The first apologetics book I read was The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Before this book, I was unaware that Christianity had so much evidence to support its claims. This discovery sparked an interest in apologetics, and I bought more books. So far, my favorite has been Cold Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace.
Like Strobel, Wallace was an atheist who became a Christian through evidence and reason. He used his decades of experience as a homicide detective to investigate the claims of the gospels. He discovered so much evidence of its trustworthiness that he could not help but believe in Christ.
Cold-Case Christianity is a summary of this investigation. In this book, Wallace shares ten standard rules of investigation, how he applied these rules to the Bible, and the results of his investigation.
He treated Christianity as a cold case because of their shared similarities. He writes, “Christianity makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little or no forensic evidence. Like cold cases, the truth about what happened can be discovered by examining the statements of eyewitnesses, even though we can’t re-interview these eyewitnesses or the people who first chronicled their observation.”
The book has two sections. In the first section, Wallace explores the ten principles every investigator must have. These are Don’t be a Know-it-all, Learn How to infer, Think Circumstantially, Test Your witnesses, Hang on Every Word, Separate Artifacts from Evidence, Resist Conspiracy Theories, Respect the Chain of Custody, Know when Enough is Enough, and Prepare for an Attack.
In the second section, Wallace shows how he applied these principles to the claims of the New Testament and how they measured up. Each chapter has examples of actual cases, anecdotes, fun facts, and helpful illustrations and graphics.
When I first discovered Cold-Case Christianity, I literally jumped with excitement. I love detective stories and apologetics, so I knew this book would be a treat. And it was indeed a pleasure to read! I have never had so much fun reading a non-fiction book. Investigating Christianity using detective methods gave fantastic results that blew my mind.
I found it interesting to learn about investigative principles, such as proof beyond a reasonable doubt, distinguishing artifacts from evidence, and the difference between a theory being possible versus reasonable. It was fascinating to see how Wallace applied these principles to real-life cases and the claims of the gospels. The results Wallace presents in this book are overwhelming and make a strong case for the reliability of the Bible.
An evidence I found fascinating was the differences between the four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John sometimes have different versions of the same events. For example, they disagree on the number of angels at the tomb and how Jesus summoned his twelve disciples. Skeptics often use these discrepancies to discredit the Bible’s reliability. But Wallace explains these differences prove their authenticity as eyewitness accounts. From his experience, no two eyewitnesses can give the exact story with the same minute details.
This is because every eyewitness has a different perspective and notices other things. This perspective of the gospel was quite exciting, and I learned a lot of fascinating facts through the process.
Cold-Case Christianity is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is brilliant, exciting, and provides a robust defense of the faith from a unique perspective. This new edition conserves all the elements that made the first edition terrific and features additional content, details, and illustrations that make the book even more excellent. If you are a skeptic, this book should address your questions; if you are a believer, it will strengthen your faith and equip you to defend it well.
David C. Cook graciously gave a copy for an honest review.
