Becoming A Christian “Case Maker”

Is There Any Other Kind?

When asked what it means to be a Christian, few of us would respond that
being a Christian means becoming a ‘defender of the faith’. Most of us shy
away from challengers and those who hold opposing beliefs; many of us are
uncomfortable with the potential confrontation. But being a Christian demands that we
become proficient “case makers”. Think about it for a minute. We would all agree that our
salvation does not depend on our ability to defend what we believe. After all, we are saved
when we trust Jesus for our salvation and recognize that we are fallen, sinful creatures in
need of a Savior. When we recognize that Jesus is God incarnate and paid the penalty that
we deserve, we begin to embrace the promise of God to rescue us from ourselves! This trust
in Christ as Lord and Savior is what saves us.

But we need to recognize that our Christian life is more than one of trust. It is also a life of
knowledge and expression. God has called us to think about what we believe and defend it to
those who might challenge us or simply ask questions (more on that HERE). Christian “case
makers” who have accepted this challenge are often called “apologists”. The word “apologist”
comes from the Greek word “apologia” which simply means “speaking a defense”. The term
does have some liability, however, for a couple of reasons. First, the related term, “apology”
leaves many with the impression that Christians think they have something to apologize for
when they engage in “apologetics”. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth.
Secondly, our present culture has a tendency to view apologists as professional speakers of
one kind or another. Even Christians tend to think of apologetics as something to be done by
professionals, rather than an important responsibility to be embraced by each and every
Christian. It’s time to recognize the fact that all Christians are called to be a Christian “case
makers”; the situation couldn’t be more urgent.

There Certainly Is a Need!

Christianity is increasingly under attack in our culture. Young people are
walking away from Christianity in record numbers. Like it or not, the numbers
don't lie. In survey after survey, most college aged Christians appear to be
abandoning their faith before they become seniors in college and only about a third of them
ever return to the faith:

88% leave the faith according to the 2002 SBC Family Life Council Study
70% leave the faith according to the 2007 LifeWay Research Study
66% leave the faith according to a recent Assembly of God Study
61% leave the faith according to the 2006 Barna Group Study

Part of the problem is simply that the Christian Worldview is under attack in universities all
across America. According to a 2006 study conducted by Neil Gross and Solon Simmons:

25% of college professors are professing atheists or agnostics (compared to 5-7% in

the general population).
Only 6% of college professors describe the Bible as the "actual word of God"
 51% of college professors describe the Bible as "an ancient book of fables, legends,
history and moral precepts"
75% of college professors believe that religion does not belong in public schools

Many students are walking away from Christianity because they no longer believe it is true. In
a survey conducted by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Denton and recorded in their
book, “Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers” (Oxford
University Press, 2005), 32% of former believers said they left because of intellectual
skepticism:

"It didn't make sense anymore"

"Some stuff is too far fetched for me to believe"
"I think scientifically and there is no real proof"
"Too many questions can't be answered"

But there’s another growing problem. Many of those who remain in the faith simply have no
idea what the faith affirms or teaches! Smith and Denton made two important observations.
First, they found that young Christians have little idea what it is that Christianity teaches and
they were sadly unable to talk about their spiritual beliefs:

“In our in-depth interviews with U.S. teenagers, we also found the vast majority of
them to be incredibly inarticulate about their faith, their religious beliefs and practices,
and its meaning or place in their lives.”

To make matters worse, many of the young people who COULD articulate what they believe
articulated a distortion of the Christian Worldview. Smith and Denton called this distortion
“Moralistic Therapeutic Deism”. The young Christians who were surveyed said that they
believed in the existence of a God who created and ordered the world and watches over
human life here on earth. They also believe that this God wants people to be good, nice, and
fair to each other, (as they claimed the Bible teaches, and as most other world religions also
teach). They said that the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
They did not believe that God needed to be involved in one’s life except when He is required
to solve a problem, and they said that good people go to heaven when they die. Not much of
this version of “Christianity” resonates with the classic, orthodox truth of the Christian
Worldview, does it?

The problem is two-fold: many young people are walking away from the truth, and those who
remain are incredibly inarticulate and unable to defend the truth. Don’t think that adults are
much better prepared; recent Barna Group surveys confirm that adults are equally
inarticulate!

“Case Making” Christians

There’s a reason why God calls us to worship Him with our minds, understand
the value of evidence, examine our beliefs until we are convinced, and then
become Christian “case makers” (more on that HERE)! While it is our faith and
trust in Christ that saves us, it is our ability to make the case for Christ that protects us and
transforms our world. We need to become “case makers” just as Paul was a “tent maker”.
“Case making” needs to be a part of our Christian identity, and all of us need to be apologists
for the Christian Worldview. We cannot continue to delegate this responsibility to well known
apologists and Christian authors. We don’t need one ‘million dollar apologist’; we need a
million ‘one dollar apologists’. All of us can be equipped to defend our faith; it doesn’t require
a master’s degree in apologetics; it doesn’t require a library full of books, or a radio show, or
a podcast. It simply requires the personal commitment to learn the truth and defend it to
others.

After over twenty years handling evidence and investigating the truth related to Cold Case
Homicides, I’ve begun to learn a few things about how we can investigate the Christian
Worldview and present it to those who have questions. There are a number of important
parallels that can be drawn between criminal prosecutions and making a defense for our
faith. Let’s take a look at the nature of criminal investigations and prosecutions and find a
Christian parallel that can help us understand just what it means to be a Christian “Case
Maker”:

Learning the Truth

No case has ever been presented to a jury that wasn’t first investigated, developed
and understood. If a case is ‘under-investigated’, you can expect a problem at the jury
trial. When I open a Cold Case Homicide, there are a number of steps that I have to
take before I can even begin to think about making a presentation to a jury. The
process looks something like this:

Read the Book Completely

I begin by pulling the original case book off the shelf. All our cold cases are
bound in red notebooks and stored in a special vault. I start by selecting a case,
opening the case book and reading through each and every word that is
recorded in the notebook. The notebook contains the original crime reports the
investigative summaries, the original eyewitness interview transcripts, the
autopsy reports, the crime scene investigation reports and everything else that
was documented and collected at the time of the first investigation. Before I can
do anything with this case, I need to read and understand the case book as
though I was part of the original investigation. This can sometimes be very
interesting, but it can also be quite boring. I’ve got to be diligent here, and it
helps to try to “place myself” in the original investigation. I need to understand
everything that the original detectives were going through, what they were
thinking and the nature of the culture at the time of the crime.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. Before I can hope to ever make a case for the Christian
Worldview, I had better open the “book” (the Bible) and become
intimately familiar with what it teaches. I’m going to need to read the
original eyewitness transcripts (the Gospels) until I know them
thoroughly. I’ve got to do my best to “place myself” at the scene and
understand what the writers are writing from their perspective. This might
require me to study history or geography to better understand the culture
and how the original eyewitnesses thought so I can better understand
their statements.
 A “Case Making” Tip:
Read through the Biblical text in large sections over a short period
of time. There are a number of reading plans that take you
through the Bible in a year, with selected readings from the Old
Testament, New Testament and Psalms. If you read through the
Bible in this way, you’ll never understand the flow and context of
the eyewitness statements found in the scripture. Read
sequentially through complete books of the Bible in as few sittings
as possible. I take this same approach when reading the original
case book. I may refer back and forth along the way, but I read
the book ‘cover to cover’ to get the broad scope prior to dissecting
it. Proper Biblical “Hermeneutics” are important, and I’ve written
something that may help HERE. There are also many good books
that can help you understand how to properly read the Bible.

Take Notes and Summarize the Case Thoroughly

Before I begin reading the original case book, I make a copy of it. I do this
so that I can highlight the pages of the book and write copious notes in the
margins. I generally use colored pens that correlate a particular set of issues to
a specific color. This helps me to think through the case more clearly and it
reminds me of those areas that need clarification or further investigation. It also
provides me with a way to form my own summary of the important elements of
the case. I usually then write ‘outlines’ of the important details in my own
personal notes.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. I’ve purchased a number of inexpensive “pew Bibles” over the
years with the largest possible margins on each page. I treat these
Bibles like case books; I highlight them and write extensive notes with
colored pens. I’ll even write extensive summaries in the blank pages of
the Bibles (usually the title pages or the pages at the front or rear of the
text). These notes have been incredibly powerful for me. I often
remember theological issues in my ‘mind’s eye’ by recalling which side of
the page I originally scribbled a related note! These Bibles, with their
notes and summaries, are organized on my shelf for future reference.

A “Case Making” Tip:

On your first review of the text, feel free to note EVERYTHING
you are seeing. Include your rational and emotional impressions,
reminders of things you want to research, and places where the
text offers something that causes you to be skeptical. In this ‘first
pass’, consider your notes to be a ‘mind dump’ that allows you the
freedom to chronicle everything you are seeing and feeling. Also,
try to take notes and write your summaries in the Bible you are
reading, rather than on additional pads of paper. These notes will
then be ‘married to the text’ and easier to find later.
 Gather the Evidence Neutrally
As I am reading through the original case book of a Cold Case Homicide
and taking thorough notes, I begin to organize, list and summarize the evidence
that was available to the original investigators. At this point in the process, I
refuse to come to any conclusions about what the evidence is telling me.
Instead, I simply circle each place in the case where a piece of evidence is
described and make a list of everything. Even though the first investigators may
have begun to form a conclusion about the identity of the suspect, I do my best
to keep an open mind at this point in the investigation. I want to make sure that I
see things that the original detectives might have missed. I am simply collecting
data at this early stage of the research.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. The Bible gives us a number of clues and proofs to support its
claims. As I study the text, I write out and list the evidences as they
present themselves, trying to retain my skepticism in this process; like
my examination of the original cold case book, I want to understand what
the original writers believed while allowing for the possibility they were
wrong. If we hope to present our case someday to a jury of our peers, we
need to account for ALL the evidence, whether it supports the Christian
claim clearly or otherwise.

A “Case Making” Tip:

You may want to purchase another inexpensive Bible for this
stage of the investigation. You are now ready to create ‘evidence
lists’ related to each claim of Christianity. Some evidences are
important to making a case for the deity of Jesus, others are more
important to making a case for the nature of God, others still are
more important to making a case for the creation of the universe
from nothing (“ex-nihilo”). Again, use the blank pages of the Bible
to make these lists; color code them and use the same colors as
you highlight the evidences in the text of the Bible. You are
beginning to ‘focus’ in this stage of the investigation. Your
‘evidence notes’ should be limited to the specific claims you are
investigating, and they must include all the evidence that is
available, even if this evidence tends to make a case against a
presupposition that you hold. Remember that you are trying to
gather evidence without bias. You may want to have separate
Bibles that contain separate kinds of evidence lists. There are also
a number of “evidence” study Bibles appearing on the market (see
HERE and HERE) that may help you form basic lists.

Examine the Eyewitnesses Critically

Our Cold Case Books are filled with transcripts of interviews with
eyewitnesses from the time of the initial investigation. The eyewitness
statements are incredibly important and they seldom agree with each other
completely. The fact that there are variations between eyewitness accounts is
not troubling in and of itself. No two eyewitnesses see the same event in
precisely the same way. But as an investigator, I’ve got to make sure that the
eyewitnesses are reliable. Are they motivated to lie for some reason? Did they
have any pre-existing biases that influenced the way they saw the event?
Where were they when the event occurred; were they really present at the time
of the crime and did they have a clear view of what happened? As the detective
in this case, I’m going to have to critically assess each eyewitness to make sure
they are reliable before I begin to build a case on what they offer.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. I’ve got to critically examine the eyewitnesses who observed
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. I need to recognize that there are
three eyewitness accounts in the Bible (Matthew, Mark and John) and
recognize the fact that their accounts differ. Do they contradict one
another? Can the differences be reconciled and can they be explained
on the basis of perspective or literary purpose?

A “Case Making” Tip:

Begin this process by isolating the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and
John. Read through each account, flipping back and forth to
compare the events as they are described by all three authors.
Matthew and Mark often agree precisely on the details of events,
John often adds something that was previously omitted. As you
compare the accounts, highlight and note the differences. Now
examine these differences carefully. Can they be harmonized?
Are they truly contradictory? Can perspective or literary purpose
explain the differences? I’ve written an article that can help you
assess the eyewitness accounts of the Gospels HERE, and there
are many good books that can help you better understand the
harmony of the eyewitness accounts.

Reconstruct the Crime Scene (and Events) Meticulously

The Cold Case Book will also usually include a crime scene diagram and
photographs of the scene. The crime scene alone can tell us a great deal about
the victim and the killer. Cases that have few original photographs or lack a
diagram are more difficult to work. In addition to this, every homicide is a
chronology of events that lead up to a murder. It’s my job to try to retrace the
last days of the victim to get a better idea of how the victim came into contact
with the murderer, or to see what it was that precipitated the murder to take
place at all. Something happened in the life of the victim over the course of time
that brought the victim into danger; reconstructing the final days of the victim’s
life will tell me a great deal about the victim and the circumstances that lead to
the victim’s death.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. The Bible is more than a book containing spiritual truth, it is a
book of recorded History that includes real geographic locations, many of
which still exist today or have been located by archeologists. We can
 now “reconstruct” the geography of ancient Palestine to help us
understand the events recorded in the Scripture. In addition, I can
recreate the timeline of events that lead up to the birth of Jesus and I can
also reconstruct the timeline of his ministry leading up to the crucifixion.
The chronological reconstruction can help us to see the role that
successive prophecy played in predicting Jesus’ life and role as Savior,
and the geographical reconstruction can help to confirm (or erode) the
reliability of the eyewitness accounts of the Gospels.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Divide this portion of your study into two categories of inquiry.
First, what is the prophetic timeline that runs through the Old
Testament and precedes the appearance of Jesus? I’ve written
about the prophecies that predicted Jesus’ birth, life, ministry,
death and resurrection HERE. This prophetic chronology is strong
evidence for both the divine inspiration of the Bible and the Deity
of Jesus. Next, examine the “crime scene” by evaluating the
archeological support for the Old and New Testament. In addition
to the articles that I’ve written, there are a number of solid books
that describe the archeological confrimation of the Bible.

Look for New Evidence Diligently

Every Cold Case goes cold for a reason. Typically it’s because the
evidence was insufficient at the time of the first investigation. While this
evidence might have pointed to a particular conclusion or toward a particular
suspect, the first investigators and prosecutors simply did not believe that the
evidence was sufficient enough to convince a jury. The new cold case
investigation must, therefore, begin looking for additional evidence to
strengthen the case. The passage of time often helps us to identify and recover
new evidence. Sometimes new technology allows us to examine old evidence
in a new way. Sometimes hesitant eyewitnesses are now willing to discuss what
they saw. Regardless of the nature of the new evidence, it’s important for me,
as the detective who is now in charge of the case, to begin to diligently search
for something new that strengthens the existing case. This new piece of
evidence may come from inside the original case book, or it may come from a
creative approach that was previously unconsidered by the first detectives.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. I’ve got to step outside the Biblical pages and look for
evidence outside the Scripture. While most Christians are familiar with
the Biblical texts, few look at them evidentially (examining them from the
perspective of fulfilled prophecy, confirmed archeology or scientific
accuracy). Even fewer Christians are familiar with the writings of non-
Christians and Jewish authors of the first century. Many of these authors
provide corroborating texts that can be used to build the case for (or
against) Christianity.
 A “Case Making” Tip:
Begin collecting resources that describe the first century non-
biblical sources who write about Jesus or the early Christians.
Become familiar with the writing of Thallus, Pliny the Younger,
Suetonius, Tacitus, Mara Bar-Serapion, Phlegon, Josephus and
others. If you can’t afford to buy these resources and place them
on your shelf, begin to bookmark the websites that contain
information related to these writers. Many of these websites are
printable. When I first started my research (before I was able to
purchase source documents) I printed a number of the sites and
bound the materials in notebooks on my shelf for future reference.
I’ve written an article on some of these non-Biblical sources HERE
, but there are also a number of good books that deal with the
issue.

Reason Toward An Answer Rationally

There comes a time in every Cold Case investigation, when the detectives
have to move beyond the neutral collection of evidence. There comes a time
when the investigators need to interpret and assess the evidence to determine
what it all means. Does the evidence point to a particular suspect, and how do I
determine WHICH suspect best accounts for the evidence I have? When
evaluating the evidence on any homicide, I employ five reasoning principles in
order to determine the identity of the suspect:

The truth must be “feasible”

(The true suspect has the most “explanatory viability”)
Before I even begin to think about who might have committed a
crime, I need to make sure that a suspect in question was available
to commit the crime in the first place. I investigate the “alibis” of
potential suspects, eliminating those possible suspects that are
simply a physical impossibility based on their confirmed alibis.

The truth will usually be “simple”

(The true suspect has the most “explanatory simplicity”)
I next employ a version of “Occam’s Razor”. When considering a
number of suspects or explanations in an effort to account for the
evidence I have in a case, I look for the suspect (or explanation)
that most simply accounts for every piece of evidence. If one
person’s simple involvement can explain the evidence (rather than
the complex coincidental involvement of three or four different
potential suspects), this one person is most likely my killer.

The truth should be “exhaustive”

(The true suspect has the most “explanatory depth”)
I also consider the solution or explanation that most exhaustively
explains the evidence that I have in a case. While a particular
candidate may explain one, two or three pieces of evidence, the
 candidate that exhaustively accounts for all the evidence is typically
my killer.

The truth must be “logical”

(The true suspect has the most “explanatory consistency”)
I also recognize the fact that truth is rational; for this reason the
truth about the identity of my killer must also be rational. The
scenario that involves the true suspect in a case must therefore be
reasonable, logical, coherent and sound. Not every potential
suspect ‘makes sense’ to a given case under investigation, but this
cannot be the case with the true killer. The scenario involving my
true suspect will be logically consistent.

The truth will be “superior”

(The true suspect has “explanatory superiority”)
Finally, I recognize that one of my suspect candidates is unique in
the superior way that he or she accounts for the evidence. This
particular suspect accounts for the evidence in a unique and
particular way that no other suspect can match. In essence, this
particular suspect is a far superior choice when compared to other
possible candidates or explanations. When I see this quality of
“explanatory superiority”, I know I have my killer.

Given these five criteria, I evaluate all the evidence and come to a conclusion
regarding the identity of the killer. There comes a time when I have to focus in
on one reasonable conclusion about the case, and these five explanatory
criteria help me to determine the truth about the identity of the killer.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. The three basic evidential principles of reasoning can be
applied to the Biblical evidence. Most scholars, for example, will agree
on several minimal facts related to the claim of the Resurrection (even if
they don’t agree that Jesus was actually resurrected from the dead).
Most scholars will agree that Jesus died on a cross, that a belief in the
resurrection appeared very soon after the time of Jesus’ death, that the
disciples claimed to see Jesus resurrected, that both Paul and James
were transformed and said this was the result of seeing the resurrected
Jesus, and that the apostles all died a martyr’s death rather than recant
their claims related to the resurrection. How are we to explain or account
for these commonly agreed upon pieces of evidence? It may be that a
number of coincidental circumstances aligned to cause these facts to
emerge. For example, Jesus may not have died, or he may have been
stolen from the grave; someone may have pretended to be Jesus or the
disciples may have conspired to create the story; the disciples may have
hallucinated the resurrection or resuscitated the wounded Jesus to fake
the resurrection. These possibilities would require an elaborate web of
 conspiracy, trickery and unreasonable self sacrifice to support the lie, but
we would have to admit that one of these complex scenarios is at least
“possible”. On the other hand, a simpler explanation could be offered:
Jesus simply rose from the dead. If the simpler explanation is to be
trusted, we must conclude that the resurrection of Christ is the most
reasonable solution.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Many other gifted historians and scholars have utilized these
simple principles of evidence to make a case for historic
Christianity. One of the best examples of this approach is found in
the work of Gary Habermas and Michael Licona. Their example of
creating a list of commonly accepted evidences related to the
resurrection and then reasoning toward the best explanation is
instructive and powerful. Read through their example and apply
similar strategies to other claims in the Bible.

Write Up the Case Carefully

Once I’ve narrowed my focus and come to a conclusion about the identity
of my killer, it’s time to present what I know to others (particularly to the District
Attorney who has to decide if there is enough evidence to make an arrest and
prosecute the killer). Now’s the time to begin writing down what I know; time to
make a case on paper by laying out all the evidence and demonstrating how
this evidence points singularly to the suspect I want to arrest. This process of
summarizing and organizing the case is extremely helpful. In addition to making
it possible to present the case to others, it helps me understand and clarify my
own thinking about the evidence and what it demonstrates.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. It’s sometimes hard to grasp deep theological concepts and
raw conclusions about where the evidence leads. It’s always helpful to
write out or journal my observations, creating summaries and shorthand
arguments that I can then use in the future when reviewing the issue
again. The act of concisely summarizing my findings has great value in
critically thinking through the evidence and forming rational conclusions
that can then be expressed to others.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Take the time to create evidential ‘cases’ related to the issues that
concern you the most. Write these cases out in some format that
can then be saved and stored in a place where you can access
them quickly later. For me, the best and most logical location for
these ‘case notes’ was my Bible. That’s why I designed my case
summaries as half-sheet Bible Inserts. These inserts can be found
on virtually every article page at PleaseConvinceMe.com
Presenting the Truth
Once an investigation culminates with a decision about the involvement of a particular
suspect, and once a case results in the arrest of that suspect, we’ve next got to
present our case in a court of law. The burden begins to shift from the detective to the
attorneys who will represent the prosecution and defense. The process looks
something like this:

Pick a Jury Insightfully

Perhaps the most important step in presenting a case to a jury is the careful
selection of the jury in the first place! Many cases have been lost before they
ever started because the prosecution simply failed to select a jury that was
committed to a fair review of the evidence, or because the prosecution failed to
properly prepare the jury prior to the trial. That’s right, both the prosecution and
the defense have the chance to pick jurors who are actually interested in being
jurors, and teach them something about the nature of evidence even before
they ever serve on the jury. This process of evaluating the ability and desire of
each juror and instructing them on the nature of evidence and how evidence
should be evaluated is incredibly important (and often overlooked).

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. Before I present my case, it is critical that I consider WHO it is
that I am presenting my case to! Just as an attorney is careful about
selecting the right jury, I have to be careful about selecting the right
audience. Is the person I am sharing with capable of examining the
evidence fairly? Is he or she even interested in hearing what I have to
say? Am I offering an answer to someone who doesn’t even have a
question? If I want to be an effective “Case Making” Christian, I need to
carefully select and prepare those who I am about to address with the
evidence.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Become to be sensitive to locating those in your world who are
beginning to ASK QUESTIONS. We often target friends and
family members who we desperately want to reach for Christ, but
who are not yet even curious about matters of faith. These kinds
of folks are difficult to reach. What can you do about it? You can
begin to live the kind of life that CAUSES others to ask you about
your faith! Are we reflecting the nature of Jesus to those around
us? Are they even curious about what we believe? Start living in a
way that provokes people to ask about the Christian Worldview
and never let an opportunity slip by without at least trying to
provide an answer. There are a number of good books that can
help you to understand how to best identify those who you can
reach with the truth.

Make an Opening Statement Thoroughly

The attorneys in a jury trial begin by making opening statements to the jury.
These statements must be thorough and present all that is known about the
case and the reasons why the evidence points to the defendant. In essence,
opening statements are like promises; each attorney pledges to back up his or
her claim with evidence over the course of the trial. The attorneys make a claim
that this evidence will either convincingly demonstrate the guilt of the defendant
or be insufficient to establish the defendant’s guilt. They make ‘promises’ to the
jury and then must deliver on these promises over the course of the trial by
presenting the evidence they described in the opening statement. If they can
deliver on their promises, they’ve got a very good chance of winning the case.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. You only get one chance to make a first impression. When
defending the Christian Worldview to my friends, I need to remember the
power of the first statement. Is it pointed and powerful? Is it relevant and
accurate? Is it based in evidence; am I offering something that can be
supported by the evidence and am I ready to provide that evidence at
some point later in the conversation?

A “Case Making” Tip:

Begin with people right where they are. It’s one thing to have the
knowledge necessary to engage someone in a conversation; it’s
another thing to have the wisdom necessary to know how to best
engage someone in a conversation. It takes wisdom to craft a
“first statement” that will be powerful and relevant. Some people
are wired intellectually, others emotionally. It’s your job to
understand the difference and begin a conversation that is tailored
to the person you are addressing. There are a number of good
books that articulate the importance of starting a conversation and
the power of a good opening statement. I’ve also written about the
simple presentation of the Gospel, the meaning of the Gospel, the
meaning of the cross, and the distinct nature of Christianity. Any
of these short articles would make an appropriate opening
statement of sorts.

Call Witnesses Selectively

Once the Opening Statements have been made, it’s time to begin
presenting the evidence to the jury. Much of this evidence will simply be the
testimony of important expert witnesses. The attorneys have to select these
witnesses carefully and judiciously. Each case is different and will require
specific types of experts. Some cases require DNA experts, others require
experts in material evidence; some cases require coroners or doctors, others
require weapons specialists. The attorneys have the burden of deciding which
types of experts will be needed to best make the case.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. While I may be very familiar with the scientific or philosophical
work that has been done on a particular topic, I have to be careful not to
overload the conversation with the opinions of too many “expert
 witnesses”. I have to be specific and targeted in the way that I bring
experts into the conversation. I also need to be well versed in the work
that these experts have done so that I can accurately quote them.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Become a specialist. It’s important to have a broad understanding
of a number of apologetic issues, but I know there are some
places where I am weak, and some places where I am stronger. I
try to focus on those areas that are off special interest to me and
it’s in these areas that I am most familiar with the experts in the
field. See yourself as the foreman on a jury. You and I don’t have
to BE expert witnesses; we simply need to be able to reiterate
what the expert witnesses have said once we get back in the jury
room with the other jurors.

Present Evidence Specifically

Each attorney has to decide which pieces of evidence will be ‘highlighted’ in
their specific case. Not every piece of evidence will have the same priority or
emphasis; some will be more important than others. The attorney must try to
decide which evidence he or she will highlight and which evidence he or she will
seek to minimize. The attorney has the burden of having to explain why some
evidence should be given greater weight than other evidence.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. Many Christians are careless in the way they utilize ‘evidence’
to support their case. Many of us have not done the “heavy lifting” and
examined the original sources for the evidence supporting the Christian
Worldview. Instead we carelessly quote something we read once on a
website or heard some speaker say. Careless presentation of evidence
can be a dangerous thing. Each of us, as “Case Making” Christians,
must familiarize ourselves with the evidence that supports our belief and
be responsible and accurate in citing these evidences. We’ve also got to
be prepared to argue why some evidence should be given more weight
than others.

A “Case Making” Tip:

A great deal of work has been done to help you cite and offer
good evidence to support the Christian Worldview.
PleaseConvinceMe.com has been specifically designed to
organize the categories of evidence and provide you with printable
articles, Bible inserts, videos and audios. But other important
writers such as Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, Francis Collins,
Norman Geisler and Kenneth Boa have also contributed to the
evidential case for the Christian worldview in powerful ways.

Anticipate and Respond to the Opposite Side Preemptively

Each attorney has to consider not only their own case but the case of their
opponent. Understanding the “other side” requires each attorney to think as his
or her opponent thinks and try to anticipate the objections and evidence that the
other side may offer. The attorney then has to decide if he or she will address
this opposing evidence during the course of presenting their own case or wait to
see if a particular objection is offered by his or her opponent. The cardinal rule
here is to avoid being ‘surprised’ by what the opposing side may offer. Each
attorney has to anticipate the opposing objections and be prepared to respond
immediately and thoroughly.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. It’s too easy to keep my head buried in the sand and refuse to
read and understand what those who disagree with me believe. While it’s
important to know what I believe and why I believe it, it’s equally
important to understand the view from the other side. Many of us are
unwilling to read the blogs, message boards and websites of those who
attack our position, but this needs to be a part of our “faith experience”. If
our beliefs are true, they will hold up to the scrutiny and challenges of
those who oppose us; if our beliefs are true, every other view of the
world will contain some logical fallacy that we must find and expose,
even as we make the case for our own position.

A “Case Making” Tip:

I was an atheist for so many years that it’s not hard for me to
recall all the doubts and challenges that I used to offer my
Christian friends. You may not have had the same experience, so
you may want to spend some time on the atheist message boards
or blogs to better understand where they are coming from. I’ve
assembled some common challenges of atheists HERE, and
there are many good books that also address the common
objections of atheists.

Proceed Through the Case Graciously

Each attorney also has to be careful about the manner in which they
behave throughout the course of the trial. Like other aspects of life, character
matters. Truthful messages can be negated by irritating messengers. The
attorneys have to recognize that the way they are perceived by the jury is just
as important as the content of their case. Juries have been known to decide
against an attorney rather than against the merits of a case. Attorneys have to
remember to be gracious under fire, endearing and self-effacing at all times,
and be able to disarm their opponents without appearing to attack them.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. When asked why non-believers object to Christianity, they
repeatedly cite what they describe as hypocritical or intolerant Christians
as a primary obstacle to their accepting Christianity as true. Many are
willing to consider the teaching of Jesus but unwilling to unite with those
who call themselves Christians! I have to make sure that my outward
behavior is an accurate reflection of my inward beliefs. The bar is very
 high for me as a Christian; I must be gracious toward those I love
enough to share the truth with, but recognize that many of them know
nothing about grace and may not offer me the same courtesy.

A “Case Making” Tip:

It’s important to understand how to effectively navigate a
conversation with grace and ease. An excellent resource in this
regard has been provided by my friend, Greg Koukl. He’s written
about the tactics necessary to navigate conversations related to
faith, and his approach is inherently gracious and ingratiating.

Make a Closing Argument Convincingly

Once all the evidence has been presented by both sides, each attorney has
the chance to summarize his or her case before the jury. In this final stage of
the presentation, the attorneys demonstrate how they ‘made good’ on all the
promises they made in their opening statements. The opposing attorney will
also surely highlight those areas where his or her opponent failed to present
something that he or she promised. The prosecution presents first, then the
defense and then the final rebuttal is offered again by the prosecution. The
prosecution presents last because the burden of proof is in the hands of the
prosecutor (who initially made the truth claim about the guilt of the defendant).

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. The last word is often the word that is most remembered. In
every conversation, it is my goal to leave the person I am talking to with
important questions that must still be answered. I want to help my friends
see the logical inconsistencies of their worldview and leave them with a
few important last thoughts to challenge and provoke them to dig deeper
into the claims we have been discussing.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Do your best to answer the questions that are offered by your
friends and family, but also remember to frame questions of your
own for their consideration. What kinds of questions might your
offer? Some examples of good questions that can guide others to
important answers can be found in our section on major world
religions. Each article ends with a series of questions that can be
asked of a person who holds the particular religious worldview in
question.

Instruct the Jury Evidentially

After the closing arguments, it’s almost time for the jury to begin their hard
work. But prior to sending the case to the jury, the judge in the case will give
them a set of instructions that will help them to evaluate what they’ve heard.
Every state has “Jury Instructions” that are a part of the criminal code. While
there are many important instructions, three are critical:

“Possibilities” Are Irrelevant

 Juries are instructed NOT to consider all “possibilities” in a given case.
They are only allowed to consider “reasonable inferences” from the
evidence that has been presented. When a juror comes up with an
alternative possible explanation for the crime that is not based on the
evidence that has been offered, it’s called “speculation” and this is strictly
prohibited.

Witnesses Are to Be Trusted

Juries are also instructed to consider eyewitnesses to a crime to be
reliable unless they can be demonstrated to be unreliable. Jurors are
allowed to consider critical issues related to eyewitnesses (these are
often raised by an opposing attorney). Jurors are instructed to ask
themselves if a particular eyewitness was in a position to see the crime,
if the eyewitness was under stress during the time of the observation, if
the eyewitness was paying close attention, if there was some other
physical aspect of the scene that might inhibit the eyewitness’
observation, if the eyewitness ever changed his or her mind, or if the
eyewitness had some motive to lie. If these questions (and others like
these) provide no reason to distrust the eyewitness, he or she is to be
trusted.

Circumstantial Evidence is Valid Evidence

Some people think that the only valid evidence is direct physical
evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, etc., but the jury must be instructed
that circumstantial evidence has the same value in a court of law. If, for
example, a suspect has a strong motive, is found to be lying about his
alibi, behaves in a guilty manner following the murder and was seen in
the neighborhood of the crime at the time of the event, these
circumstantial pieces of evidence can be assembled along with other
facts of the case to build a strong, cumulative, circumstantial case
against the defendant. The greater the number of these circumstantial
pieces of evidence, the greater the cumulative case and the more
powerful the evidence against the defendant. Circumstantial evidence is
valid and powerful, but many juries have to be instructed about the
nature of this kind of evidence.

Jurors are not allowed to take the case into the jury room and do anything they
may with it; there are specific rules of evidence that must be considered by
jurors in every case.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. I need to help people see that whatever it is that we believe
about the past, whatever it is that we believe about Jesus or the
existence of God, it needs to be grounded in something evidential, not
purely on speculation that cannot be supported by any evidence at all.
Many who oppose us believe that Christianity is itself non-evidential, but
nothing could be further from the truth. The strong cumulative
 circumstantial case for the Christian worldview simply has to be made
clear to those around us.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Recognize that the Christian faith is an evidential faith. Become
familiar with the many types of evidence that can be assembled to
form a strong cumulative case for the Christian worldview. We’ve
assembled one such cumulative case HERE.

Place the Case in the Hands of the Jury Confidently

Once the presentations are complete, it’s time to send the jury into
deliberation. There is nothing more that the attorneys can do at this point.
They’ve got to trust that they’ve done all that they can; their opportunity is past.
Now it’s up to the jurors. This is no time for regrets; the jury, if they have been
selected conscientiously and instructed properly, has everything it needs.

As a Christian…
I’ve got to do something very similar if I want to be a “Case Making”
Christian. Once I’ve done my best to describe and articulate the case for
a particular view, I’ve got to trust that my job is done. As a Christian, I
believe that God is ultimately the author of our faith and it is God who
must first remove the enmity that natural humans have toward Him.
Once God has done this, our friends and family will be able to assess
and appreciate the case that we’ve made. As a Christian “Case Maker” I
have to do what I am called to do and then confidently trust that God will
do what He does every day.

A “Case Making” Tip:

Understand the role that YOU play in sharing the truth, and the
role that GOD plays in bringing people to faith. There is a
difference between evidence and faith. We are called to provide
the evidence for the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible
and the Deity of Jesus. But only God can prepare the human
heart and turn that evidence into proof. I’ve written about this
HERE.

Applying This to Everything

Becoming a “Case Making” Christian means applying the basic rules of
investigation and presentation to every aspect of the Christian Life. Why do you
believe a particular Christian Doctrine? Have you applied good investigative
techniques to your view? Are you able to present your view to others? Why do you behave in
a particular way? Have you investigated the foundational belief that guides your behavior?
Are you able to defend this belief on the basis of Biblical evidence?

Christian “Case Making” is not simply an approach to Christian apologetics; it’s an approach
to Christian living. Christian “Case Makers” refuse to live unexamined lives; they understand
the value of rationality and good philosophy. As a result, Christian “Case Making” raises the
bar on thoughtful living. God has created us in his image and given us the capacity to live
beyond our natural impulses and desires. He’s given us the ability to dream and reason; the
ability to exceed our own natural limits. Let’s use what God has given us to make the case for
the Christian Worldview.