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ajsterkel 's review for:
The Case for Christ
by Lee Strobel
Compared to other books about religion, this one is very accessible. You don’t need to be a Bible scholar to understand the author’s arguments. You just need to know the story of Jesus. The author argues that the story of Jesus in the Bible is the literal truth. It’s not a legend or an exaggeration. The author presents his argument like a court case, with interviews and historical evidence. The interview structure is surprisingly quick to get through. I was able to read the book in big chunks without feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information coming at me. That’s not always possible with nonfiction books.
The author is not a good writer. Or, maybe the book isn’t supposed to be read the way I read it? Maybe it’s a reference book that you only pick up when you have a question? I don’t know, but the structure is tedious. Every chapter is laid out the same way. The author introduces an expert, asks a few questions, agrees with the expert, and then moves on to the next interview. The author claims to be skeptical of Christianity, but he doesn’t come across as a skeptic in the book. There were many times during the interviews where I wanted him to ask “Why?” or “How do you know?” or “What’s the source for that?” or “What about this other religion?” I got frustrated because the skeptic wasn’t acting skeptical!
I also got frustrated with the lack of diversity in the people interviewed. All of the interview subjects have the exact same perspective. They’re all older, male, conservative, academics. I’m sure there are other Bible scholars in the world who are just as educated as these guys, but who have come to different conclusions. Why don’t they get to present their evidence? This book is set up like a court case, but we only see part of the case! I guess we need another book with more perspectives.
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense?
I have a blog for that.
The author is not a good writer. Or, maybe the book isn’t supposed to be read the way I read it? Maybe it’s a reference book that you only pick up when you have a question? I don’t know, but the structure is tedious. Every chapter is laid out the same way. The author introduces an expert, asks a few questions, agrees with the expert, and then moves on to the next interview. The author claims to be skeptical of Christianity, but he doesn’t come across as a skeptic in the book. There were many times during the interviews where I wanted him to ask “Why?” or “How do you know?” or “What’s the source for that?” or “What about this other religion?” I got frustrated because the skeptic wasn’t acting skeptical!
I also got frustrated with the lack of diversity in the people interviewed. All of the interview subjects have the exact same perspective. They’re all older, male, conservative, academics. I’m sure there are other Bible scholars in the world who are just as educated as these guys, but who have come to different conclusions. Why don’t they get to present their evidence? This book is set up like a court case, but we only see part of the case! I guess we need another book with more perspectives.
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense?
I have a blog for that.