Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels

by J. Warner Wallace

“Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately

All of us hold presuppositions that can impact the way we see the world around us.

our presuppositions are sometimes hidden in a way that makes them hard to uncover and recognize.

Philosophical naturalism rejects the existence of supernatural agents, powers, beings, or realities. It begins with the foundational premise that natural laws and forces alone can account for every phenomenon under examination.

Most scientists begin with this presupposition and fail to consider any answer that is not strictly physical, material, or natural.

But many of these same historians simultaneously reject the historicity of any of the miracles described in the New Testament, in spite of the fact that these miracles are described alongside the events that scholars accept as historical. Why do they accept some events and reject others? Because they have a presuppositional bias against the supernatural.

When we smuggle our conclusions into our investigation by beginning with them as an initial premise, we are likely to beg the question and end up with conclusions that match our presuppositions rather than reflect the truth of the matter.

This is the truest definition of bias, isn’t it? Starting off with your mind already made up.

But make no mistake about it, all of us have a point of view; all of us hold opinions and ideas that color the way we see the world.

The question is not whether or not we have ideas, opinions, or preexisting points of view; the question is whether or not we will allow these perspectives to prevent us from examining the evidence objectively.

God’s creation of the universe would certainly be nothing short of … miraculous.

differentiate between science (the systematic, rational examination of phenomena) and scientism (the refusal to consider anything other than natural causes).

Not all of God’s activity is overtly miraculous.

Speculation is dangerously nonevidential by its very definition:

THE TRUTH MUST BE FEASIBLE

THE TRUTH WILL USUALLY BE STRAIGHTFORWARD

THE TRUTH SHOULD BE EXHAUSTIVE

THE TRUTH MUST BE LOGICAL

THE TRUTH WILL BE SUPERIOR

1. Jesus died on the cross and was buried. 2. Jesus’s tomb was empty and no one ever produced His body. 3. Jesus’s disciples believed that they saw Jesus resurrected from the dead. 4. Jesus’s disciples were transformed following their alleged resurrection observations.

When people are injured to the point of death (such as the result of an assault or traffic accident), they often enter into some form of “circulatory shock” prior to dying (because their organs and body tissues are not receiving adequate blood flow). This can sometimes result in either “pericardial effusion” (increased fluid in the membrane surrounding the heart) or “pleural effusion” (increased fluid in the membrane surrounding the lungs). When Jesus was pinned to the cross in an upright position following the terrible flogging He received, it’s reasonable to expect that this kind of effusion might have taken place in response to the circulatory shock He suffered prior to dying. These fluids would certainly pour out of His body if he were pierced with a spear. While the gospel writers might expect to see blood, their observation of the water is somewhat surprising. It is certainly consistent with the fact that Jesus was already dead when stabbed by the guard.

I am hesitant to embrace any theory that requires the conspiratorial effort of a large number of people, over a significant period of time, when there is personally little or nothing to gain by their effort.

The resurrection is reasonable.

faith is actually the opposite of unbelief,

the biblical definition of faith is a well-placed and reasonable inference based on evidence.

everyone is looking for an “uncaused first cause” that is capable of starting the domino run all by itself.

The causal evidence of the universe is a significant piece of circumstantial evidence for God’s existence.

the universe appears to be remarkably “fine-tuned” to support the existence of life.

Even Richard Dawkins (the renowned and vocal atheist and emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford) concedes that biological systems often appear