More Than a Carpenter

• Special Copyright Notice
  
• Preface
  
• Chapter 1: My Story
  
• Chapter 2: What Makes Jesus So Different?
  
• Chapter 3: Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?
  
• Chapter 4: What about Science?
  
• Chapter 5: The Challenge of the New Atheism
  
• Chapter 6: Are the Bible Records Reliable?
  
• Chapter 7: Who Would Die for a Lie?
  
• Chapter 8: What Good Is a Dead Messiah?
  
• Chapter 9: Did You Hear What Happened to Saul?
  
• Chapter 10: Can You Keep a Good Man Down?
  
• Chapter 11: Will the Real Messiah Please Stand Up?
  
• Chapter 12: Isn’t There Some Other Way?
  
• Chapter 13: He Changed My Life
  
• Notes
  
• About the Authors
  

MORE THAN A CARPENTER

by

JOSH McDOWELL

SEAN McDOWELL

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Carol Stream, Illinois

“The life of Jesus of Nazareth continues to shape our world 2,000 years later.
More Than a Carpenter
will tell you why.”

J
OHN
O
RTBERG

Author and pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

“I found the original
More Than a Carpenter
persuasive when I was an atheist; you’ll find this updated and expanded version even more compelling.”

L
EE
S
TROBEL

Author of
The Case for Christ
and
The Case for the Real Jesus

“In a day when rational thought seems to be in short supply,
More Than a Carpenter
is an antidote for the truth vacuum of our times.”

C
HUCK
K
LEIN

Youth and campus ministry advocate, Campus Crusade for Christ

“I loved this book when it first came out, to help me share Christ with my friends. I plan on using this new edition with many people I love!”

J
OHN
E
LDREDGE

Author of
Wild at Heart
and
Walking with God

“A masterful blend of scholarship and readability . . . that will appeal to both teens and adults alike.”

G
REG
S
TIER

President and CEO, Dare 2 Share Ministries

“Like millions of others,
More Than a Carpenter
helped lead me to Jesus Christ. I am excited to see how God will use this book to change lives.”

M
ARK
D
RISCOLL

Pastor, Mars Hill Church

“This unapologetic search for truth challenges a new generation to take a closer look at Jesus.”

A
NDY
S
TANLEY

Senior pastor, North Point Community Church

“Josh and Sean McDowell present the claims of Christ in a clear and convincing way.”

D
R
. J
OHN
T
OWNSEND

Psychologist, speaker, and coauthor of
Boundaries

“Josh and Sean have succeeded in improving a classic. More than a good read, it’s a game changer.”

W
AYNE
R
ICE

Cofounder of Youth Specialties

“Even more powerful and relevant for this generation.”

J
IM
B
URNS
, P
H
D

President of HomeWord; author of
Creating an Intimate Marriage
and
Confident Parenting

“After reading
More Than a Carpenter,
skeptics, spiritual seekers, and people of any faith will find reasons to believe in the claims of Jesus and to follow him.”

A
LEC
H
ILL

President, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA

“The chapter dealing with the exclusivity of Jesus is the best treatment of this subject that I have read.”

A
LEX
M
C
F
ARLAND

President, Southern Evangelical Seminary and the Veritas School of Apologetics

“Whether you are a longtime Christian or not sure about what you believe, you will be impacted by
More Than a Carpenter.
”

R
EBECCA
S
T
. J
AMES

Singer, author, actress

Visit Tyndale’s exciting Web site at www.tyndale.com

TYNDALE
is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Living Books
is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

More Than a Carpenter

Copyright © 1977, 2005 by Josh McDowell. All rights reserved.

Revised and updated edition © 2009 by Josh McDowell Ministry and Sean McDowell. All rights reserved.

Previously published by Tyndale House Publishers under ISBN 978-0-8423-4552-1.

Cover photo of wood curl copyright © by Gary Alvis/iStockphoto. All rights reserved.

Cover icon of chisel copyright © by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Designed by Erik M. Peterson

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, second edition, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. (Some quotations may be from the NLT, first edition, copyright © 1996.) Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the
New American Standard Bible
®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked
NKJV
are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
NKJV
is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McDowell, Josh.

More than a carpenter / Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell. — [New, rev. ed.].

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-4143-2627-6 (sc : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-4143-3380-9 (sc multi-packs)

ISBN 978-0-8423-6124-8 (eReader)

ISBN 978-1-4143-1897-4 (Mobipocket)

ISBN 978-1-4143-2420-3 (Sony Reader)

1. Jesus Christ—Person and offices. I. McDowell, Sean. II. Title.

BT203.M3386 2009

232—dc22     2008054623

To Dick and Charlotte Day,

whose lives have always reflected that

Jesus was more than a carpenter

Special Copyright Notice

The text of this book is an eBook file intended for one reader only. It may be used by that reader on computers and devices that he or she owns and uses. It may not be transmitted in whole or part to others except as stated above.

Up to 500 words of this work may be quoted without written permission of publisher, provided it is not part of a compilation of works nor more than 5 percent of the book or work in which it is being quoted. The full title, author's name, and copyright line shall be included. No more than 500 words of this work may be posted on a web site or sent electronically to other users. In all uses of quoted material from this book, the full copyright line shall appear in a readable type size where the text appears. The author's name shall not be used in the title of a web site or in the advertising of the site. The author's name may not be used on the cover of any other book in which a portion of this material is quoted without written permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Quotes in excess of 500 words, use of the text as part of a compilation, use of text that is greater than 5 percent of the book in which it will be quoted, or other permission requests shall be directed in writing to Tyndale House Publishers, Permissions Dept. 351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188.

Preface

When I first sat down in 1976 with twelve legal pads, forty-eight hours of free time, and a
lot
of coffee to write the book that would become
More Than a Carpenter,
I did so hoping that it would help followers of Jesus to respond to questions about their faith, and inspire spiritual seekers to honestly investigate the claims of Jesus. I never dreamed that the story of my personal journey from skepticism to belief would ultimately sell more than fifteen million copies, be translated into nearly one hundred languages, and inspire readers around the world to take a closer, deeper look at the possibility of faith. I continue to be honored and humbled each time someone tells me that my book made a difference in his or her life.

Yet I also continue to be struck by how much has happened in the world since
More Than a Carpenter
first released. Discoveries have been made (and continue to be made) which shed light on the historicity of Jesus Christ. “New Atheists” have entered the popular culture with books proclaiming the end of faith and the downfall of God. And while today’s generation faces a whole host of new issues and choices, they also continue to confront the age-old questions: Who is Jesus? What proof is there that he was the son of God? And even if it were true, what difference would it make to my life?

Based on all this, I decided it was time to give
More Than a Carpenter
a makeover for the twenty-first century. So I invited my son, Sean, a well-known speaker, teacher, and writer on apologetics and the Bible, to update the book with me. Sean brought his strong academic credentials (a double master’s degree in philosophy and theology) to the table, along with his own experience as an author, providing a welcome perspective on postmodern faith. The two of us worked together to create a brand-new chapter, revised material, discussion questions, and a fresh look. The result is a new edition of
More Than a Carpenter
that nonetheless retains its original hard-hitting examination of the facts and unapologetic search for truth.