Rating: Summary: Fundamentalist Propaganda Review: This book is an easy read, it is made of journalistic interviews. The bad thing is that all those interviewed are Christian fundamentalists, and it is no wonder they pretend that the Christian propaganda pieces called gospels were eye-witness documents, that Jesus was raised from the dead, that he was the Christ... Please, Come on... Why does he keep the other side of the story under silence, the oral transmission of the religious, godly authorities who examined Jesus and was written in the Talmud. Probably because Talmudic truth would be to shocking to Christians, the account that their leader was of a woman of low virtue (to use an euphemism) and of a Roman soldier, Pantera, (this is why we call him Yeshua Ben Panter), or what the Talmud says about him and that he was a sorcerer and great heretic. But unfortunately for the truth-seekers, Strobel interviewed no rabbi or Jewish scholar on this, so I think his book is very unobjective and has little value for those of us who think they remained truthful to the faith given to Abraham. Shalom brothers.
Rating: Summary: A must read! Review: This is a book that all Christians should read. It will give you the answers to many of those tough questions that non-believers ask (as well as some you may have had yourself). It really helped a friend of mine come to truly believe. The best book of its type. Fast paced, easy to read and engaging. Not just a bunch of boring Theology, but an exciting look at one man's quest for the truth.
Rating: Summary: It puts to rest many of the skeptics claims... Review: I had heard several people mention this book but I couldn't find it. Somehow, my mother had purchased a copy and gave it to me to read. At the time, I was in a class studying the historical Jesus which also looked at the Jesus of faith. I must that this book changed the way that I looked at biblical scholarship. Strobel presents a very compelling case for the historicity and divine nature of Jesus. I think that if one is willing to read it with an open unbiased mind, one has to admit that Strobel's evidence is hard to dismiss. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and I believe that everyone should read this book. It is is definite food for thought, at the very least.
Rating: Summary: How you should approach buying this book Review: For every believer, the proof that you never needed, but secretly are overjoyed to see confirm, for your faith in Jesus. For every non-believer, the answers to the questions you have either never asked or didn't have answered.So, buy a copy for yourself. But make sure you buy more otherwise you'll just end up giving your copy away and have none to reread like myself.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Must Read for Christians Review: What a wonderful, faith affirming book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and learning much more about the historiocity of Christ. A fellow teacher and I even bought copies to give to students in our "prayer club" at school.
Rating: Summary: Poor journalism For the Weak-minded Review: Stripped to its glossy exterior, this book is exceptionally weak. If Strobel was asked to prove Christ's existence and deity in a modern court of law, the case would be thrown out in minutes. The reason: absolutely no credible evidence!! - and Strobel knows it. Strobel trys to prove Christ's reality and his miracles by citing non-biblical sources. However, none of his sources were written during Christ's lifetime, so what is the point? There are thousands of non-biblical references to Christ after he died. I want reliable, secular, historical reference to Christ written during his lifetime. Sorry Lee, none exist!! Strobel attempts to create the illusion of evidence/proof of Christ and his deity by citing real life analogies in real life court cases. Except the analogies are not analogous. He cites court cases referencing fingerprints, DNA evidence, eyewitness testimony, etc. He of course cannot offer any of these proofs for Christ because none exist. His court references are irrelevant except some Christians probably are falling for this charade. Strobel realizes that finding credible secular sources referencing Christ will bolster his case (which it would). But then he turns to so-called experts who are all fundamentalist Christians for his interviews. If there is really evidence for Christ, non-Christian experts would be aware of it as well. Where are his non-Christian experts with their evidence? Why didn't Lee interview them? Craig admits in chapter 12 that the "secondary" details of the gospels cannot be reconciled and are often contradictory. However, he views these details as superfluous to the real issue of deity, resurection, etc. Strobel contends however that we can only have faith in the miracle accounts and the resurection account because all the verifiable detail in the gospels is accurate and that there are not contradictions. One of either Strobel or Craig is wrong here. Who is it Lee? To me, this is a fatal flaw in Strobel's reasoning. Strobel admits that the spiritual and miracle detail in the gospels cannot be substantiated, corroborated or proven. However, he says we can have faith in the miracle accounts because the details of geography in the gospels is accurate. On the other hand, Strobel admits that Josephus's writings have in some cases been tampered with or even forged. Using Strobel's own logic about the gospels, how can he use Josephus' writings as evidence for Christ when even he admits that we cannot have faith in their accuracy and credibility. Greg Boyd's chapter is comical. He is very narrow-minded in his opinions and approach (as most all fundamentalist Christians are). He has an "it's either my way or you are wrong" approach about his Christian beliefs. Yet, he has the nerve/gall to accuse the Jesus Seminar of not being open minded. This guy is so blinded by his faith, he cannot comprehend his own closed and predjudicial mindset. Comparing Jesus to Alexander or Hannibal concerning legend development and distortion over time is ridiculous. Alexander was a famous leader and conquerer. His exploits were recorded by many different cultures and civilizations during his lifetime. There are many surviving records from his time documenting his life. Distortion would have been difficult if not impossible with so many crosschecks and cross-references available. No documentation exists for Jesus from during his lifetime at all. Gospel writers could have made up anything and there would have been no competing documentation to support or refute what they were writing. They had a free hand as would have second or third century revisionists. Lastly, I wish Christian fundamentalists like Strobel would quit citing their former athiestic beliefs. They think that being a former athiest before coming around to fundamentalism somehow lends more credibility to their case. It doesn't. Don't buy this book. This book will not convert any non-believers since there is no solid evidence presented. The people who will like it are those who already believe in Chists deity and are looking for a kindred spirit.
Rating: Summary: For the skeptic of Christ Review: This book is a great read for 1) the skeptic who has questions about if Jesus really existed, if Jesus was just a good teacher or something more, if Jesus actually claimed to be the Son of God, if Jesus rose from the dead (and more), and 2) the believer who wants to dig deeper into how to talk with non-believers about Christ. Admittedely, Strobel's discussions are only with believing scholors with more letters after their name than the alphabet, but in providing this information, that is exactly what he should be offering. (for counter claims, there are plenty of other books, some even cited in this one) Strobel takes a journalist's approach and asks a lot of basic questions that many non (and new) born again Christians have thought about. Sometimes he even makes a quick case for the 'other side', only to give the authority the chance to share a well researched answer to such counter claims. After reading this, i am more convinced than ever of Jesus' divine nature. I highly recommend it to those seeking the whatever that is out there. Here, my friend, you will find the way home... PS: The price of the book is worth it for just the reference materials Strobel well documents. If you want to research further, he gives you many jump pointsto pursue.
Rating: Summary: Great mix of entertainment and credible evidence Review: First, "The Case for Christ" captured my imagination by its creative approach to setting forth the evidence for Jesus. The author takes the reader on a colorful journey around the country as he interviews 13 top scholars and asks them the spiritual questions he had when he was an atheistic newspaperman (legal editor of "The Chicago Tribune"). He fills the role of skeptic (which answers those who wonder why he didn't also interview scholars who attack Christianity). But, second, this book impacted me because it provides a credible, thoughtful, and powerful presentation of the evidence for the life, miracles, resurrection, and deity of Jesus. I have studied extensively in this area and this book does the best job I've seen of systematically layout out the evidence. It's interesting, though, how other reviewers let their biases show (as I'm sure I do, too!). To suggest that Earl Doherty's pseudo-history has the full story, as one reviewer did with a straight face, is absurd, especially since his conclusion is that there's insufficient evidence to establish that Jesus ever lived. That's by far a minority position among scholars, and his critique of this book is nicely rebutted point by point on the site of the Tektonics organization. The Jesus puzzle is, indeed, solved -- by "The Case for Christ," which puts the historical evidence into context and comes up with the conclusion warranted by the data: that Jesus did, indeed, rise from the dead and consequently proved he's the Son of God.
Rating: Summary: Excellent book for the "seeker" or "doubter" Review: I too, couldn't put this book down. It's wonderful to read Strobel's frank and forthright style as he lays out the case for Christ. Coming from a hard-bitten former aetheist, it's all the more believable. And given his journalism background, you can't fault his facts. A great book to give to your seeking friend or relative. As a strong Christian, I even learned a great deal.
Rating: Summary: Gwen Gibson Review: I found this to be a thoughtful approach to a challenging topic. It is a good book for the uninitiated as well as the studied Christian. Although I question the completeness of some of his conclusions, I found his research and questions thought provoking and engaging. The 'coincidence' of Jesus' life is hard to gloss over.
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