More Than a Carpenter

by Josh McDowell

With almost ten million copies in print, "More Than a Carpenter" continues to be the most powerful evangelism tool worldwide. Josh McDowell's timeless examination of the true nature of Christ and his impact on our lives is one of the best-selling Christian books ever. Written by a former skeptic of Christianity, it is a hard-hitting book for those who doubt Jesus' deity and his purpose.

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Paperback, 128 pages

Published May 12th 1980 by Tyndale House Publishers (first published 1977)

tags: theology, spirituality, faith, christianity, christian non fiction, religion, inspirational, nonfiction, christian living, christian

Book Quotes

“Christianity is not a religion. Religion is humans trying to work their way to God through good works. Christianity is God coming to men and women through Jesus Christ.”

― Josh McDowell

“If one discards the Bible as unreliable historically, then he or she must discard all the literature of antiquity. No other document has as much evidence to confirm its reliability.”

― Josh McDowell

“You can laugh at Christianity, you can mock it and ridicule it. But it works. It changes lives. I should say Jesus Christ changes lives. Christianity is not a religion; it’s not a system; it’s not an ethical idea; it’s not a psychological phenomenon. It’s a person. If you trust Christ, start watching your attitudes and actions because Jesus Christ is in the business of changing lives.”

― Josh McDowell

“The words Jesus Christ are not a first and last name; they are actually a name and a title. The name Jesus is derived from the Greek form of the name Jeshua or Joshua, meaning “Jehovah-Savior” or “the Lord saves.” The title Christ is derived from the Greek word for Messiah (or the Hebrew Mashiach, see Daniel 9:26) and means “anointed one.”

― Josh McDowell

“This is what God has done for us: He has said, “I forgive you.” But he paid the price for the forgiveness himself through the Cross. It’s a payment that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, or any other religious or ethical leader cannot offer. No one can pay the price by “just living a good life.” I know it sounds exclusive to say it, but we must say it simply because it is true: There is no other way but Jesus.”

― Josh McDowell

“I spent months in research. I even dropped out of school for a time to study in the historically rich libraries of Europe. And I found evidence. Evidence in abundance. Evidence I would not have believed had I not seen it with my own eyes. Finally I could come to only one conclusion: If I were to remain intellectually honest, I had to admit that the Old and New Testament documents were some of the most reliable writings in all of antiquity.”

― Josh McDowell

“I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.”

― Josh McDowell

“atheistic regimes, such as communist China, communist Russia, and Nazi Germany is more than one hundred million people.32 There is no close second place. David Berlinski, a secular Jew who received his PhD from Princeton University, believes that one of the main reasons for such atrocities is the absence of ultimate accountability: “What Hitler did not believe and what Stalin did not believe and what Mao did not believe and what the SS did not believe and what the Gestapo did not believe . . . was that God was watching what they were”

― Josh McDowell

“The first to speak in court sounds right—until the cross-examination begins” (Proverbs 18:17).”

― Josh McDowell

“We've been given a mind innovated by the Holy Spirit to know God, as well as a heart to love him and a will to choose him. We need to function in all three areas to have a maximum relationship with God and to glorify him.”

― Josh McDowell

topics: Apologetics, Christianity, Jesus Christ

“We talked for almost an hour, and then I received one of the greatest thrills of my life. This man who was my father, this man who knew me too well for me to pull the wool over his eyes, looked at me and said, “Son, if God can do in my life what I’ve seen him do in yours, then I want to give him the opportunity. I want to trust him as my Savior and Lord.” I cannot imagine a greater miracle.”

― Josh McDowell

“My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed.” (John 20:26-28). Jesus accepted Thomas’s acknowledgment of him as God. He rebuked Thomas for his unbelief but not for his worship.”

― Josh McDowell

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

― Josh McDowell

“Most important of all, individual believers can experience the power of the risen Christ in their lives today. First of all, they can know that their sins are forgiven (see Luke 24:46-47; 1 Corinthians 15:3). Second, they can be assured of eternal life and their own resurrection from the grave (see 1 Corinthians 15:19-26). Third, they can be released from a meaningless and empty life and be transformed into new creatures in Jesus Christ (see John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17).”

― Josh McDowell

“Психиатр Дж. Т. Фишер отмечает: "Если сложить все без исключения авторитетные статьи самых выдающихся психологов и психиатров по вопросам психической гигиены, хорошенько их сократить и очистить от словесной шелухи, т. е. если взять только самую суть, и если самый талантливый в мире поэт сумеет кратко выразить эти чистейшие зерна научного знания, то в результате получится всего лишь примитивный и неполный пересказ Нагорной проповеди, не выдерживающий с нею никакого сравнения. Уже две тысячи лет христианский мир держит в руках текст, в котором есть все без исключения ответы на смятенные и бесплодные вопросы человечества. Это... — универсальный план плодотворной человеческой жизни, исполненной оптимизма, психического здоровья и удовлетворения".”

― Josh McDowell

“would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus.5”

― Josh McDowell

“Jesus”

― Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell

Joslin "Josh" McDowell is a Christian apologist, evangelist, and writer. He is within the Evangelical tradition of Protestant Christianity, and is the author or co-author of some 77 books.

His best-known book is Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which was ranked 13th in Christianity Today's list of most influential evangelical books since 1945. Other well known titles are More Than a Carpenter, A Ready Defense and Right from Wrong.

As a practitioner of Christian apologetics, McDowell's writings have concentrated on addressing challenges to belief, questions posed by non-Christians, doubts about faith, and non-Christian religions. McDowell tends to present positive arguments to commend belief in Christ by emphasizing historical and legal proofs to establish the authenticity of the biblical texts and the divinity of Christ.
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Josh McDowell

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