More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell
Week 1: Introduction — A Skeptic's Journey
Read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of More Than a Carpenter.
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Before diving into arguments and evidence, McDowell invites us to understand where he started — as someone who considered Christians intellectually out of their minds. Take a moment to locate yourself honestly on that same spectrum.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.McDowell describes himself as a college student who actively argued against Christianity and put down Christians. What was his original motivation for investigating the claims of Jesus? What did he expect to find?
2.He credits a small group of Christian students — and particularly one young woman — with sparking his investigation. What was it about their lives, not just their arguments, that got his attention? What does that suggest about the relationship between evidence and witness?
3.McDowell says he 'didn't want to become a Christian.' What fears or resistances do you think he was protecting? Can you identify any similar resistances — intellectual, emotional, or social — in your own approach to questions about Jesus?
a.What would it cost you, concretely, if Jesus's claims turned out to be true?
b.Is that cost shaping how you approach the evidence?
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