Cold-case Christianity : a homicide detective investigates the claims of the Gospels / J. Warner Wallace. [print]

SECTION 1: LEARN TO BE A DETECTIVE - ten important principles every aspiring detective needs to master -- Don't be a "know-it-all": resisting the influence of dangerous presuppositions -- Learn how to "infer": understanding the role of "abductive reasoning" -- Think "circumstantially": respecting the nature of circumstantial evidence -- Test your witnesses: evaluating the reliability of witnesses -- Hang on every word: examining the choice and meaning of language -- Separate artifacts from evidence: determining what's important evidentially -- Resist conspiracy theories: recognizing the rarity of true conspiracies -- Respect the "chain of custody": establishing reliability by tracing the evidence -- Know when "enough is enough" getting comfortable with your conclusions -- Prepare for an attack: distinguishing between possible alternatives and reasonable refutations --

SECTION 2: EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE: applying the principles of investigation to the claims of the New Testament -- Were they present? were the gospels written early enough to have been authored by true eyewitnesses? -- Were they corroborated? Is the testimony of the gospel writers confirmed by outside sources and evidence? -- Were they accurate? did the gospel writers falsely report anything that would invalidate their testimony? -- Were they biased? were the gospel writers motivated to lie about their testimony? -- Postscript: Becoming a "two decision" Christian: deciding to believe and defend the truth --

APPENDIX: Witnesses and resources: compiling the resources necessary to make the case -- Case files: Expert witnesses: identifying the expert witnesses who can testify comprehensively about the evidence described in each chapter -- Case files: Assisting officers: identifying the officers and detectives who have assisted in making the case for Christianity -- Case files: Case notes: collecting the data and information supporting the evidence described in each chapter.

"For the first thirty-five years of his life, J. Warner Wallace was a devout atheist. After all, how can you believe a claim made about an event in the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence? Then Wallace realized something. Christianity was a lot like the cold cases he solved as a homicide detective--cold cases that turned out to have enough evidence, eyewitnesses, and records to solve. When Wallace applied his skills as an expert detective to the assertions of the New Testament, he came to a startling realization: the case for Christianity was as convincing as any case he'd ever worked as a detective." ~ Page 4 of cover.

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