I was first given this book by an old lady at my Church, this was like, 6 years ago. I tried reading it through, and I found it deathly boring. I read it again last week, man, it was good. Crazy how your interests change over the years.
OVERVIEW
In More Than a Carpenter, a short and easy-to-read book, Josh Mcdowell (author of the amazing Evidence that Demands a Verdict ) traces back his journey to faith in Christ. Mcdowell begins and ends the book with his personal testimony (which is a perfectly valid argument for Christ!). The bulk of the book, however, are many pieces of evidence for the deity of Christ and the legitimacy of Christianity. It even includes a chapter by Josh’s son, Sean (whom I am a big fan of).
The topics included are: The uniqueness of Jesus, the legitimate claims of Jesus, the problem of science and new atheism, the reliability of the New Testament, the testimonies of the disciples, the conversion of Saul, the courage of the disciples, and the messianic prophecies. All of these topics are supplemented with quotations from scholars and other really smart people.
WHY READ THIS?
This book is an excellent starting place for someone who is new to apologetics or someone who is curious about whether Christianity is true or not. The book is short, very easy to read, and very persuasive. The topics covered in this book are basically all of the basic knowledge a Christian needs to defend the truth of his/her faith.
I have read countless testimonies of people who read this small book and became convinced of the truth of Christianity and thus got saved! Frank Turek, the founder of Cross Examined, was inspired to begin his apologetics career by reading this book!
So yeah, if you’re a beginner apologist or someone searching for truth, READ THIS!!!
POTENTIAL PITFALLS
This is a very introductory book. It will get your foot through the door when it comes to apologetics. I would recommend you dive deep into each of the topics mentioned in this book to gain a better understanding of the arguments and counter-arguments before you use them in conversation. Most of the quotations from scholars are from Christians, which is fine, but you should diversify your sources if you are searching for truth.
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