More Than a Carpenter
More Than a Carpenter
The author of the book, “More Than a Carpenter”, Josh McDowell was once a very lost man. He ridiculed Christians. He had no knowledge of what he was attacking until one day his own search for happiness led him down a road he was not prepared for. When he took on this project more than 30 years ago, he did so with the idea of refuting Christianity. He was of the mindset that all Christians must be out of their minds. He found himself accepting a challenge to research the person of Jesus Christ, and he took this challenge very seriously and learned much more than he expected. He studied the works of many scholars in many libraries throughout Europe where he gathered most of his information found in his book. In chapter two McDowell talks about the many different reasons that Jesus causes people to become irritated and fell uncomfortable when His name is mentioned in casual conversations. He writes, "Why is it that you can talk about God and nobody gets upset, but as soon as you mention Jesus, people so often want to stop the conversation? Or they become defensive." The great difference between Christ and Buddha or Confucius is that no one but Christ actually claimed to be God. "He was presenting himself as the only avenue to a relationship with God, the only source for forgiveness for sins, and the only way of salvation." McDowell continues to point to specific examples from the New Testament in which Jesus presents himself as the human incarnation of God.
Keeping in mind the claims that Jesus made in His life, he would either be a human manifestation of the Lord, a liar, or a lunatic. In chapter three McDowell opens the dialogue by looking at the different scenarios in which Christ would either be a liar or a lunatic. most non-Christians will acknowledge that if nothing else Christ was a great moral teacher but if he were a great moral teacher how could he also be a hypocrite at the same time? McDowell concludes that for this case to be
The author of the book, “More Than a Carpenter”, Josh McDowell was once a very lost man. He ridiculed Christians. He had no knowledge of what he was attacking until one day his own search for happiness led him down a road he was not prepared for. When he took on this project more than 30 years ago, he did so with the idea of refuting Christianity. He was of the mindset that all Christians must be out of their minds. He found himself accepting a challenge to research the person of Jesus Christ, and he took this challenge very seriously and learned much more than he expected. He studied the works of many scholars in many libraries throughout Europe where he gathered most of his information found in his book. In chapter two McDowell talks about the many different reasons that Jesus causes people to become irritated and fell uncomfortable when His name is mentioned in casual conversations. He writes, "Why is it that you can talk about God and nobody gets upset, but as soon as you mention Jesus, people so often want to stop the conversation? Or they become defensive." The great difference between Christ and Buddha or Confucius is that no one but Christ actually claimed to be God. "He was presenting himself as the only avenue to a relationship with God, the only source for forgiveness for sins, and the only way of salvation." McDowell continues to point to specific examples from the New Testament in which Jesus presents himself as the human incarnation of God.
Keeping in mind the claims that Jesus made in His life, he would either be a human manifestation of the Lord, a liar, or a lunatic. In chapter three McDowell opens the dialogue by looking at the different scenarios in which Christ would either be a liar or a lunatic. most non-Christians will acknowledge that if nothing else Christ was a great moral teacher but if he were a great moral teacher how could he also be a hypocrite at the same time? McDowell concludes that for this case to be