Note: This is from an Instagram story, so the space I had was limited. Regardless, this is the my favorite apologetics book of 2021. A must read!
J.Warner Wallace, the author of Cold-Case Christianity returns with another banger. This is an apologetics book like I've never seen before.
Wallace talks about the "Jesus effect". There seemed to be an explosion within humanity at the dawn of the Common Era (Jesus' arrival). Wallace argues in this book that Jesus is the root cause. The "Jesus explosion" caused a LOT of fallout!
Wallace discusses how Jesus greatly affected literature, science, arts, music, architecture, religion, culture, and more. And by greatly affected, I mean that Jesus influenced no one before or after Him. On top of all this, Wallace utilizes his cold-case detective skills to find the most important "person of interest" in human history.
Why read This?
As I said, this is a one-of-a-kind apologetics book. Wallace brought forth so many points that I have never considered before. If Jesus is who He said He is (savior of the world), then He must be extremely influential. Wallace argues with historical facts that Jesus was not only influential, but He is responsible for modern society.
Wallace takes us on a stroll through human history after Jesus. In every corner, we see traces of Christ. Whether it's science, arts, culture, you name it, a Jesus follower would have had a huge hand in its development and many cases, founding. The examples are pretty mind-blowing, Wallace went through a whole lot of research to find his conclusions. The best part is, Wallace also tells you about a riveting cold case that he solved. He ties together his cold case techniques with his research on Christianity.
Whether you're Christian or not, these things are worth considering. Why is it that a 1st century Jew who is of very low status, who has never married, who has not even set foot 2 miles away from His hometown, and crucified at age 33, left behind such an explosion of influence? Why is it that big names such as George Washington, Michelangelo, or Isaac Newton not only pales in comparison to Christ's influence but also ultimately owe their roots to Christ? Wallace offers a compelling answer.
Regardless of the religious aspect, I think there are many interesting lessons one can learn about humanity's history through this book.
Wallace does not forget to include the Gospel, I am very happy.
Potential Pitfalls:
I don't have sufficient background in history to fully analyze all of Wallace's claims, but he has very professionally left all his references in the back of the book for your investigation purposes.
The one big pitfall I have for Christians is this: don't get mistakenly prideful about this book's content. It's true that Christianity has had a HUGE impact on humanity's advancement, but never forget, it's not because CHRISTIANS are better than the rest. It's because the Lord they serve is. Don't put Christians on a pedestal because of this book. Without Christ, we are all nothing. If we take pride, we take pride in Christ!
The good that Christians have done for humanity is great evidence for Christ's goodness and His character, yes, but know that these big Christian names are far from perfect. Take Martin Luther as an example. We know him for the Reformation, great stuff. But he also had great contributions to antisemitism. Christians have done a lot of good things, yes, but it's also important to know about the bad, we are not perfect. Christ's teachings are perfect, but when we only look at His followers, very few will follow the teachings perfectly and many will corrupt the teachings and cause harm.
So, in essence, if you would like to use these arguments for apologetics (and they are good arguments), please remember to look at all sides of things.
Find more from J Warner Wallace here.
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