Person of Interest

Person of Interest by J. Warner Wallace Book Review and Recommendation by Fred J. Beer

This book appealed to me and met my expectations because it addresses many of the objections to God and Christianity head on with detailed responses with extensive case notes and J. Warner Wallace’s own very detailed illustrations to support the responses, just like Wallace has done in his previous books. For example, Wallace responds to the following objections and more: Why did God wait so long to enter the world as Jesus at a specific time and location?  You can’t be a Christian and a scientist because Christians don’t believe in science. The Jesus God-Man story was copied from prior mythological god stories. The Jews did not consider Jesus as their Messiah. How can Jesus be the only way to God?

At the same time, I learned a lot from the book. Wallace tells the story how he used his detective skills to investigate a cold case murder in a similar manner when he investigated Jesus. Also, Wallace demonstrates that Jesus still matters to believers and unbelievers because: 1. He inspired more literature than any other person in history. 2. He was the catalyst for the visual arts and inspired painters and sculptors in every generation, genre, style, and nation. 3. He has been the topic of more songs, hymns, and symphonies than any other person in history. 4. His teaching set the standard for moral reform. 5. He established a worldview that led to the flourishing of education. 6. His worldview encouraged exploration and motivated his followers to investigate how God created the world, which resulted in the scientific revolution by the “science fathers” – the vast majority of whom were Christians. 7. He influenced spiritual seekers and religious thinkers to such an extent that every major world religion either mentions or merges [or modifies] Jesus into their theological system. Even if all the Christian Bibles and manuscripts were destroyed, the life and ministry of Jesus could still be reconstructed from non-Christian literature, art, education buildings and charters, writings of the “science fathers,” and the scriptures of non-Christian religions. These different perspectives of Jesus’ impact on the world will appeal to Christians and non-Christians that are interested in these different perspectives.

As Wallace concludes, “Jesus doesn’t matter because he influenced the world; Jesus influenced the world because he matters.” (p. 255). Wallace is a Christian today because Christianity is demonstrably true, since the New Testament gospels about Jesus are historically and forensically reliable and the evidence of history outside the Bible verifies that Jesus had a major impact on every significant human achievement and every meaningful aspect of culture (p. 256).

I highly recommend that you read this book!