Book Review: Cold Case Christianity

Let me put my cards on the table.  J. Warner Wallace (Jim to those who know him
personally) is one of my best friends. 
For almost 10 years, we’ve been invested in each other’s life.  We’ve done ministry together.  We’ve served in the local church together.  We’ve led student mission trips
together.  Our families have spent time
together (my teenage daughter regularly crashes at his house and gets spoiled
by Jim’s wonderful wife, Susie).  And now
we’re speaking together, as colleagues at Stand to Reason.  Jim is a close friend, partner, and ally. 

So yes, as I offer a review of Jim’s book, Cold Case Christianity (CCC), you could
argue that I’m biased.  However, if you
dismiss my book review as unreliable on the sole basis of bias, then you need
to read Jim’s book!  In chapter 14, he
deals with a similar charge of bias against the disciples.  And had you read it already, you’d know bias
does not preclude one from being
reliable, as Jim’s “Mark Hillian” illustration demonstrates (see page 246).  So, don't dismiss this review before you
consider the reasons why I think you need to read Jim’s book.

The secular university is a huge mission field.  We need smart Christians who will earn their Ph.Ds.
and go on to do high-level apologetic work in a multitude of academic
fields.  To this end, I thank God for the
William Lane Craigs, Alvin Plantingas, and J.P. Morelands of the contemporary
apologetics movement.  However, this is
just one point of what should be a multi-pronged strategy.  Not only do apologists need to make
incursions into the Academy, but we must continue our infiltration of the
church.  The average church-goer needs to
be equipped with “the weapons of our warfare” (2 Cor. 10:3-5) in order to fend
off the secularism of our culture, to protect the impressionable hearts and
minds of our children, and to advance the gospel with unbelieving friends and
family.  To this end, I thank God for the
Lee Strobels and now, with his writing of CCC, the J. Warner Wallaces of the
contemporary apologetics movement.  To
this latter strategy, Jim makes an extraordinary contribution. 

In this book, Jim does four key things as he defends the
reliability of Gospels, that will appeal to the non-specialist masses sitting
in our churches: 

#1 – Cold Case
Christianity is accessible.  If we
don’t make apologetics accessible to the average Christian, we run the risk of
making it seem irrelevant.  I’ve talked
to that man or woman with the deer-in-the-headlights look after attending one
of their first apologetics conferences. 
I’ve heard their “if-this-is-what-apologetics-is-then-it-isn’t-for-me”
dismissals.  Thus the contemporary
apologetics movement is in need of more translators and Jim steps up with this
offering. 

No, no, no, he does not put the cookies on bottom
shelf.  Hear me carefully; I’m not saying
we need to dumb down things.  No, Jim
actually raises the bar—just check out his historical work in chapters 11
through 13—but does so without blowing people out of the water.  And because of this, CCC is also a tremendous
tool for Christians to use with their skeptical friends.  It’s the kind of book you can confidently
give to an unbeliever, knowing they’re in good hands with Jim. 

#2 – Cold Case
Christianity is interesting.  As far
as I know, Jim is the only man on the planet who could’ve written this
book.  He’s a cold-case homicide
detective and a first-rate
apologist.  The combination allows Jim to
weave gripping stories and illustrations into his apologetic.  It’s one of the most engaging apologetics
books I’ve ever read.  Seriously. 

#3 – Cold Case
Christianity teaches the reader how to think, not just what to think.  This could be the most valuable aspect of the
book.  Jim doesn’t lay out a laundry list
of apologetic pat answers.  Using his
training as a detective and experience in the courtroom, Jim teaches the reader
how to think well through the first ten chapters.  Yes, ten whole chapters.  Indeed, it takes up the entire first half of
the book, but it’s indispensable.  Jim
lays down a foundation for thinking carefully not just about the Gospels, but
for all areas of truth. 

#4 – Lastly, and most
importantly, Cold Case Christianity is backed up by a writer who lives what he
writes.   Any bias I may have toward
Jim is actually a benefit, not a barrier. 
I’ve seen Jim, outside of the limelight. 
I’ve been on mission trips where he and I have shared sleeping quarters
with a bunch of foul-smelling high school boys. 
I’ve watched Jim go head-to-head with advocates of atheism.  And through it all, I’ve seen a man who loves
Christ, loves people, and whose life overflows with integrity. 

Thankfully, Jim’s life has also spilled out onto
the pages of CCC, giving the reader a small glimpse of what I’ve observed for
years.  It’s only after seeing this man
practice what he preaches that I became a J. Warner Wallace-onian (again see
page 246!).  Go buy the book and read it,
and your bias for Jim and his work will grow as well.