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A review by somechelsea
The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity by Lee Strobel
2.0
I read this specifically at the request of a friend of mine who mostly wanted to see if I could finish it before I threw it at him out of sheer frustration.
I guess I should start by stating that I disagree with Strobel on just about every single one of his points in this book. But I did read it, and it certainly made me take a second look at what I know and how it affects the things that I don't believe in. I didn't change my mind, of course, but anything that forces me to think about things in a new way is a good thing.
I only gave serious consideration to tossing the book during one of the later chapters that asked the question of how Christians could have faith in a god that would send people to hell. I've returned the book to my friend now, so I can't give the exact quote, but the scholar Strobel was interviewing said, in all seriousness, "Well, you have to understand that when we die and are in heaven or hell, we'll be our adult selves, even if we die as children." ... and then continues on with his "God knows all, so if he says people should burn in hell, well, they're going to burn in hell", and never even does me the courtesy of at least quoting a Bible verse or something to show where he pulled that particular factoid from.
Which basically comes down to the reason I don't bother to get into religious arguments: a person of the Christian faith who believes that the Bible is the word of God will use the Bible as proof. As someone who is not of the Christian faith, I will respond "so?" and the debate can never go anywhere.
I would have accepted a vague passage from the Bible as the scholar's grounds for believing that children don't actually go to hell because apparently everyone is an adult after they die - but he simply stated it as fact (the implied "duh" at the end was silent but present).
I'm glad I read it - it was insight into the faith that a lot of people in this country are struggling for and with - but I didn't find Strobel's case to have much basis.
I guess I should start by stating that I disagree with Strobel on just about every single one of his points in this book. But I did read it, and it certainly made me take a second look at what I know and how it affects the things that I don't believe in. I didn't change my mind, of course, but anything that forces me to think about things in a new way is a good thing.
I only gave serious consideration to tossing the book during one of the later chapters that asked the question of how Christians could have faith in a god that would send people to hell. I've returned the book to my friend now, so I can't give the exact quote, but the scholar Strobel was interviewing said, in all seriousness, "Well, you have to understand that when we die and are in heaven or hell, we'll be our adult selves, even if we die as children." ... and then continues on with his "God knows all, so if he says people should burn in hell, well, they're going to burn in hell", and never even does me the courtesy of at least quoting a Bible verse or something to show where he pulled that particular factoid from.
Which basically comes down to the reason I don't bother to get into religious arguments: a person of the Christian faith who believes that the Bible is the word of God will use the Bible as proof. As someone who is not of the Christian faith, I will respond "so?" and the debate can never go anywhere.
I would have accepted a vague passage from the Bible as the scholar's grounds for believing that children don't actually go to hell because apparently everyone is an adult after they die - but he simply stated it as fact (the implied "duh" at the end was silent but present).
I'm glad I read it - it was insight into the faith that a lot of people in this country are struggling for and with - but I didn't find Strobel's case to have much basis.