Rating: 
Summary: An exciting but unconclusive book
Review: As its title indicates, this book defends the case *for* Christ and does not purport to be an impartial examination of the evidence. Lee Strobel had made his mind before he wrote the book, and this volume is a reconstruction, in the form of a series of interviews, of his own conversion, which took place over a two-year period of intensive reading after that of his wife.Precisely because Strobel is now a Christian, the fourteen scholars he chose to interview are all devout Christians themselves; they are all presented in a favourable light as rational, well-informed and benevolent individuals; and they all assert that their study of the archeological and textual evidence for Christ has strengthened their faith in his divinity. Whatever counter-arguments are presented in the book seem to have been included merely to make the book more convincing, by showing that all the "hard questions" have been dealt with. This said, the book is indeed a fascinating inquiry into what is perhaps the greatest historical mystery of all. Using his background as a journalist at the Chicago Tribune, Strobel opens each chapter with an account of a criminal case that illustrates the importance of a careful examination of the evidence. This of course is a rhetorical device intended to present Strobel himself as a hard-headed, no-nonsense inquirer. And even though it does help clarify some of the aspects of rational proof, it has the unfortunate effect of associating Christianity with rather grizzly news items. Some of Strobel's points, I think, are irrefutable: Jesus did exist, his life is much better documented than that of any figure of the same era and he did not merely swoon on the cross, but actually died there. However, I found some of the key arguments for his divinity, resurrection and miracles less than convincing. For instance, one of the scholars interviewed, J. P. Moreland, argues that the best circumstantial evidence for Jesus's resurrection is the conversion of "an entire community of 10,000 Jews" to Christianity within five weeks of his crucifixion. This is all the more striking, he says, as the Jews' extremely resilient beliefs and religious practices have survived over the millenia. I find this argument deficient on at least two counts. First, the practice of baptism was not originated by Jesus, but by John the Baptist who apparently attracted large crowds (at least in the movies I've seen ;-) even though he did not perform any miracles and certainly was not resurrected. Second, to argue that just because the Jews *as a group* are very strongly attached to their beliefs, the defection of many *individual* Jews requires a miracle is to commit the fallacy of composition. I also think that the number and dedication of a religious leader's followers are irrelevant to the factual or moral truth of his teachings. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, for instance, was a documented bum and quack whose fabrications are so ludicrous that they are not even worthy of scholarly refutation. And yet the Mormon Church counts about eight million members today. I do recommend *The Case for Christ* though, both as a good counterbalance to the sometimes misinformed dismissiveness of many TV documentaries, and as probably the best place to start with on the subject. Though the occasional Creationist creeps in, Strobel's bibliographical recommendations at the end of each chapter seem to be generally excellent. I have for instance begun reading Craig Blomberg's *The Historical Reliability of the Gospels*, and it is a work of a much higher caliber then Strobel's, which even refutes some of the arguments Strobel considered as decisive. In the last paragraph of his introduction, for instance, Blomberg refutes C. S. Lewis's 'trilemma', with which Strobel chose to conclude his book. And whatever the ultimate decisiveness of its arguments, *The Case for Christ* is an exciting book that should be of interest to all those who love a good mystery. (Another reference on the subject which was recently recommended to me by someone for whom I have the greatest respect is Nicholas T. Wright's series *Christian Origins And The Question Of God*, two volumes of which have been puslished so far: *The New Testament And The People Of God* and *Jesus And The Victory Of God*.)
Rating: 
Summary: The Case For Christ
Review: The book was a diasppointment. The use of modern day case historys at the beginning of each chapter is irrelevant and boring. Mr Strobel uses apparent fulfillment of Old Testament prophesys as proof of the New Testament Christ, when the Hebrew Canon itself is suspect. I'm afraid those looking for an historical Christ will have to look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a God or the Son of God
Review: Unfortunatately the case is not made out very well.
Rating: 
Summary: Definately some food for thought!
Review: I read one reviewer state that only the gullible who have been indoctrinated from birth would support the premises taken in Strobel's work. Personally, I was raised agnostic and did not become a believer in Christ until I was 20 (nearly 21) when none in my family were Christians. Yet, I found the Case for Christ to be VERY compelling and thought-provoking. Let's face it, *every single one of us* writes or pre-supposes from what we already hold to. In other words, if we believe in atheistic evolution, we will write from that belief system. If we're evangelical Christians, we will write from that perspective. I have yet to meet a truly and completely unbiased person yet who could honestly state they were definitively neutral in all things. Everyone has an opinion and writes or speaks from those opinions. If you state you do not, then you fool yourself. The Case for Christ was written by an atheist who was re-examining what he believed and from that pre-supposition. It was his wife's conversion that made him start searching these things for himself (as we all should do). Perhaps he sought evangelicals because they would be the most outspoken against popular opinion in their particular area of expertise. Keep in mind, the Gospel is not popular, thus the fundamentalists will hold the most acidic position. Perhaps this is why atheistic Strobel sought these characters out, perhaps not. But it is food for thought nonetheless. Don't accept my words, Strobel's words, or anyone else words for it. Delve into it yourself, see if Jesus is who He said He was (and is).
Rating:
Summary: Christian Apologetics Popularized
Review: I read this book at the suggestion of an old friend of mine who has become a fundamentalist. He said this book gave proof that the Biblical account of Christ was actual truth, and that his faith only was meaningful because he had been able to find this proof. Never having delved into apologetics or the scholarly debate about the factuality of the Biblical account, I was interested in finding out what the facts are. I read the book and my impressions were as follows: I found Strobel's first person, dramatized account of his encounters with the various scholars somewhat of a turn-off. For someone who was attempting to profess "objectivity", his accounts seemed somewhat skewed in favor lending particular credence to the scholars he selected. This was done by giving his impressions of the different men in a folksy, "Golly Gee" fashion, for example, Craig Blomberg looking like a "real scholar" because of his glasses and scraggly beard. Secondly, I found that his framing of his quest in terms of a court trial ultimately worked against his "case." I researched the different scholars that he interviewed, and found that they were all Evangelical Christians. I wasn't familiar with this term, and did some more research, and found that an Evangelical Christian is one who is committed to "proclaiming the truth of the gospels." So, to work with his analogy, if his experts were witnesses for the defense, he interviewed no witnesses for the prosecution! The one chapter that he did on objections to the various arguments, where he discusses the Jesus Seminar, he only asked his "defense witness" for their opinion on the opposition. He interviewed not a single member of the opposition! Bottom line is, if you want a balanced view, do not use only this book. For the "other side", look, for example, at Michael Martin's, The Case Against Christianity. The totality presented by these two works will give you enough information to make up your own mind.
Rating:
Summary: A tremendous resource
Review: I highly recommend the Case for Christ to any believer who is interested in learning more about the historical accuracy of the life and times of Jesus, but even more emphatically do I promote this book to those who are skeptics towards Christianity because of the errant testimony of many who want to tarnish the validity of faith by discrediting the reality of orthodox Christology. The author conducts several interviews with some of the most educated scholars in the fields of theology, archeology, and anthropology only to find that there is more evidence for the life and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the four gospels of the Bible than for many of the uncontested remnants of history pertaining to the likes of Julius Caesar, Nero, and Mohammed. Many references are made to the Jesus Seminar's claims that Christ did not say much of what he was attested to having said as written in the gospels in hopes of uncovering the basis for the Jesus Seminar's conclusions. Not surprisingly, the claims from the many "scholars" involved with the Seminar which state that Jesus did not actually say what was written of him in the gospels is nothing more than a manifestation from a group of no-name dissidents who value staking a reputation for themselves through bypassing traditional methods of study and objectivity out of lack of talent, ability, or intellect to devise a novel approach to Biblical scholarship above adhering to the overwhelming historical evidence from many different secular as well as Christian sources and incorporating the essentiality of scientific rigor which is necessary to any endeavor to uncover truth. The bottom line is that this book is full of information that confirms the Christian faith and confronts the unbelief of the most analytic skeptic with facts that demand contemplation, and ultimately, a verdict.
Rating:
Summary: There is no case for Christ.
Review: As an archaeologist, I have seen evidence used without regard to context and sadly, even altered to support hypotheses suggesting the existence and/or truth in one religion or another. This is especially rampant in circles occupied by the so-called "Biblical archaeologists." But this is the only alternative when one chooses to support what can not otherwise be supported. If there were any hard, indisputable evidence even for the existence of Christ (which there is not) it would be universally shouted from the rooftops. But in reality, no such evidence has been, or is likely to be found, except in the minds of those who need to find it regardless of any cost to science or to their own professional integrity. Among the truly gullible, religious individuals who have been indoctrinated practically since birth, comprise a special category all their own. Unfortunately, when many of them enter the domain of science (using the "Biblical archaeologists" as an example), they feel that they can bend the rules so to speak when utilizing the scientific method. They consider their particular beliefs (or the Bible) as fact first, and then attempt to adjust the evidence to fit within this framework. This is not science, this is biased speculation at best. Having completed anthropological research on the subject, I can't help but feel that those individuals who must have physical "proof" that their religious beliefs are true (as opposed to accepting them on faith) are themselves very insecure with their belief system, whatever it may be.
Rating:
Summary: Stobel opinion
Review: Stroble interviews several highly educated theologians. He gives a detailed background of their qualifications. I feel he is attempting to sway the reader into accepting everything these theologians say, as fact. I feel the book is highly opinionated and one sided. A lot of good questions are asked and answered but many questions and view points are left out. It is a book that may reaffirm what you believe but I do not think it will change what you believe.
Rating:
Summary: An Aetheist Investigative Reporter dissects the Christ Story
Review: I could not put this book down. I absolutely devoured it! It is an exhaustive investigation of the evidence for the existence of both the historical and Scriptural Christ. The skepticisms explored (about Christ as diety, as who Scripture says he is, etc.,) are extremely well processed. The only hole in the investigative technique is the fact that the writer only interviews scholars who have already had a profound spiritual experience with God, and that may weaken the reader's trust in the objectivity of the investigative process. Nonetheless, the 13 persons featured are still able to field the difficult "skeptic" questions, as they themselves surely had to ask the same tough questions at one time or another in their own spiritual and scholarly journeys. I think that this is a great book for believers and skeptics alike, because it forces the reader to really look at the ancient documentation of the Christ story, to ask all of the hard questions about whether or not the story of Jesus Christ is real history or just interesting mythology, and why. A fascinating ride. I highly recommend it. The book's massive bibliography is an excellent springboard for further reading on this subject.
Rating:
Summary: An important work of Christian apologetics
Review: Lee Strobel's "The Case For Christ" is hands down one of the finest works of Christian apologetics that you will ever find! Strobel leads a very detailed and thought-provoking investigation in the life and death of Jesus Christ, interviewing experts in such applicable fields as Jewish history, medicine, archelogy, New Testament laungages, Science, Biblical studies, etc. Although it is not meant to be the main focus of the book, along the way Strobel thankfully deflates some of the fallacies of the controvercial Jesus Seminar, a bizarre group who have sought to reinvent modern theology by downgrading the divine Jesus of scipture into some sort of politically correct street barker! Strobel makes an excellent case for the reliability of the Greek New Testament texts, while casting the "Seminars" self-serving theology into it's proper perspective. I would recommend this fine volume to Christians and non-Christians alike. There is much to be learned from it, and from several different vantage points. I would also like to defend Strobel against a certain critisism that he has been recieving. Some have said that Strobel has taken the "easy way out" by interviewing Christian scholars in his investigation, thereby "tainting" the results in someway. Many would have rather seen Strobel take on some hardened skeptics! However, let's remember, Strobel himself was a skeptic (an atheist in fact) only a few years before this book was written. So I believe that it is Strobel who plays the role of the skeptic in this book, seen in the way that he hits the Christian scholars with some downright tough and pointed questions (such as alleged contridictions in scripture, etc.), one gets the feeling that he is bringing up the very things that once kept him from faith in Christ! Anyone trying to present some sort of "soft-serve gospel" would have stayed away from many of the hard topics that Strobel dives into head first! (It's also highly unlikely that many of the hardened atheist thinkers of the world would have lent their name to a book with such obvious evangelical-Christian intentions!) Any such critisisms aside, I think that Strobel has done an excellent job of presenting a case for the validity of Jesus Christ in scripture, in history, and in the lives of his followers.
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