Joslin "Josh" McDowell (born August 17, 1939) is an

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

apologist Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

and

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

. He is the author or co-author of over 150 books. In 2006, his book ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict'' was ranked 13th in ''

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

''s list of most influential evangelical books published after World War II. Other well-known titles are ''More Than a Carpenter'', ''A Ready Defense'' and ''Right from Wrong''.

Biography

Family and education

McDowell was born in

Union City, Michigan Union City is a village in Branch and Calhoun counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located mostly within Union Township in Branch County, it sits at the junction of the Coldwater and St. Joseph rivers; the Calhoun County portion lies within ...

, in 1939 with the given name Joslin. He is one of five children born to Wilmot McDowell. Sr. Biographer Joe Musser indicates that McDowell struggled with low self-esteem in his youth, as his father was an alcoholic and abusive. McDowell also revealed he was sexually abused repeatedly as a child by a farm hand, Wayne Bailey, from the age of 6 to 13. He enlisted in the Air National Guard, received basic training and assumed duties in mechanical maintenance of aircraft. After sustaining a head injury he was discharged from the service. He initially intended to pursue legal studies culminating in a political career, and began preparatory studies at

Kellogg Community College Kellogg Community College (KCC) is a public community college based in Battle Creek, Michigan, with sites in Battle Creek, Albion, Coldwater, Hastings and in the Fort Custer Industrial Park. It serves approximately 8,400 students annually via fi ...

, a two-year junior college in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...

. According to McDowell, he was an agnostic at college when he decided to prepare a paper that would examine the historical evidence of the Christian faith in order to disprove it. However, he converted to Christianity, after, as he says, he found evidence for it, not against it. He subsequently enrolled at Wheaton College in

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then studied at

Talbot Theological Seminary Talbot School of Theology is an evangelical Christian seminary, theological seminary located near Los Angeles. Talbot is one of the nine schools that comprise Biola University, located in La Mirada, California. Talbot is nondenominational and know ...

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's, ...

La Mirada, California La Mirada (Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre for ...

. He completed an exit paper examining the theology of

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

and was awarded the

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree, graduating

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

. Josh McDowell married Dottie Youd, with whom he has four children and ten grandchildren; they live in California. His son, Sean, is also a Christian apologist as an Associate Professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.

Career and ministry

In 1964, he became a traveling representative of

Campus Crusade for Christ Cru (until 2011 known as Campus Crusade for Christ—informally "Campus Crusade" or simply "crusade"—or CCC) is an interdenominational Christian parachurch organization. It was founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles by B ...

International, a

parachurch Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indivi ...

ministry that operates student chapters on university and college campuses established by the late

Bill Bright William R. Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American evangelist. In 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote The Four Spir ...

in the 1950s. To this day, his close affiliation with the organization continues. McDowell's full-time ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ began with his appointment as a campus speaker in Latin America, where he interacted with both Marxist and Fascist student groups. He subsequently returned to North America where he became known as an itinerant speaker addressing campus groups about the Christian faith. Part of his speaking ministry has focused on youth issues in relationships and sexual mores and is reflected in seminars such as "Maximum Sex" and the "Why Wait?" campaign that encourages sexual

abstinence Abstinence is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol, drugs, food, etc. ...

before marriage. Other facets of his speaking ministry and writing have focused on issues of

self-esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...

(''His Image, My Image''), and developing faith and character (''Evidence for Joy''). In the 1980s he also co-ordinated a three-month residential discipleship program in a retreat center called The Julian Center, near San Diego.

Controversy

McDowell came under criticism for remarks he made on September 18, 2021, at the

American Association of Christian Counselors The American Association of Christian Counselors, Inc. (AACC) is the largest organization of Christian counselors in the world.Brian Lang, Bill Wilson, ''A christian parents' guide to making the internet family friendly'', Nashville, Tennessee: Th ...

World Conference. In discussing

Critical Race Theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

, McDowell said, "I do not believe Blacks, African Americans, and many other minorities have equal opportunity. Why? Most of them grew up in families where there is not a big emphasis on education, security — you can do anything you want. You can change the world. If you work hard, you will make it. So many African Americans don’t have those privileges like I was brought up with." McDowell apologized for his remarks the following day.

Method of apologetics

As a practitioner of

Christian apologetics Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...

, 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

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

by emphasizing historical and legal proofs to establish the authenticity of the biblical texts and the divinity of Christ. In books such as ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict'', ''The Resurrection Factor'', and ''He Walked Among Us'', McDowell arranges his arguments by laying out a cumulative case of evidence, such as

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

discoveries, the extant

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s of the

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

texts, fulfilled

prophecies In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

, and the

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

of the

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

. In ''More Than A Carpenter'' he blends historical arguments with legal argumentation concerning the direct witness and

circumstantial evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...

s for Jesus' life and

. He employed a similar line of argument in his debate titled 'Was Christ Crucified?' with the South African Muslim

Ahmed Deedat Ahmed Husein Deedat ( gu, અહમદ હુસેન દીદત; ur, Arabic: احمد حسين ديدات), also known as Ahmed Deedat (1 July 1918 – 8 August 2005), was a self-taught Muslim thinker, author, and orator on Comparative ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

during August 1981. McDowell says that the "evidence for Christianity in the Scriptures is not exhaustive, but it is sufficient." Other foci of his apologetics have included challenging the methodology, assumptions and conclusions drawn in

higher criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

and

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...

and

redaction criticism Redaction criticism, also called ''Redaktionsgeschichte'', ''Kompositionsgeschichte'' or ''Redaktionstheologie'', is a critical method for the study of biblical texts. Redaction criticism regards the author of the text as editor (redactor) of the ...

of the gospels. His work in this area has consisted of a popular summary of scholarly debate, particularly from Evangelical discussions about higher critical theories. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s his apologetic writings interacted with challenges expressed in popular books like ''The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail'', ''The Lost Years of Jesus'', and the writings of the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

George A. Wells. He has also collated apologetic arguments concerning the doctrine of Christ's deity as in ''Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Deity''. In two companion volumes he and his colleague Don Stewart have addressed popular questions and objections to faith concerning biblical

inerrancy Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible "is without error or fault in all its teaching"; or, at least, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact". Some equate inerrancy with biblical i ...

and Bible discrepancies,

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

's Flood, and

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

versus

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. McDowell and Stewart have also popularized the arguments of other apologists in the

Christian countercult movement The Christian countercult movement or the Christian anti-cult movement is a social movement among certain Protestant evangelical and fundamentalist and other Christian ministries ("discernment ministries") and individual activists who oppose r ...

, particularly the work of Walter Martin, in the ''Handbook of Today's Religions''. In their criticisms of

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

s and

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

beliefs McDowell and Stewart concentrate on doctrinal apologetic questions, especially pertaining to the deity of Christ, and pointing out "

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

" beliefs in the religious groups they profile which they consider to be unorthodox. McDowell's approach to apologetics falls under what Protestant theologians classify as "classical" and "evidential." In either of these approaches to Christian apologetics, it is assumed that arguments defending the Christian faith can legitimately be directed to both believers and unbelievers because the human mind is viewed as able to comprehend certain truths about God.

Presuppositional apologetics Presuppositionalism is an epistemological school of Christian apologetics that examines the presuppositions on which worldviews are based, and invites comparison and contrast between the results of those presuppositions. It claims that apart from ...

, on the other hand, questions this methodology by arguing that since unbelievers partially suppress and resist the truth about God (as Paul states in Romans 1:18–20), the problem of unbelief is also an ethical choice and not simply a lack of evidence.

Works by McDowell

*''Evidence That Demands A Verdict'', First published 1972. Revised Edition, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1979. *''More Than A Carpenter'', Tyndale House, Wheaton, Illinois, 1977. *''Daniel in the Critics' Den'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1979. *''Answers to Tough Questions'', with Don Stewart, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1980. *''Givers, Takers and Other Kinds of Lovers'', with Paul Lewis, Tyndale House, Wheaton, 1980. *''Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity'', with Don Stewart, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981. *''More Evidence That Demands A Verdict'', Revised edition, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981. *''The Resurrection Factor'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981. *''Prophecy: Fact or Fiction'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981. *''The Myths of Sex Education'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981. *''Guide To Understanding Your Bible'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1982. *''Understanding Secular Religions'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1982. *''Understanding Non-Christian Religions'', with Don Stewart, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1982. *''The Islam Debate'', with John Gilchrist, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1983. *''Jesus: A Biblical Defense of His Deity'', with Bart Larson, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1983. *''Handbook of Today's Religions'', with Don Stewart, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1983. *''Evidence Growth Guide'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1983. *''Evidence for Joy'', with Dale Bellis, Word, Waco, 1984. *''His Image, My Image'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1984. *''The Secret of Loving'', Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1985. *''Why Wait?'' with Dick Day, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1987. *''How to Help Your Child Say "No" to Sexual Pressure'', Word Books, 1987. *''He Walked Among Us: Evidence for the Historical Jesus'', with Bill Wilson, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1988. *''Skeptics Who Demanded a Verdict'', Tyndale House, Wheaton, 1989. *''The Dad Difference'', with Norm Wakefield, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1989. *''A Ready Defense'', Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1990. *''The Occult'', with Don Stewart and Kurt Van Gorden, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, CA, 1992. *''Don't Check Your Brains at the Door'', Concordia Publishing House, 1992. *''Right From Wrong'', with Bob Hostetler, Word, Dallas, 1994. *''The Father Connection: 10 Qualities of the heart that empower your children to make right choices'', B&H Books, Nashville Tennessee 1996. *''The One Year Book of Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions'', with Bob Hostetler, Tyndale House, Wheaton, 1997. *''New Evidence That Demands A Verdict'', Word, Nashville, 1999. *''See yourself as God sees you'', Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 1999. *''Disconnected Generation: Saving Our Youth From Self-Destruction'', Word, Nashville, 2000. *''Beyond Belief to Convictions'', with Bob Hostetler, Tyndale House, Wheaton, 2002. *''The Last Christian Generation'', Green Key Books, Holiday, Florida, 2006. *
The Da Vinci Code: A Quest For Answers
', Green Key Books, Holiday, Florida, 2006. (free PDF book, 112 pp, ) *''Evidence for the Resurrection'', Regal Books, Ventura, California, 2009.
''More Than A Carpenter''
Tyndale, Wheaton, Illinois, 2009. *''The Unshakable Truth: How You Can Experience the 12 Essentials of a Relevant Faith'', Harvest House Publishers, 2010. *''Evidence for the Historical Jesus: A Compelling Case for His Life and His Claims'', Harvest House Publishers, 2011.

Related works

*''Undaunted - The Early Life of Josh McDowell'', 65 minute documentary written and directed by

Cristóbal Krusen Cristóbal Krusen is an American filmmaker and author. His early films were produced in Spanish in Latin America, including ''Ropa Nueva para Felipe'' (1990) and ''¿Con Quién Te Vas?'' (1995) followed by feature films produced in Africa, Asia, ...

, 2011. Includes trailer of movie. *''Josh: The Excitement of the Unexpected'', by Joe Musser and Josh McDowell, Here's Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1981. Also released under the title ''A Skeptic's Quest''.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial YouTube channelInterview with Josh McDowell
by Josh McDowell
The Da Vinci Code: A Quest For Answers
by Josh McDowell (free PDF ebook, 2006, 112 pp, )

s ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict'' (Gordon B. Hazen, Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University) {{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Josh 1939 births Living people Christian apologists Critics of the Christ myth theory American evangelists American Christian writers People from Battle Creek, Michigan People from Dallas Promise Keepers Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Biola University alumni Talbot School of Theology alumni Converts to Protestantism from atheism or agnosticism People from Union City, Michigan