J. Warner Wallace - Forensic Faith Participants Guide: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith

I understand what its like to be in the right place accidentally . As I travel to speaking engagements in cold and remote areas, Im increasingly grateful to have been born and raised in sunny Southern California, where it is 75 degrees and dry nearly every day. California has great beaches and many recreational, educational, and employment opportunities. But if you quiz me about the nature of California, youll quickly discover I am not a well-informed resident.

I dont know what year California was founded or how many counties it has. I dont know how many people live here, the exact procedure for how a bill is passed, or how the state legislature is organized. Whats the state bird, tree, flower, or motto? I cant tell you. When it comes right down to it, Im a pretty terrible Californian given how little I know about my own state. But make no mistake about it. Im a Californian. I was born and raised here.

When it comes to our spiritual residency, I find many people are Christians the same way Im a Californian. They were born and raised in the church yet are unable to answer any of the pressing questions people might ask about Christianity. Maybe these believers had an experience that convinced them Christianity was true. Maybe they are in the right place but are not quite sure why its the right place. Their affiliation with Christianity appears to be more like a lucky accident than an informed decision .

For me, that was problematic. For most of my life I was not a believer. In fact, I was a very committed atheist. I was skeptical of people who believed something simply because they grew up a certain way or had an experience. I wasnt raised in a Christian home, and the man I respected most (my father) was a cynical detective. He was (and still is) a steadfast atheist. I wasnt about to trust something I couldnt examine evidentially.

It troubled me that members of every religious group seemed to give the same answers many of my Christian friends did for why they held their beliefs. From Buddhist to Mormon to Baptist, people typically offered the same responses. Yet it isnt possible for these conflicting claims about God and reality to be true; they could all be wrong , or one could be correct, but they cannot all be correct. So I set out to investigate and test the claims of Christianity based on the evidence. Long story short, I found them to be true.

Today we live in a culture that is increasingly skeptical of Christianityperhaps even more than I was. If we want others to believe Christianity is true, then our answers cannot sound like the answers given by every other religious group. We must have answers that stand up to aggressive challenges. We must embrace the evidence for what we believe, building what I call a forensic faith .

Open the Case File

(5 minutes Consider and Answer the Questions)

When we, as Christians, share what we believe with the people we encounter, were likely to be asked a version of the question Why are you a Christian?

In what way have you answered that question when it has been asked of you?

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To what degree did your answer satisfy the person who asked you?

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How satisfied are you with your answer?

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View the Video Testimony

(11 minutes Take Notes)

Testing the truths of Christianity

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Why people say they are Christians

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Experience versus evidence how we can know what is true

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Conduct a Group Investigation

(23 minutes Investigate the Issues and Answer the Questions)

When I ask people the question, Why are you a Christian? I seldom, if ever, hear someone respond, I am a Christian because it is true . Few people seem to have taken the time to investigate the evidence to determine if the claims of Christianity are true. Although intuition and experience may incline us to believe, they dont allow us to differentiate whether Christianity or any other religion is actually true. A faith that is based on experience alone, rather than grounded in objective evidence, often fails to persuade others or withstand aggressive opposition.