Customer Reviews

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (6 Pack)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Like many American Christians, I was brought to church most Sundays and endured countless sermons and lessons. Despite this seemingly rich education on Christian principles, I never was exposed to a lesson or class on the existence of God; God's existence was assumed as fact. As I matured into my twenties and went to college, the existance of God was no longer taken for granted. I encountered many agnostics and atheists among my many college professors. The net result of their influence was to question my faith in the existance of God. I never lost my faith, but I found it was a faith that could not withstand scrutiny.

Reading Lee Stobel's "The Case For Christ" began in me my search for the certainty of my faith. Strobel's book is an excellent place to start. He presents interviews with several Christian apologetics that involve issues related to the veracity of the Biblical account of Christ, the Son of God.

The issues are as follows:

The trustworthiness of the Gospel accounts.
Historical evidences for Christ outside of the Bible.
Archaeology and the Life of Christ
The "Jesus Seminar" account of the life of Christ.
Did Jesus claim to be equal with God?
Is Jesus the promised scripture's Messiah?
Did Jesus really die on the cross?
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Mr. Strobel investigates each issue thoroughly. He approaches the issues as a skeptic who wants to be convinced of the truth. Apparently, Strobel was once a skeptic himself and his investigative journalism convinced him of the truth of his childhod faith in Christ. The only weakness I could find in the book is the lack of rebuttal from those individuals who do not believe in the deity of Jesus. Strobel claims to be the main rebuttal witness, as he assumes the skeptical viewpoint, but he is writing from the position of a believer, and his rebuttals are perhaps not as forceful as a "true" unbeliever.

If you have questions like I did, (and as did Strobel), then this is a good starting point for your journey. There are other books that go into complete detail on all the issues raised here, and you may want to purchase these as well. But this is a very good starting point for answering those nagging doubts about your faith in Christianity and one's faith in the person of Jesus.

Most highly recommended.

Jim "Konedog" Koenig

To start out, let me say that being a Christian my review might/will be biased. =)

From the many Apologetics-jargon for defending our faith, not for apologising for it-type books this falls in the middle category in complexity, in evidence, and understandability. Having an analytical mind, this book was easy for me to read. Strobel interviews "experts" in their particular fields like Craig Blomberg (expert in the Gospels). Who in turn would give out the evidence, in Blomberg's case why the Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John) are truthful and accurate. Other chapters deal with, archeology, psychology, medical view of death/resurrection, historical accuracy, etc.

I led a Bible Study with this book at UC Irvine, and the students were not fully able to understand the train of thought of Strobel in some chapters, which surprised me. However, they were excited to find more facts in what they believed.

Yet, this is a more complicated book than Paul Little's "Know why you believe" but definitely easier to digest than C.S. Lewis' books such as "Problem of Pain" or "The Great Divorce" (I'd have to read some sentences/paragraphs 2-3 times before understanding), or J.P. Moreland's "Scaling the Secular City" (in which after reading some paragraphs 4-5 times I would wonder if it was written in english at all, albeit an excellent philosophical book)

As this book is a "summary" of each particular topic, it doesn't go in-depth in any one topic, but it would be a great starting point as it has citations and references to 120+ "academic" books.

All in all, I think this is a great book for NEW believers, to re-affirm their faith, and answer their questions at heart. Can't really say this book would turn an unbeliever to Christ, but it might help for those who need questions answered. After all, God works in wonderful (weird?) ways.

Lee Strobel has done his homework and produced an excellent book on the evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He asks all the questions the common man/woman would ask.

The best part of the book is at the very end. Lee asks us, "So what!" Now that we are armed with all of this evidence, what do we do with it? It's up to us to decide to follow Jesus or not. There's SO much evidence. There is no denying that Jesus Christ is truely the Son of God. There are so many facts from both secular and sacred sources that prove it.

I encourage the skeptic, the agnostic, the atheist, the Jew, the Buddist, the Hindu, etc., and even the person who "thinks" he/she is a Christian, to read this easy-to-read book, and then try to dispute the findings.

For those who were already convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, it will only strengthen your faith. It did mine!

Julie A. Belonger

Strobel does a respectable job of making a case for Christ's existence, death and resurrection. This book reports on many interviews the author had with experts in many different areas. Many other resources are presented and reviewed. This saves a tremendous amount of time for someone wanting to research the validity of Christ. There are probably many things you did not know about and also many things you do know about but never connected. This book is one of the must-read books of the Christian faith.

The Case for Christ is an interesting account of a man who didn't know Christ, and because of his wife's conversion and this own curiosity decided to take his newspaper reporter nose and check out all the claims to Christ. You can see in each chapter how Mr. Strobel is piecing information together. A facinating account of someone who didn't believe and who came out believing. Christians should read this book because it will revitalize your life in Christ, and others should read it and let his words point the way.

I had already read the book and wanted to buy several more to give away to friends. "The Case For Christ" is a wonderful, thought-provoking, intelligently written book by Lee Strobel, who is an investigative reporter, and decided to build a case for becoming a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's very readable and well researched from many different angles. I would recommend it for anyone who is seeking the answers to life's important questions about Jesus, The Christ.

Lee Strobel's narrative presents intriguing arguements for the existence and validity of Jesus Christ in a surprisingly easy and interesting manner for a potentially heavy theological topic. So many religious writings intimidate the reader with a presumposition that the reader understands the basic premise of Christianity. As a veteran news reporter and atheist, Lee Strobel sets out to try to understand the history and mystery of Jesus Christ as the "everyday 21st Century Man". Strobel wants to nail down facts, dispel fiction, and get to truth using logic, analysis and research skills developed as a Chicago newpaperman.

Strobel's investigative approach and technique were also educational for me outlining a thoughtful premise for analyzing any new information. His presentation of "A Case For Christ" is to critically analyze what is known through eye witness accounts, corraborative sources, and historical evidence. Interesting stuff! Finally, with all of the information discussed, presented, argued and summarized, Strobel leads us to a jury verdict, "What say you? Is Jesus the Christ?"

I highly recommend this book for non-believers, seekers, and believers looking for the extra, "Got it!"

Aloha.

I found this book extremely interesting, couldn't put it down, and shared it with an agnostic friend (a former Christian) who had his faith revitalized after reading the book. Strobel's watertight apologetics covering almost every concievable area and argument are brilliantly written. I plan to order the six pack.

This book is incredible. It's changed my outlook considerably. I've always believed in Jesus, but I was so afraid to ask questions about the things I didn't understand. (What if I'm in the wrong faith? Why did Jesus say the Kingdom of God would be seen by those within his lifetime? Why did Jesus say respond the way he did when someone called him "good"?) The honest, hard-hitting questions by Lee Strobel were refreshing--and the honest, irrefutable answers by the scholars he interviewed were even more so. There's no doubt as to the validity of Christianity anymore, and I fully recommend it for anyone honestly seeking answers, no matter what your religious affiliation. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you want to make this book available to a large group (like a Sunday School class), this is a cost effective way to do so. The font size is very readable, which is not always the case in books at this price range.