McDowell - God-Breathed]: the Undeniable Power and Reliability of Scripture

2015 by Josh McDowell Ministry

Print ISBN 978-1-63058-941-7

eBook Editions:
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the H OLY B IBLE , N EW I NTERNATIONAL V ERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Cover design: Faceout Studio, faceoutstudio.com

Published by Shiloh Run Press, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683, www.shilohrunpress.com.

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Printed in Canada.

I wish to recognize the following individuals for their valuable contributions to this book.

Dave Bellis, my friend and colleague for thirty-eight years, for collaborating with me on the outline of the book, pulling from my talks and other works to then write the first draft, folding in all the edits, and shaping this work into its final form. I recognize Daves insights and writing skills, and Im deeply grateful for his contribution.

Tom Williams, for editing the manuscript, to which he applied his valuable insights, wordsmithing skills, and passionate heart to help make these words come alive on the printed page.

Becky Bellis, for laboring at the computer to ready the manuscript.

Don and Judy Kencke, for reviewing the manuscript and providing insightful guidance.

Dave Lindstedt, for the editorial guidance he brought to the manuscripts completion.

Kelly McIntosh, vice president of editorial at Barbour Publishing, and managing editor Annie Tipton, for their expert insights and help in shaping the outline of the book.

Tim Martins, president of Barbour Publishing, and the entire Barbour Publishing team, who caught the vision for God-Breathed and labored tirelessly to bring this book to reality.

Josh McDowell

C HAPTER 1

Nineteen years old and quite a skeptic. That described me as I left college and traveled to Europe to do research in an attempt to disprove Christianityspecifically to show that the Bible was historically unreliable and that Jesus was by no means the Son of God.

Standing in the Glasgow University library in Scotland, I stared at an ancient New Testament manuscript. It was a fragment from John 16, and the ink and papery substance on which it was written were more than sixteen hundred years old. This rare, third-century, handwritten portion of the Gospel of John was housed under a protective glass case in the university library. It was a priceless artifact that quoted the words of Jesus.

As I stood there, a strange and unexpected feeling washed over me. Though I could not read or understand a single line of the Greek in which that manuscript was written, those words seemed to reach out to me in an almost mystical way. Even though I was an unbeliever at the time, I sensed an uncanny power about those words.

Words. The right ones used in the right way can be powerful. But in todays world, Im afraid a lot of people use a lot of words to produce merely a lot of noise.

Everywhere you look, you see people using a barrage of words in bite-size chunks in hopes of communicating. Take texting, for example. Our generation is connected now more than ever by smartphones. According to a recent Experian Marketing Services digital marketer report, the average number of texts per month by eighteen- to twenty-four-year-olds is 3,853. That is more than 128 texts a day.

People are using words at an unprecedented rate through Facebook as well. Within the first quarter of 2014, Facebook reported more than 1.15 billion active users per month.

Its clear in todays world of texts, Twitter, Facebook, and e-mails that we are transmitting words at record levels. But are all these words truly connecting us, or are many of them simply a lot of noise? The Creator of words had a purpose in mind when he gave us the ability to write words and speak them to others. Used properly, words can effectively connect us relationally. Words are important, and the God-breathed words of Scripture are the most important of all. But we must listen to how words are being used in order to understand their true meaning.

We humans have the unique ability to make varied sounds and arrange them in specific combinations that we call words. And each of these words is designed to mean something in particular. The languages we speak are composed of words, which are the building blocks of thoughts, ideas, and expressed feelings. When we assemble words in sentences to represent our thoughts, ideas, and feelings, they become the basic elements of our human communication.

Using words enables us to accomplish much of what we do in life. Through words we can communicate how to get from one place to another, complete tasks, form friendships, express love to a spouse, raise a family, and express our views on countless subjects. Words can transmit creative thoughts and ingenious ideas, but their most meaningful purpose is when we use them to connect to one another relationally. Yet when were not attentive to words, or we fail to listen carefully to what someone says, words can become mere sounds or marks on a page and lose their power to connect us.

I remember the tragic beginning of my honeymoon. Dottie and I had known each other for only six short months before we married. I figured my lovely wife and I had a lifetime to really get to know each other, so I was in no particular hurry to discover all there was to know about her. But that wasnt the case for my new bride. I soon discovered that she was anxious to share her entire life story with me on our honeymoon.