and "The Resurrection Factor" is thought provoking), Lee Strobel, Philip Yancey, Ravi Zacharias and even the Bible. And you know what? I'm still intelligent and a stronger Christian than I ever have been. I may have even become a TRUE Christian due to my reading and determination. Check out my wish list -- you will find out I'm not being phony here at all. I encourage you, overall, to read this as this is a great overview, then KEEP on reading. Don't give up. This book is only a good, decent foundation to today's apologetics.
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77 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A simple, easy to read case for the claims of Jesus Christ, October 13, 2000
If you are trying to find a simple, easy to read case for the claims of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, Josh McDowell's "More Than A Carpenter" is what you've been looking for. It is not a powerful apologetic or a theological masterpiece but it is a great introduction into the study of who Jesus Christ really is. The foundation of the book is based on the three primary possibilities for who Christ is; Lord, liar or lunatic. This is backed up with a defense of the reliability of the Scriptures, an argument from changed lives over history and an argument for Christ's resurrection. I highly recommend the book to those wanting an introduction to who Jesus really is. The book will probably not convinced the hardened skeptic, but for many, it will be an opportunity for God to open their hearts and minds to the truth, that when received by faith, can transform their lives. If you are looking for apologetics, I recommend Ravi Zacharias, J.P Moreland or Norman Geisler. For a deeper examination of the claims of Christ from another skeptic turned Christian, you may want to check "The Case for Christ," by Lee Stroble.
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