"The resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christianity stand or fall together. One cannot be true without the other," Josh McDowell and his coauthor, son Sean, assert early in the book, Evidence for the Resurrection: What It Means for Your Relationship with God. "Without the historical resurrection of Jesus, the Christian faith is a mere placebo."

Dividing the book into three sections, the authors explore the compelling evidences and reasons for the reality of the Resurrection in the third and final portion. The first two sections address the questions: "Why did humanity need the Resurrection to begin with?" and "What does the Resurrection mean to me personally?" In these chapters, the authors connect life's hard questions—about pain, struggle, disappointment, death—with God's miraculous answer in Jesus the risen Savior. Mature believers may be tempted to skip over these chapters and dive into the third section, but those interested in effectively dialoguing with unbelievers about Jesus should resist the temptation, and instead read carefully.

During our conversation last week, Josh sat on an airport lobby floor, keeping our phone appointment despite a cancelled flight and skewed schedule. “How does believing in Christ’s resurrection change our perspective on life?” I asked.

“If the Resurrection isn't true, then it really doesn't influence our life. Everything that Christ lived and died for is dependent on the Resurrection. First Corinthians 15 says our faith is worthless if he died in vain. Many believe it to be true because they want it to be true, but they don’t have the conviction that it is true. That’s why I wanted to do a definitive book on the Resurrection—to help believers understand that this event actually happened.

"The implications of it are, first, the forgiveness of sin. If Christ died for forgiveness of sin, that would not be true if he did not rise from the dead. We would still have been lost in our sin. So I have the confidence in knowing that because the Resurrection is true, I am forgiven. Christ offered his sacrifice, and God the Father accepted it.