76 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good start to answering difficult questions, March 13, 2001
Lee Strobel has written several good books that could be especially valuable to someone new in the Christian faith. In fact, even older Christians will appreciate the information offered in The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith, both of which nicely complement each other in their easy-to-read style. In The Case for Faith, Strobel--who is a former skeptic--continues where he left off with The Case for Christ. He interviews scholars all over the country, picking their brains for answers to some of the toughest questions out there, including evil, miracles, and "oppressive" church history. Read sort of like a novel, Strobel introduces each chapter by mixing in interesting crime/court stories he gathered during his investigative reporter days for a Chicago newspaper. Sometimes, though, his writing is a little melodramatic, as there were several times I became annoyed with his overuse of neon yellow adjectives. Otherwise, I thought the novelistic style helped make the book a quick read. While the average reader should not need more than 6-8 hours with this book, if he/she reads carefully, much can be learned about answers to some pretty difficult questions. Overall I recommend The Case for Faith for its apologetic value. Deeper material can certainly be gathered in other places, including the little more detailed "When Skeptics Ask" (Geisler) and the much more detailed "Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics" (Geisler). As a beginning book, though, The Case for Faith works well.
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69 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good in spots., July 5, 2001
The Case for Faith is a simple and readable book based on a good idea: interview top Christian thinkers about questions that many people see as roadblocks to faith. Strobel begins with just the right tone, an empathetic and poignant interview with elderly skeptic and one-time evangelist, Charles Templeton.
Some of the interviews are pretty good, and all of them have something of value, for those who are looking for it. I doubt most of the interviewees would call themselves "fundamentalists," as one reviewer describes them; certainly not Catholic philosopher, Peter Kreeft! Kreeft is generally good on the Problem of Pain, though some of his solutions may seem a bit post hoc to those who do not share Christian assumptions. Sometimes the honest bewilderment of Job seems preferable to clever philosophical answers. Not that Kreeft's answers are merely clever; it's a tough question, and there is a lot to what he says. William Craig is, as always, sharp (on miracles, here) informed about contrary positions, and accustomed to fielding questions in the environment of debates with top skeptics, not just Christian pep rallies, qualifies himself appropriately. Walter Bradley's discussion of the difficulty of life emerging from non-life was excellent. I only noticed one lapse. But it was a major one: he didn't mention the idea of molecular evolution, and Strobel didn't ask. I'm not sure that's a very good solution, and Bradley's arguments may largely answer it anyway, but not bringing the question up I found rather gauling. Ravi Zacharius did better than I expected on Jesus being the only way to God. But while Zacharius gave good general theological answers, and he seems to know Western philosophy fairly well, I didn't see much evidence of deep and sympathetic knowledge of non-Christian religions.
The chapter on church history was, in my opinion, weaker than it should have been, though for a different reason. John Woodbridge may be an excellent historian, but he doesn't appear to be an apologist. He relates the conventional version of what happened, rather than putting events in philosophical and spiritual context. For example, he mentions the Crusades without explaining the background of Muslim conquests or the reality of Turkic rule, the makeup of the "Christian" troops sent to the Middle East, or contextual facts such as that Pope Innocent's promise of salvation to fallen warriors was an echo of the Muslim promise, half a millenia earlier, that "the way to Paradise is lit by the flash of swords!" The "Christianity" of the era, in other words, had itself become partly Muslim.
I found Geisler quite disappointing. His argument that God was being nice when he ordered genocide on the Palestinians was unsatisfactory, to put it mildly. Better to say you don't understand, and admit perplexity, than to give lame explanations like that. At least say "maybe" or "the way I see it." (Richard Wurmbrand, a Christian pastor who was tortured by the communists, writes briefly on the subject with more authority, and empathy. See In God's Underground.) Then Geisler claimed that the Fall of man was responsible for animal suffering. Strobel didn't even ask, "What about the millions of fossils of animals we find in layers of rock untroubled by any footprint of man? Were the effects of the Fall retroactive?" The question glares from the text like a flare. These lapses were unfortunate, because other things Geisler said could be helpful, if the whole were packaged a little more carefully, and critiqued more thoroughly.
While this book is entitled "The Case For Faith," in fact it does not mention a lot of the best evidence for the Christian faith, and is largely defensive in nature. (Answering objections as much as giving positive arguments.) While I disagree with some arguments, I think it may be helpful to many people. As other readers said, it is a generally good introduction to the subject.
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50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid, convincing answers to the toughest questions, October 6, 2000
By A Customer
This excellent resource provides persuasive answers to the "Big 8" objections to Christianity. As a former skeptic myself, I consider this book to be the very best of its type in terms of readability, cogent analysis, and honest engagement with the most difficult issues involving Christianity. Like the author's previous best-seller, "The Case for Christ," this book is sure to garner a huge number of strong supporters as well as a small group of vociferous critics. That's because some people simply won't like the author's conclusions and will do anything to discourage people from reading the book. However, read the negative reviews yourself and you'll see their logical holes or their blatant misunderstanding of the author's points. Incredibly, one reviewer accuses the author of not disclosing he's a minister -- when that very fact is emblazoned across the back of the book! So the credibility belongs to the author, and anyone who is sincerely seeking answers to their tough questions about faith will find this book to be thorough, engaging, and potentially life-changing!
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