Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Much condensced from the original The Case for Christ, this book gets five stars because it is simple enough for the average junior/senior higher to understand his faith. One of my students says this is the best book that he ever read and was genuinely appreciative that the book was aimed at his level of understanding. The former skeptic Strobel asks some of the tough questions that many skeptics pose to Christians every day. Many Christians have been scared from sharing their faith because they don't have all the answers, and that's a shame.

The nice thing about this book is that Strobel asks prominent Christian scholars about the authenticity of Christ, His nature, and the veracity of the resurrection. Strobel interviews such greats as Bruce Metzger, Edwin Yamauchi, Gary Collins, D.A. Carson, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and J.P. Moreland. While the aforementioned scholars have all written plenty on their own, many of their tomes are unreadable by the average Christian layperson. But in the student edition of The Case for Christ, the writing is not too theological or difficult to understand. I believe anyone with doubts about Jesus Christ will view Him differently after reading this book. The Christian layperson will also benefit by learning answers to support her beliefs (1 Pet. 3:15-16). For these reasons, I highly recommend this book.

Lee Strobel, an award-winning journalist for the "Chicago Tribune," was plugging away and climbing higher up the ladder of journalism when he became confronted with his spiritual beliefs, or lack of, as Strobel was an atheist and his wife converted to Christianity. Strobel was forced to answer the question, "Who was Jesus?" Strobel's journey of skepticism to faith is as old as Christianity. One of the most famous journeys recorded is also a part of early Christian history. Saul, once a persecutor of Christians, becomes Paul and its most ardent purveyor of Christianity after being confronted by God on the road to Damascus. Strobel, in order to reclaim his wife, decides to use his Yale Law School education and years of refined reporting skills to discredit the Christian religion. But on the contrary, Strobel's plan backfires, and like the doubting apostle Thomas, he becomes a believer in Jesus due to the overwhelming amount of evidence.

Strobel's produces "The Case for Christ," his unequivocal answer that yes, Jesus is God incarnate and the Savior of the world who died on the cross for mankind's sins. The book reviewed here is the aforementioned title, but the student edition, which also has the benefit of Jane Vogel's (a writer who has been involved in youth ministry for nearly twenty years) contributions. The student edition is ideal for the adolescent, skeptic or religious seeker who just does not or would rather not give a considerable amount of time pursing the Jesus question. The student edition covers the vital information covered in the fuller edition, but of course, in less detail. In essence the student edition is the cliff notes version of the fuller paperback version of "The Case for Christ." One other notable difference is box inserts, which are prevalent throughout the student edition, spell out in plain English the points of the chapter being discussed.

For example, Chapter 3, answers the question, "Was Jesus Crazy to claim to be God?" Immediately within the beginning of the chapter there is a box insert that covers a full page entitled, "Signs of Mental Instability," with the subtitle on the left reading, "Symptoms," and the one on the right reading, "Analyzing Jesus." The box inserts generally contain the bullet points of the brief chapter (9 chapters span the book and average about 10 pages each). A visual negative about the box inserts is they are difficult to read at times; it feels like one is reading a darkened Xeroxed copy that was crumpled and then unsuccessfully straightened out. However, Strobel's writing is quite clear and easy to read. The student edition will no doubt be able to reach the young about matters of spirituality that are difficult concepts for even adults to wrap their minds around. For this reason, the book is also ideal for beginners in the faith or as mentioned before, the time-hurried skeptic or religious seeker. The student edition may leaving you wanting more or still undecided, then by all means, read the fuller version, the details afforded space there may assail your concerns. If one's questions are still not assuaged or if you have developed a hankering for Christian apologetics, then dive headlong into the classic, "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell. And lastly, there is always the greatest selling book of all time (no, not the "Da Vinci Code") just waiting to be opened and to satisfy your thirst, "The Holy Bible."

Bohdan Kot

this is a great book for teens that want to explore their faith in a logic cal court case like manner yet still interesting enough to keep you reading and all of Mr. Strobels facts are presented in an accurate manner and I believe that any everyone that reads this book will have all the facts they need to become a Christian or even learn about the faith. So pick this book up now it's a good book

I bought this book for my teen daughters to share. After reading it, my first daughter wanted even more! She asked for the 'adult' version of the book. It takes a lot to keep a teenager interested, so for that reason this book gets a great rating. A wonderful way to learn about why we believe what we do.

This book gave a good basic layout of how and when the Bible was written, and how it survived centuries of translations while remaining accurate. I started reading and couldn't put it down. It's down to earth and easy to understand.

This book was absolutely amazing. This book is not only for Unbelievers(especially), but Christians as well. This book breaks down the hard questions and facts concerning Jesus Christ. It's kind of like trial, where evidence is brought forth in the defense of Jesus, hence the name, "The 'Case' for Christ".

He really breaks it down into an understanding that almost anyone could read. So people such as unbelievers who don't know much about faith, can really grasp what he is talking about, without having to have much knowledge of scripture. So he really doesn't get too, too deep into theology that it would really confuse anyone, which is good.

For Christians this is really a good source of backup. I really don't think that we know all the facts of the Bible so this is always helpful. Any thing that can help strengthen your argument and faith is always a good thing.

I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who don't know Christ as their Savior. This would be a helpful stepping stone, that could go along with the reading of the Bible, which is a priority.

God Bless you all!

I have read the original "The Case for Christ" and was very pleased to see an edition written for teens. Although this edition is shorter it is written in a stimulating format using numerous windows and charts, none of the powerful defenses for Christ are lost. This book demonstrates that Christianity is not just another religion to choose from, but a belief based on facts, history, and logic. With the culture our youth are living in today, I believe this book will help our teens and preteens strengthen their faith, and motivate them to defend it.

My son, who is 12, has taken this book and is absolutely devouring it. He says it really explains a lot of things. I believe we should ask questions about our faith. There should be good answers to make us feel secure in the faith. This book is doing that for my son.

The Living Bible version of the origional. A very easy read with wonderful bible references. Not just for students.

I have had PLENTY of doubts about God...
1. Is the Bible true or just some historical fiction???
2. Did He really create the earth???
3. How do we know if Dariwn isn't true???
and much more. This book awensers all my Q's. A MUST GET FOR PRE-TEENS/TEENS!!!