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398 reviews for:
The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
Lee Strobel
3.93 AVERAGE
398 reviews for:
The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
Lee Strobel
3.93 AVERAGE
Originally I gave this title 4 stars. I am revising my stars to zero.
The reason I am doing so is that since reading this title, several things about my faith journey and expression have changed and I no longer subscribe to evangelical ideologies.
I respect Strobel's investigative look but cannot stand behind stars/reviews I have given based on prior readings.
The reason I am doing so is that since reading this title, several things about my faith journey and expression have changed and I no longer subscribe to evangelical ideologies.
I respect Strobel's investigative look but cannot stand behind stars/reviews I have given based on prior readings.
Lee Strobel was an atheist and a journalist for The Chicago Tribune when his wife became a Christian. Annoyed, and sure he'd be able to un-convert her, he set out to disprove the existence of Jesus Christ. What he shares in The Case for Christ is the path he took, the research he uncovered, and the conclusions he came to which led to his own conversion.
I wish I'd read this 10 years ago when it was first recommended to me. My only complaint with the writing - why I didn't go ahead and give it 5 stars - is with his attempts set the scenes; they drove me nuts. I really didn't care if his coffee was steaming, or if the man he interviewed inhaled deeply. I just wanted the facts.
I wish I'd read this 10 years ago when it was first recommended to me. My only complaint with the writing - why I didn't go ahead and give it 5 stars - is with his attempts set the scenes; they drove me nuts. I really didn't care if his coffee was steaming, or if the man he interviewed inhaled deeply. I just wanted the facts.
Even for being 25 years old, this book provides a comprehensive and compelling argument for Jesus being the Son of God as claimed by the Bible.
The ideas he digs into are complex, and Strobel does not shy away from nuance. However, he followed a very clear organization, and I never felt like we were trudging through weeds, chasing rabbits, or out of site from the trail.
The presentation of an investigative journalist digging out the evidence in the same way that a court of law would was very clever!
There was clearly a great deal of research that went into identifying the arguments against Christianity, in addition to the author’s own skepticisms, and we get those arguments as he poses them to the Christian scholars to refute. At first blush, it may seem like he only sought out Christian sources of the information. He didn’t- he compiled a very long list of atheist arguments from a lot of sources by non-believers.
Additionally, the author frequently pauses to insert bits of his own research beyond the interviews. These side notes are clear and lend a lot of credibility.
Obviously, I was already a believer going into this book. But I agree with Strobel that the historical, archeological, and theological evidence, that he very clearly articulated, can only be explained by Jesus’s burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins.
The ideas he digs into are complex, and Strobel does not shy away from nuance. However, he followed a very clear organization, and I never felt like we were trudging through weeds, chasing rabbits, or out of site from the trail.
The presentation of an investigative journalist digging out the evidence in the same way that a court of law would was very clever!
There was clearly a great deal of research that went into identifying the arguments against Christianity, in addition to the author’s own skepticisms, and we get those arguments as he poses them to the Christian scholars to refute. At first blush, it may seem like he only sought out Christian sources of the information. He didn’t- he compiled a very long list of atheist arguments from a lot of sources by non-believers.
Additionally, the author frequently pauses to insert bits of his own research beyond the interviews. These side notes are clear and lend a lot of credibility.
Obviously, I was already a believer going into this book. But I agree with Strobel that the historical, archeological, and theological evidence, that he very clearly articulated, can only be explained by Jesus’s burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins.
fast-paced
I like apologetics, so this book was up my alley. I enjoyed the interview style and the opportunity to read difficult questions answered by some of the world's most knowledgeable theologians/scholars. I appreciated the information he provided for additional reading as well.
I gave this a 4 just because the author was so passionate. I believe that Jesus is the Christ, but this guy used a lot of circular reasoning. And while he referenced a lot of books from atheists, he didn't appear to talk to any. I guess that's because he started out from the atheist viewpoint and didn't think he needed to?
The only thing I think he proved is that that gospels are historically accurate and were written shortly after the time of Christ and not centuries later.
I think the reason he couldn't definitively prove much else, is because God wants us to believe based on faith, not proof. And, I don't think there's proof that Jesus was NOT who he said he was, but I don't think this particular book proved that he was.
The only thing I think he proved is that that gospels are historically accurate and were written shortly after the time of Christ and not centuries later.
I think the reason he couldn't definitively prove much else, is because God wants us to believe based on faith, not proof. And, I don't think there's proof that Jesus was NOT who he said he was, but I don't think this particular book proved that he was.
How to put it? I'm an occasionally questioning atheist who basically picked this book up because occasionally, I kind of regret I do find religion to be based on wish fulfillment rather than facts, and I was hoping he would offer some actual decent arguments. And I'd heard good things about this one, so what the hey.
But man, this is the worst Christian apologetic I've read since that one where they gave out appropriate Bible quotations to throw at any argument. (Hint for Christians: If they don't agree that the Bible is the word of God, then Bible quotations are not actually automatic win buttons. Isn't viewing Bible quotations as an automatic win button kind of disrespectful, anyway?) I wish Christians would divide their apologetics into "for Christians who want to defend their faith against people who don't actually know anything about Christianity" and "no really we're making an attempt at actually convincing people who don't already believe this time." I mean, I didn't like Mere Christianity, but I will give it this: CS Lewis was actually trying to construct an argument strong enough to convince people who didn't already believe. It didn't work (for me), but he tried, and he was honest about trying, and that is something I respect. Lee Strobel, on the other hand, is blatantly just using the appearance of being a skeptic to give his words added authority. It's the most disingenuous book I've ever read.
And in some respects, I would be fine with that? I've read feel good articles that I liked because they agreed with me and they told me more about topics I wanted to know about and yeah, the fact that I could tell they were biased bothered me, but...reading things that tell you more about the things you already agree with is fun and soothing and I'm not really going to criticize anyone for doing that in moderation. If it stripped out the investigative journalist nonsense, I'd disagree and go [citation needed] at certain claims, but there's plenty of books out there that
But come the fuck on, Lee Strobel in this is as much an investigative journalist as I am a devout Christian. He's presenting the claims of a particular strain of American Christianity. Fine, that's a valid topic for a book. I'd consider reading it, even. But don't lie about what the book actually is.
But man, this is the worst Christian apologetic I've read since that one where they gave out appropriate Bible quotations to throw at any argument. (Hint for Christians: If they don't agree that the Bible is the word of God, then Bible quotations are not actually automatic win buttons. Isn't viewing Bible quotations as an automatic win button kind of disrespectful, anyway?) I wish Christians would divide their apologetics into "for Christians who want to defend their faith against people who don't actually know anything about Christianity" and "no really we're making an attempt at actually convincing people who don't already believe this time." I mean, I didn't like Mere Christianity, but I will give it this: CS Lewis was actually trying to construct an argument strong enough to convince people who didn't already believe. It didn't work (for me), but he tried, and he was honest about trying, and that is something I respect. Lee Strobel, on the other hand, is blatantly just using the appearance of being a skeptic to give his words added authority. It's the most disingenuous book I've ever read.
And in some respects, I would be fine with that? I've read feel good articles that I liked because they agreed with me and they told me more about topics I wanted to know about and yeah, the fact that I could tell they were biased bothered me, but...reading things that tell you more about the things you already agree with is fun and soothing and I'm not really going to criticize anyone for doing that in moderation. If it stripped out the investigative journalist nonsense, I'd disagree and go [citation needed] at certain claims, but there's plenty of books out there that
But come the fuck on, Lee Strobel in this is as much an investigative journalist as I am a devout Christian. He's presenting the claims of a particular strain of American Christianity. Fine, that's a valid topic for a book. I'd consider reading it, even. But don't lie about what the book actually is.
He needs a better case. He reveals his emotional bias in the first chapter when he reveals that his new beautiful wife is a christian. And it goes downhill from there. Evidence cannot exist in a vacuum.
I was left tearful but happy as I read Lee’s personal story and I was amazed and in awe by the amazing groundwork he laid by investigating concepts and themes, many of which were new arguments for me (as I’m not much of a philosophical person), and many which were very eye-opening. I enjoyed the layout and found myself riveted from one chapter to the next, unable to wait to see what the next set of questions, theories and arguments beheld. I can see why this is a powerful and thought-provoking book and why it is so highly recommended!
A brilliant book that carefully analyses a huge range of types of evidence and arguments for the resurrection of Christ. What I love about this book is that Lee Strobel (the author), the once hard skeptic-atheist journalist, went and interviewed over a dozen experts in specific fields to investigate whether there is any credible evidence for Christianity. Each of these interviews had its own chapter. For example, an expert archaeologist for archaeological evidence and affirmation of the places, history, and reliability of the New Testament, a medical professional for medical proof of Jesus’ death, and irrefutable evidence of the empty tomb presented by expert historians and renowned apologists etc. I don’t know how anyone can read this book and still reasonably reject the historicity of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. I have to admit, the book is quite long at about 400 pages, but each section was easy to read and full of valuable information. I also wish that there were women scholars who could have been interviewed. Apart from that, this is a book I will keep and cherish, and probably re-read in future. I recommend this to everyone.