The Cold-Case Christianity Podcast

J. Warner Wallace discusses the unique investigative approach he took to examining the evidence in the universe. Can scientists account for the evidence in the universe with purely "natural" explanations? If not, what is the best explanation for this evidence? For more information about Meg Meeker and Family Talk, please visit their website.

Most people say they are Christians because they were born to Christian parents and were raised in the church. Does one's geographic location determine what they will believe about God? Would Christians, for example, be Buddhists if they were raised in a Buddhist culture? J. Warner and Jimmy Wallace discuss recent news articles in this episode of the NRBtv Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast.

What are "near death" experiences and what do they tell us about the nature of reality and the world in which we live? Are they actually evidence of theism or Christianity? J. Warner and Jimmy Wallace discuss recent news articles in this episode of the NRBtv Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast.

Why is the easter season so important to Christians? What value does the Resurrection have to Christians, and why does it really matter? J. Warner and Jimmy Wallace discuss recent news articles in this episode of the NRBtv Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast.

It's been over a year since the final report about Ravi Zacharias was released. What can we learn from the scandal? What can we do to prevent others from falling in a similar way? J. Warner and Jimmy Wallace discuss recent news articles in this episode of the NRBtv Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast.

In this episode of Incarnate Investigation, Jimmy Wallace (J. Warner's son) taps into his experience as a police officer to discuss our inclination to simply "follow the rules". How does this inclination inhibit our ability to truly know and understand the heart of God? Incarnate Investigation podcasts will be featured occasionally as part of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast collection.

Is the story of Noah's flood just another ancient myth, borrowed from earlier pagan texts, or a record of a real historical catastrophe? In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity podcast, J. Warner Wallace applies his investigative experience as a cold-case homicide detective to examine the Genesis flood account. He compares it with stories like Atrahasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh, traces worldwide flood traditions, and asks whether all these ancient memories point back to a single, real event. Along the way, he explores questions about miracles, philosophical naturalism, geology, the scope of the flood (global or regional), the ark's feasibility, and the moral difference between the biblical God and the capricious gods of other ancient cultures. If you find this episode helpful, please follow the podcast so you never miss an update, and take a moment to rate and review the show—your review really helps more people discover Cold-Case Christianity.

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace tackles one of the most important questions in the Christian faith: Is Jesus truly God, or just a created agent of God? Limiting the "evidence" to three key passages—John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1—he works through the text like an investigative case file, showing how each "chapter one" presents Jesus as Creator, sustainer, redeemer, and the visible image of the invisible God. Along the way, he explains terms like "firstborn of all creation" and "the exact imprint of His nature," clarifying why the earliest Christians worshiped Jesus and why Christianity collapses if He is anything less than God incarnate. If you've heard that Paul invented a different Jesus, that the Gospels don't teach His deity, or that early Christians didn't worship Him as God, this episode will help you rethink those claims and better explain Jesus' identity to the people you love. If you find this conversation helpful, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with a friend—it really helps more people discover the case for Christianity.

Would first‑century Christians even recognize what we call "church" today? In this episode, J. Warner Wallace uses a simple "alien thought experiment" to examine how closely (or how poorly) our modern church models resemble the church described in the book of Acts. Drawing from his own journey—from walking into a megachurch as a 35‑year‑old skeptic, to serving in a mid‑sized church, to planting a home church—Jim explores where we may have drifted from the New Testament pattern and how we can realign our communities with the biblical design for gathering, mission, and discipleship. This conversation will challenge how you think about Sunday services, church size, programs, and what it really means to live as the people of God in the world today.​ If this episode was helpful, please subscribe to the Cold-Case Christianity podcast so you never miss a new show, and take a moment to rate and review the podcast on your favorite platform—your review helps more people discover the truth of the Christian worldview.

This episode walks through John 1 verse by verse to show why the apostle John leaves no room for a "just-a-prophet" Jesus and instead presents Him clearly as the eternal, divine Word of God. Drawing on cold-case investigative principles and the cumulative-case approach he used in homicide trials, J. Warner Wallace explains how the language, structure, and Old Testament echoes in the opening of John's Gospel build a powerful case for the full deity of Christ.​ You'll hear how early Christians came to embrace the triune nature of God not by importing philosophy into the Bible, but by trying to stay faithful to everything Scripture says about the Father, Son, and Spirit. The episode also addresses common objections from those who deny Jesus' deity while still claiming to follow Him, and offers practical guidance for talking with friends and family who affirm a "human-only" Jesus.​ If this conversation helps you think more clearly about who Jesus really is, please subscribe or follow the podcast and take a moment to leave a rating and review in your app—your feedback helps more people discover the show and explore the case for the Christian worldview.

This episode reframes how we think about love and relationships by contrasting fragile, contract-style arrangements with the resilient, biblical model of covenant. Drawing from marriage research, Scripture, and decades of walking with couples in crisis, J. Warner Wallace explains why seeing marriage (and other key relationships) as covenants radically changes how you date, marry, and relate—whether you are single, engaged, or married.​ You'll hear why people who "love marriage" itself tend to have stronger, more sacrificial relationships, how your marriage (or singleness) is always preaching something to the watching world, and why thinking of relationships as contracts actually trains us to look for exit clauses instead of opportunities to serve. The episode unpacks the idea of a 100–0 covenant mindset—giving 100% with 0% demand in return—as an expression of a deeper covenant with Jesus, and shows how this posture can transform conflict, expectations, and long-term commitment. If this conversation is helpful, please subscribe or follow the podcast and take a moment to leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app so others can find it as well. You can also find and subscribe to the show by searching "Cold-Case Christianity with J. Warner Wallace" in your podcast platform of choice.​

This episode wrestles with trauma, murder, and suffering, and explains why the way you see the world—your worldview—largely determines how deeply you are wounded and how you process life's most painful events. Drawing from real cold-case homicides and personal conversations with victims' families, J. Warner Wallace shows how expectations about God, goodness, justice, and life itself either shatter under the weight of evil or are refined and strengthened when they match reality.​ You'll hear how an underdeveloped or shallow view of the Christian faith can collapse when tragedy strikes, and why a robust, well-thought-out Christian worldview can actually prepare you for suffering rather than promise you a pain-free life. The episode summarizes key ideas from J. Warner's work on the problem of evil—why God might allow horrific events, how this relates to free will, eternity, and human sin, and why Christianity offers not just an explanation for suffering but hope and meaning in the middle of it.​ To go deeper on these themes of evil, justice, and the Christian worldview, check out J. Warner's book The Truth in True Crime here: https://amzn.to/3LNWxp6  If this conversation helps you think more clearly about trauma and God's plan, please follow/subscribe to the podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in your app—your feedback helps more people discover this content and process their own suffering through the lens of the gospel.

This episode challenges the modern obsession with platforms and "ministry success" and asks whether followers of Jesus have quietly replaced real service with a pursuit of visibility, funding, and fame. Drawing from years of case work, tentmaking ministry, and mentoring aspiring apologists, J. Warner Wallace contrasts the quiet, often unseen work of everyday Christian service with the drive to build brands, launch organizations, and chase numbers in the name of the gospel.​ You'll hear why Scripture calls believers to serve without needing applause, income, or a 501(c)(3), and how simple daily acts—loving your local church, discipling a few people, posting faithful content, caring for the hurting—can have more eternal impact than any "big" platform. The conversation also addresses the real dangers of pride, comparison, and monetization, and offers a practical vision for using gifts, tools, and even book sales as fuel for generosity and ministry rather than as measures of personal worth.​ To go deeper on these ideas about motives, identity, and calling, check out J. Warner's book The Truth in True Crime here: https://amzn.to/3LNWxp6 If this episode encourages or challenges you, please follow/subscribe to the podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in your app—your feedback helps more people discover this content and rethink what real Christian service looks like.

This episode looks at why humility is the one trait that can quietly destroy our obsession with celebrity, platform, and approval—and why it may be the key to saving your soul in a culture built on self-promotion. Drawing from cold-case investigations, Scripture, and decades in ministry, J. Warner Wallace shows how the pursuit of fame, followers, and influence so often leads to moral compromise, spiritual shipwreck, and deep dissatisfaction, even when it "works" on the outside.​ You'll hear how both secular and religious "doing worldviews" tend to fuel pride by making everything transactional and comparative: do more, get more, be more than the next person. In contrast, the Christian worldview begins not with achievement but with repentance and grace, received through an act of humility before God. By walking through biblical teaching—from the words of Jesus about the last being first, to the letters of Paul and Peter on humbling ourselves under God's mighty hand—this episode highlights why only a cross-shaped, humility-driven faith can free us from the tyranny of image, success, and celebrity.​ To go deeper on these ideas, check out J. Warner's book The Truth in True Crime here: https://amzn.to/3LNWxp6  If this conversation helps you, please follow/subscribe to the podcast and take a moment to leave a rating and review in your app—your feedback helps more people discover this content and rethink what true greatness looks like in light of the gospel.

This episode explores why your identity is the most important thing about you and how Scripture calls followers of Jesus to root who they are in Christ rather than in changing roles, emotions, or cultural labels. Drawing from social research, biblical theology, and real-life examples from law enforcement, ministry, and family, J. Warner Wallace exposes the lies that say you are what you do, what you desire, or what others say about you—and contrasts them with the unshakable identity offered "from above" in the gospel.​ You'll hear about the three main ways people form identity (outside-in, inside-out, and top-down), how trauma and life transitions reveal what you've really been trusting, and why only an identity in Christ can provide lasting stability and peace. By walking through key passages like John 3, Ezekiel 36, 2 Corinthians 5, and Galatians 2, this conversation will help you diagnose where your identity actually rests today and how to relocate it to the only foundation that will never shift.​ To go deeper on this subject, check out J. Warner's book The Truth in True Crime here: https://coldcasechristianity.com/the-truth-in-true-crime. If this episode is helpful, please take a moment to rate and review the podcast in your app, and be sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss a future episode. Your engagement helps more people discover this content and begin thinking carefully about their true identity in Christ.​

J. Warner Wallace is interviewed by Pastor David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church and talks about the importance of becoming a good Christian Case Maker and a specific strategy for selecting those with whom we share what we believe. This excerpt is from a longer interview with apologist Mark Lanier.

In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast, J. Warner Wallace responds to two emails from viewers of the show. (1) Is it unbiblical to examine evidence to confirm the reliability of the Bible? Shouldn't we just trust what the Bible says since it is the Word of God? (2) Do the varied interpretations of Genesis 1 invalidate the Bible as a source of reliable information? If the Bible is the Word of God, shouldn't we be able to come to agreement about what it teaches?

J. Warner Wallace joins Pastor David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church and trial attorney Mark Lanier (author of Christianity on Trial) to discuss the evidential case for Christianity and the importance of Christian Case Making.

J. Warner discusses the reliability of the Bible as he examines the unifying theme of the Bible. How does the Bible answer the three most important questions related to "worldview"? Is there a single message that spans the Old and New Testament? Does the unity of the Biblical message provide us with any evidence related to the origin of the Bible?

J. Warner Wallace discusses the approach he took with the Gospels when he first began to investigate the case for Jesus. How do we know the gospels can be trusted? Do they contain eyewitness records related to the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus? For more information about Meg Meeker and Family Talk, please visit their website.