Faithful Thinkers

Forensic Faith by J. Warner Wallace- Audio Book Highlight

Introduction

If you consume a large portion of your material through audio, it is hard to get past a good deal on an excellent audio book. Twice every year ChristianAudio.com runs a sale on most of their collection, and you can usually pick up these great audio resources for $7.49. The time has come for the first sale of 2020, so I will be highlighting some of my favorite audio books. I'll include a few of my favorite quotes from the books, my recommendation from my chapter-by-chapter reviews, links to posts that were inspired by the books, and, of course, I will include links to the audio book deal throughout the article. Today, I am highlighting Forensic Faith by J. Warner Wallace.

Forensic Faith by J. Warner Wallace- My Recommendation

I have to say that ever since I heard that cold-case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace was working on a new book, I was extremely excited, especially when I heard it would be a book on learning how to be a Christian case-maker. I read and reviewed his two previous books (Cold-Case Christianity and God's Crime Scene). In those books, he brought a unique and powerful perspective, as a cold-case homicide detective, to presenting the case for Christ's resurrection and God's existence. However, many Christians are not convinced that there is even a need to make the case for the truth of our worldview. In "Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith," Wallace's aim is to appeal to these Christians, who are hesitant about making the case, by presenting them with the biblical reasons for making the case and the resources to do so.

Introduction

If you consume a large portion of your material through audio, it is hard to get past a good deal on an excellent audio book. Twice every year ChristianAudio.com runs a sale on most of their collection, and you can usually pick up these great audio resources for $7.49. The time has come for the first sale of 2020 (and following years), so I will be highlighting some of my favorite audio books. I'll include a few of my favorite quotes from the books, my recommendation from my chapter-by-chapter reviews, links to posts that were inspired by the books, and, of course, I will include links to the audio book deal throughout the article. Today, I am highlighting God's Crime Scene by J. Warner Wallace.

God's Crime Scene by J. Warner Wallace- My Recommendation

"God's Crime Scene" is the highly anticipated "sequel" to J. Warner Wallace's "Cold Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels". In his first investigation Wallace looks at the evidence for the claim that the Gospels were eye-witness accounts of the life of Jesus. In his latest book, he investigates the existence of God. He takes his experience and skill-set as a homicide detective to bring together the evidences and present them in a coherent and convincing manner for the jurors (readers) to decide.

This book was an engaging listen. For many people investigating the existence of God seems like a dull, philosophical project. To make matters worse, the resources to investigate seem overwhelming, so people do not know where to start. Because of the interest of people in criminal investigation (as evidenced by the popularity of both fictional and non-fictional crime investigation shows on TV and streaming services) and the fact that people often are involved with the criminal justice system (as a victim or juror), Wallace is able to use his skill set and experience as a homicide investigator to bring the investigation into God's existence to the masses. This audio book is not only filled with the evidences for God as the "suspect" in the "crime scene" of the universe, but Wallace includes stories of his own experiences and many stories that most people will connect with on a deep basis. Wallace's connection to the reader and his powerful case result in an audio book that I highly recommend for everyone to listen to and pass along to friends, family, and others who may be interesting in God's existence but may not know exactly where to start.

You can read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary review by clicking or tapping here.

Introduction

Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace- My Recommendation

Cold-Case Christianity is a fantastic book. The fact that many readers are familiar with detective work either through their own experience in our jobs or through watching the latest episodes of CSI on TV, makes his way of presenting very understandable but not shallow. Wallace places the reader in the courtroom as the juror and himself as the attorney defending the truth of Christianity using expert witnesses that are cross-examined for reliability. The fact that he begins with the importance of jurors leaving presuppositions at the door in cases and ends with valid reasons to maintain a bias (often mistaken as presuppositions), he urges the reader to take an objective look at the evidence and come to a conclusion based upon reason and not emotion.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who is even remotely concerned with the reliability of the New Testament. It is not a dry presentation of just facts, rather it brings a detective's investigation for the truth to life for the reader. However, a specific recommendation would be for anyone who is a detective, has aspirations of becoming a detective, or is a fan of crime-dramas on TV. This book was written from that specific perspective and will not disappoint. If one is an apologist or pastor or small-group leader, this book needs to be on your shelf, not only for yourself, but for those you come across who may appreciate the unique perspective that a detective of 30 years will bring to the worldview courtroom.

You can read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary review by clicking or tapping here.

Introduction

One of the first books that I read from Ravi Zacharias was his book "Has Christianity Failed You?" The goal of the book was to address many different ways that skeptics believe that Christianity has failed. He addresses each claim and turns the challenge on its head to demonstrate that in every case, it is merely a characterization of Christianity that has failed, not Christianity. He also shows how, unless God exists, many of the challenges brought by skeptics do not even make sense. Keeping with his usual approach, he not only addresses the intellectual questions, but he also addresses the disappointments and hurts of the questioners. He demonstrates that it is not the Christian worldview that has failed the test of truth but rather people who have failed the skeptic or even the skeptic who has failed to properly understand the Christian worldview. In today's post I have put together over forty of my favorite quotes from his book.

Has Christianity Failed You?

Introduction

I was introduced to Ravi Zacharias' talks and books about fifteen years ago. He has had a profound effect on how I communicate and defend the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The way that he always answered an intellectual question yet never forgets the desires, longings, and pains of the questioner in his answer has been inspiring. The pain and suffering of life cause many to question God's goodness and even His existence. One of my favorite books penned by Zacharias is "The Grand Weaver." Today, I bring you several of my favorite quotes from that book and a talk that Ravi presented in 2017 on God's purpose plan for your life.

Introduction: Science vs. Christianity?

It is commonly claimed that Christianity is a science-stopper. What is usually put forth to justify this claim is that many Christians are content to look at nature and say "God did it," without looking further to discover how God did whatever "it" happens to be. For many Christians, questions about the origin and function of the natural world end with that answer. However, for many others, while they recognize that God did indeed do something, they seek diligently to discover how God did it. Christianity does not stop science, a lack of curiosity or concern (not necessarily a bad thing if those are not a person's passion or pursuit) is what could stop science, if no Christian exists who possesses that curiosity. Individual Christians can choose to stop scientific discovery for themselves, but because scientific discovery will continue for other individual Christians, scientific discovery will continue.

On the other hand, atheism actually does stop science. Not because an atheist is content to say "evolution did it" and cease exploratory research, but it is stopped rather for a few other reasons that the atheist cannot escape if their worldview is true. If atheism is true, scientific discovery does not cease just for the atheist whose curiosity and concern are satisfied by the answer "evolution did it," but it ceases for everyone.

If you are a friend of science and an atheist, I implore you to take your thinking to the next level: think about how you can think about discovery of the world around you. In today's blog post, I will present six different ways that atheism mutually excludes science and stops all scientific discovery in its tracks.