JOSH McDOWELL is one of the most popular speakers on the world scene today. In the last twenty-three years he has given more than eighteen thousand talks to over 8 million students and faculty at a thousand universities and high schools in seventy-two countries. Josh is author of thirty-two best-selling books and has been featured in twenty-seven films and videos and two TV specials.

Josh graduated cum laude from Kellogg College in economics and business. He finished graduate school magna cum laude with degrees in languages and theology. He is a member of two national honor societies and was selected by the Jaycees in 1976 as one of the "Outstanding Young Men in America." He holds honorary doctorate degrees in law and theology.

Thomas Aquinas wrote: “There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning."

I wanted to be happy. There's nothing wrong with that. I also wanted to find meaning in life. I wanted answers to the questions: Who am I? Why in the world am I here? Where am I going?

More than that, I wanted to be free. Freedom to me was not going out and doing what I wanted to do. Freedom was having the power to do what I knew I ought to do…but didn't have the power to do.

So I started looking for answers. It seemed that almost everyone was into some sort of religion, so I did the obvious thing and took off for church.

I must have found the wrong church, though. Some of you know what I mean: I felt worse inside the church than I did outside.

I've always been very practical, and when one thing doesn't work, I chuck it. So I chucked religion. The only thing I had ever gotten out of religion was the change I took out of the offering plate to buy a milkshake. And that's about all many people ever gain from "religion."

I began to wonder if prestige was the answer. So, in college I ran for freshman class president and got elected. It was neat knowing everyone on campus, having everyone say, "Hi, Josh," making the decisions, spending the university's money and the students' money to get speakers I wanted. It was great, but it wore off like everything else I had tried.

I was like a boat out in the ocean being tossed back and forth by the waves, the circumstances. And I couldn't find anyone who could tell me how to live differently or give me the strength to do it.

Then I began to notice people who seemed to be riding above the circumstances of university life. One important thing I noticed was that they seemed to possess an inner, constant source of joy – a state of mind not dependent on their surroundings. They were disgustingly happy. They had something I didn't have…and I wanted it.

As I began purposely to spend more time with these people, we ended up sitting around a table in the student union one afternoon. Finally, I leaned back in my chair and said, "Tell me, have you always been this way, or has something changed your lives? Why are you so different from the other students, the leaders on campus, the professors? Why?"

One student looked me straight in the eye – with a little smile – and said two words I never thought I'd hear as part of any solution in a university. She said, "Jesus Christ."

I said, "Oh, for heaven's sake, don't give me that garbage. I'm fed up with religion; I'm fed up with the church. Don't give me that garbage about religion."

She shot back, "Mister, I didn't say 'religion,' I said, 'Jesus Christ.' "

It wasn't long before these new friends challenged me intellectually to examine the claims that Jesus Christ is God's Son, that He took on human flesh, that He lived among real men and women and died on the cross for the sins of mankind, that He was buried and He arose three days later and could change a person's life in the twentieth century.

At first I thought it was a joke. How ridiculous. It was my opinion that most Christians had two brains; one was lost and the other was out looking for it. Oh, I used to wait for a Christian student to speak up in class. I could tear him or her up one side and down the other side, even beating my professors to the punch. I knew answers to any argument a Christian could bring up. But these people kept challenging me over and over and over again.

Finally, I accepted their challenge. I did it out of pride, to refute them. But I didn’t know there were facts. I didn't know there was evidence that a person could evaluate. In fact, the background of my first book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, was done to enable me to write a book that would make an intellectual joke of their kind of beliefs.

THE SEARCH CONTlNUES

So I set out and spent a lot of money to make an intellectual joke of Christianity, but after two years it backfired on me. I came to the conclusion that Christ had to be who He claimed to be. "Now wait a minute," you say. "You came to that conclusion intellectually?"

That's right. Let me show you. I concluded that if I could show that either one of two basic areas was not historically trustworthy or true I had my case won against Christianity.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT?

The first area was if I could show that the New Testament was not historically reliable. I figured there was no question about that. It was written years later, I thought, and all those myths and legends had crept in, along with all kinds of other errors and discrepancies. That's all I had to do, but as I said, it backfired.

When I speak in a literature or history class now I make the statement that I believe there's more evidence for the historical reliability of the New Testament than for any ten pieces of classical literature put together. Dr. F. F. Bruce of the University of Manchester in England puts it this way: "If the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as I beyond all doubt."¹

For example, when you study history you need to develop a historiography, a proper approach to evaluating historical documents. There are three basic tests. One is the bibliographical test, another is the internal evidence test, and then the external evidence test.

Let me just touch on the bibliographical test, which asks questions about manuscripts. A manuscript is a handwritten copy rather than a printed one. One question this test asks is how many manuscripts you have. The more manuscripts you have, the easier it is to reconstruct the original (referred to as the autograph) and check out any errors or discrepancies.

Let me tell you what I found in relation to the New Testament. When I first came out with my Evidence That Demands a Verdict book in 1974, I was able to document 14,000 manuscripts of just the New Testament (that’s not counting the Old Testament). Now, in the revised addition that's come out just recently, I've been able to document 24,633 manuscripts of just the New Testament. Do you know the Number Two book in all of history in manuscript authority? It's the Iliad by Homer, which has 643 manuscripts.

Dr. Clark Pinnock, Professor of Interpretations at McMasters University in Toronto, writes,

There exists no document from the ancient world witnessed by so excellent a set of textual and historical testimonies, and offering so superb an array of historical data on which the intelligent decision may be made. An honest [person] cannot dismiss a source of this kind. Skepticism regarding the historical credentials of Christianity is based upon an irrational bias.²

WHAT ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?

The second area that I felt would be even simpler to discount was the Resurrection. Everything that Jesus Christ taught, lived, and died for was based on His Resurrection. All I had to do was show that the Resurrection never took place. That would be easy; I'd never met anyone who'd been resurrected. But that, too, backfired on me, and in fact led to my writing The Resurrection Factor because of the evidence.

Have you heard of Dr. Simon Greenleaf, a man who held the Royal Professorship of Law at Harvard? He was a skeptic, often mocking the Christians in his classes. One day they got tired of that and challenged him to take the three volumes he had written on the laws of legal evidence and apply them to the Resurrection. After much persuasion he did that. In the process he became a Christian and went on to write a book that's now printed by Baker Book House. Greenleaf came to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the best established events in history according to the laws of legal evidence.

Dr. E. M. Blaiklock, former Professor of Classics at Auckland University, concluded that

I claim to be an historian. My approach to Classics is historical. And I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history….

An.Englishman, John Singleton Copley, better known as Lord Lyndhurst, is recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in British history. He was the solicitor-general of the British government, attorney-general of Great Britain, three times High Chancellor of England, and elected as High Steward of the University of Cambridge, thus holding in one lifetime the highest offices ever conferred upon a judge in Great Britain.

Upon Copley's death, among his personal papers were found his comments concerning the Resurrection in the light of legal evidence and why he became a Christian: "I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you, such evidence as that for the Resurrection has never been broken down yet."³

Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, once said that "no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true.”⁴

As I delved further into my research on Christ, I discovered that men and women down through the ages have been divided over the question, "Who is Jesus?"

It didn't take long for the people who knew Jesus to realize that He was making astounding claims about Himself. Especially during the trial of Jesus – the trial that eventually led Him to the cross – I found one of the clearest references to Jesus' claims of deity.

Then the High Priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?" Jesus said, "I am, and you will see me sitting at the right hand of God, and returning to earth in the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:61-62)

Jesus claimed to be God. He didn't leave any other option open. His claim must be either true or false. Jesus' question to His disciples, "Who do you think I am?" (Matthew 16:15) has several alternatives.

WAS HE A LIAR?

If, when Jesus made His claims, He knew that He was not God, then He was lying and deliberately deceiving His followers. And if He was a liar, then He was also a hypocrite because He told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while He Himself taught and lived a colossal lie.

This view of Jesus, however, doesn't coincide with what we know either of Him or the results of His life and teachings. Whenever Jesus has been proclaimed, lives have been changed for the good, nations have been changed for the better. Thieves have been made honest, alcoholics have been cured, hateful individuals have become channels of love, unjust persons have become just.

William Lecky, one of Great Britain's most noted historians and a dedicated opponent of organized Christianity wrote, about Jesus' ministry: 'The simple record of these three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the discourses of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists."⁵

Someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus died could not have been a liar. What other alternatives are there?

WAS HE A LUNATIC?

    If it is inconceivable for Jesus to be a liar, then couldn't He actually have thought Himself to be God, but been mistaken? After all, it's possible to be sincere and wrong.

Someone who believes he is God sounds like someone today believing himself to be Napoleon. He would be deluded and self-deceived, and probably would be locked up so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. Yet in Jesus we don't observe the abnormalities and imbalance that usually go along with being deranged. His poise and composure when confronted by His enemies would certainly be amazing if He were insane.

Here is a man who spoke some of the most profound sayings ever recorded. His instructions have liberated many individuals in mental bondage.

A student at a California university told me that his psychology professor had said in class that "all he has to do is pick up the Bible and read portions of Christ's teachings to many of his patients. That's all the counseling they need."

Psychiatrist J. T. Fisher, speaking of Jesus’ popular “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7), says this: "For nearly two thousand years the Christian world has been holding in its hands the complete answer to its restlessness and fruitless yearnings. Here…rests the blueprint for successful human life with optimism, mental health, and contentment."⁶

WAS HE LORD?

I cannot personally conclude that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic. The only other alternative is that He is the Christ – the Son of God – as He claimed to be.

When I discuss this with many people, it's interesting how they respond. I share with them the claims Jesus made about Himself and then the material about Jesus being a liar, lunatic, or Lord. When I ask if they believe Jesus was a liar, there is usually a sharp, “No!”

Then I ask, "Do you believe He was a lunatic?”

The reply is, "Of course not."

Then, "Do you believe He is God?"

But before I can get a breath in edgewise, there is a resounding, "Absolutely not."

Yet, one has only so many choices. One of these options must be true. The issue with these three alternatives is not Which is possible? for it is obvious that any of the three could have been possible. But, rather the question: Which is more probable?

Who you decide Jesus Christ is must not be an idle intellectual exercise. You cannot put Him on the shelf while calling Him a great moral teacher. That is not a valid option, because if He was so great and moral, what are you going to do with His claim to be God?

If He was a liar or lunatic, then He can't qualify as a great moral teacher. And if He was a great moral teacher, then He is much more as well. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord God. I had to make a choice.

THE COMPELLING CONCLUSION

Finally, after gathering the evidence, I was compelled to conclude that my arguments against Christianity wouldn't stand up. Jesus Christ is exactly who He claimed to be, the Son of God.

At that time, though, I had quite a problem. My mind told me all this was true, but my will was pulling me in another direction. I discovered that becoming a Christian was rather ego-shattering. Jesus Christ made a direct challenge to my will to trust him. Let me paraphrase Him: "Look! I have been standing at the door and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). I didn't care if He did walk on water or turn water into wine. I didn't want any party pooper around. I couldn't think of a faster way to ruin a good time. So here was my mind telling me Christianity was true, and my will was somewhere else.

Every time I was around those enthusiastic Christians, the conflict would begin. If you've ever been around happy people when you're miserable, you understand how they can bug you. They would be so happy and I would be so miserable that I'd literally get up and run right out of the student union. It came to the point where I'd go to bed at ten at night and I wouldn't get to sleep until four in the morning. I knew I had to get it off my mind before I went out of my mind!

In my second year at the university – on December 19, 1959, at 8:30 P.M. – I became a Christian. That night I prayed four things to establish a relationship with the resurrected, living Christ which has since transformed my life.

First, I said, "Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me." Second, I said, "I confess those things in my life that aren't pleasing to you and ask you to forgive me and cleanse me." (The Bible says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.") Third, I said, "Right now, in the best way I know how, I open the door of my heart and life and trust you as my Savior and Lord. Take over the control of my life. Change me from the inside out. Make me the type of person you created me to be." The last thing I prayed was, "Thank you for coming into my life by faith." It was a faith based not upon ignorance but upon evidence and facts of history and God's Word.

THE CONSEQUENCES

You've probably heard religious people talk about their "bolt of lightning." Well, nothing so dramatic happened to me, but in time there were some very observable changes.

Mental Peace. I had been a person who always had to be occupied. I had to be over at my girl's place or somewhere in a rap session. I'd walk across campus, and my mind would be a whirlwind of conflicts. I'd sit down and try to study or think, and I couldn't.

But in a few months after I made the decision to trust Christ, a kind of mental peace began to develop. Don't misunderstand, I'm not talking about the absence of conflict What I found in this relationship with Jesus wasn't so much the absence of conflict as it was the ability to cope with it I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

Control of Temper. Another area that started to change was my bad temper. I used to “blow my stack" if somebody just looked at me cross-eyed. I still have the scars from almost killing a man my first year in the university. My temper was such an integral part of me, I didn't consciously seek to change it.

Then one day after my decision to put my faith in Christ, I arrived at a crisis, only to find that my temper was gone!

Freedom from Resentment. I had a lot of hatred in my life. It wasn't something outwardly manifested, but there was a kind of inward grinding. I was ticked off with people, things, issues.

The one person I hated more than anyone else in the world was my father. I despised him. He was the town alcoholic. And if you're from a small town and one of your parents is an alcoholic, you know what I'm talking about.

Everybody knew. My friends would come to high school and make jokes about my father. They didn't think it bothered me. I was laughing on the outside, but let me tell you I was crying on the inside. I'd go out in the barn and find my mother lying in the manure behind the cows. She'd been knocked down by my father and couldn't get up.

About five months after I made my decision for Christ, love for my father – a love from God through Jesus Christ – inundated my life. It took that resentment and turned it upside down. It was so strong, I was able to look my father squarely in the eye and say, "Dad, I love you." I really meant it.

When I transferred to a private university, I was in a serious car accident. With my neck in traction, I was taken home. I’ll never forget my father coming into my room and asking, "Son, how can you love a father like me?"

I said, "Dad, six months ago I despised you." Then I shared with him my conclusions about Jesus Christ and how He had changed me.

Forty-five minutes later one of the greatest thrills of my life occurred. Somebody in my own family, someone who knew me so well I couldn't pull the wool over his eyes, my own father, said to me, "Son, if God can do in my life what I've seen Him do in yours, then I want to give Him the opportunity."

Usually changes take place over several days, weeks, or even years. But my father was changed right before my eyes. It was as though somebody reached in and turned on a light bulb. I've never seen such a rapid change before or since. My father touched alcohol only once after that He got it as far as his lips, and that was it He didn't need it any more.

I've come to one conclusion: a relationship with Jesus Christ changes lives. You can ignore Him; you can mock or ridicule Christianity. It's your decision. And yet, when all else is said and done, we must face the fact that Peter pointed out: “Jesus [is] the Messiah…There is salvation in no one else! Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them" (Acts 4:11-12).

If you ask Him to take control of your life; start watching your attitudes and actions – because the Christ of the New Testament is in the business of forgiving sin, removing guilt, changing lives, and building new relationships.

Most important of all, we can experience the power of the risen Christ in  our life today.

  First, we can know the freedom of having our sins forgiven.

Second, we can be assured of eternal life and our own resurrection from the grave.

Third, we can be released from a meaningless and empty life and be transformed into a new creature in Jesus Christ.

WHERE DO YOU STAND?

When I was confronted with the overwhelming evidence for Christ's resurrection, I had to ask the logical question: "What difference does all this evidence make to me? What difference does it make whether or not I believe Christ rose again and died on the cross for my sins?"

What do you think of Christ?

The answer was put best by something Jesus said to a man who doubted – Thomas. He told him, "I am the Way – yes, and the Truth, and the Life. No one can get to the Father except by means of me" (John 14:6).

Considering the fact that Jesus offers forgiveness of sin and an eternal relationship with God, who would be so foolhardy as to reject Him? Christ is alive! He is living today.

You can trust God right now by' faith through prayer. Prayer is talking with God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. If you have never trusted Christ, you can do so right now.