Rating: 
Summary: An exciting and interesting apologetic
Review: The Case for Christ is written from the mindset of an aggressive journalist, chasing down the biggest story of his life. Strobel was an atheist who went through this same investigative journey that led to faith in Christ. By comparing this spiritual investigation to actual investigative journalism, Strobel makes his apologetic exciting and interesting for the average reader. Methodically and meticulously the evidence is investigated: Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted? Do they stand up to scrutiny? Have they been reliably preserved? Is there credible evidence for Jesus outside the biographies? Does archaeology confirm or contradict the biographies? Is the Jesus of history the same as the Jesus of faith? Was Jesus really convinced that He was the Son of God? Was Jesus crazy when He claimed to be the Son of God? Did Jesus fulfil the attributes of deity? Did He match the identity of Israel's Messiah? Was Jesus' death a sham and His resurrection a hoax? Was Jesus' body really absent from the tomb? Was Jesus seen alive after His death on the cross? Are there any supporting facts that point to the resurrection? What does the evidence establish and what does it matter?These questions are answered through interviews with leading conservative scholars, theologian and philosophers. The book is compelling and should be read by any person seriously seeking for the truth about the claims of Christ.
Rating: 
Summary: A very easy read but it's not without it's shortcomings
Review: This book is such a divergance from the standard non-fiction apologetics/scholarship that it's hard to give it a concise numerical rating. If possible I'd give it 3.5 stars, but that isn't. First, the con -- I felt there were a number of shortcomings in this book. FIRST, he interviews only conservative scholars. Take, for example, where he writes that evangelist scholar Craig Blomberg is "one of the country's formeost authorities on the biographies of Jesus..." (pg. 21) Strobel seems to imply here that there are no liberal scholars, or they aren't "foremost authorities". If someone wrote a book that only interviewed liberal scholars, and titled it "The Case Against Christ" would the Christians who gave this book five stars also give that one a similar rating? Most certainly not. SECOND, I agree'd with Jeff Lowder's statement that this book, "sometimes refutes at great length objections not made by the critics". On a related note, I found Lowder's review of this book highly amusing where he complains that Strobel didn't provide a reference to a quotation of Lowder found in the chapter where Strobel interviews Will Craig. Besides this, I wasn't impressed with Lowder's arguments against this book. Those were some of my biggest complaints with the book. Along with the con, I saw much good in the book. Much good. FIRST, it is extremely easy to read and interesting. As I usually just read extremely technical data from both conservative and liberal, it's refreshing to take a more easy paced read with a bit of a plot (in an odd sense, as Strobel describes the enviroment he is meeting the scholars at, and the scholars themselves, and so forth...) SECOND, I found it fascinating to read about the character of the scholars. Did you know Blomberg was the validictorian for his highschool or that Greg Boyd uses the word "whaco" regularly? THIRD, for the beginner apologist, this book will most certainly be helpful and is a good springboard into further studies. A great place to start for the pro-Christian side. As a conservative who tries to read up on the latest arguments and data (from both sides), I think this book will be a good intro to apologetics for beginners, but for those who are well-read, it will serve almost no purpose (for the apologetic aspect). The only substaintial piece of data that I found useful (that I can think off the top of my head as I am writing this review) was the explaination of why the women went to the tomb if they had initially thought it would have Jesus' corpse still in it (see page 218). As I gave "The Case Against Christianity" (by Michael Martin) only two stars, I felt it would be only appropriate to not give such a title a relatively low rating while giving a pro-Christian book a gushingly good score. In the end: A very easy read but it's not without it's shortcomings.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't listen to "experts"; KNOW your God
Review: Lee Strobel's fascination with and kowtowing to "expert" Christians disappointed me. From people like Josh McDowell and C.S. Lewis, I have learned many of the things Strobel found out, but what I learned most from McDowell and Lewis was to follow Jesus to know him. Each of us keeps searching for a mediator between ourselves and God, be it yesterday's priests or today's experts. Yet there is one God, and one Mediator between man and God, Jesus Christ the man, who gave himself as a ransom for all.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit one-sided, but well written & with good contributions
Review: Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" is actually a compilation of answers to questions about Christianity, given by a dozen of experts. Many of these are famous theists like Gregory Boyd and William Lane Craig. Strobel retraces his own journey from atheism to faith, while facing problematic issues like the evidence for Jesus outside the Bible and the resurrection. I liked several aspects in this book, and disliked a few; For the positive aspect, Strobel's book is very readable, almost always fascinating, and captivating without being heavy. Strobel tries to show that it actually requires a lot more faith for an atheist to maintain atheism than it would to trust in Jesus. All the scholars Strobel interviews try to defuse atheist/skeptical arguments and show that the historical evidence that Jesus was who he claimed to be is overwhelming. Does Strobel manage to convince you? Well, it will depend. I am very open to Christian arguments, but I am also very receptive to be best arguments against Christianity; your belief when you start the book will inevitably have a strong influence leading you to a final position. Like other readers, I quickly realized that Strobel's book had a glaring deficiency: Strobel does not show us any direct interview with critics of Christianity. For instance, Gregory Boyd (One of my favorite Evangelical apologists) spends many pages criticizing the Jesus Seminar, but Strobel never lets us read any of their replies. The atheist Michael Martin is also attacked, most times, the arguments against his work are justified, but still, I always had that annoying feeling of not being shown enough of the opposing side. Strobel's method is quoting some skeptical book to a Christian Apologist, and then asking for his comments. Unfortunately, Strobel never does the opposite, quoting passages from Christians to Non-Christians in order to get their responses. And so, to some readers it might be reasonable to claim that Strobel's book is very unbalanced, failing to show interviews with ANY critic of Evangelical apologetics. People who want the truth will want to hear both sides of the story. Still, I was left with the feeling that it will be a big mistake to dismiss the entire book on this basis, even if you are a skeptic who will be annoyed by the limitation. The reason? Well, for a start, this book comes with a number of endorsements from high-profile Evangelicals, so it somehow might represent their best arguments; It is also very creative, and well written and organized. It summarizes the work of several leading apologists for Evangelical Christianity, in a compact and accessible format. Ultimately, the evidence provided is far from being completely unconvincing. You might need more, but even the hard skeptic with an open mind will definitely have to stop to think when reading some of the arguments in favor of Christianity. I suggest you complement this book with something written by skeptics. A good article is "The Rest of The Story", written by Jeffrey J. Lowder especially as a response to this book (Should be freely available on the internet, try Infidels.org). I thought Lowder points some of the flaws in Strobel's book, but still recognizes its value and is never bitter against it, a good article against some weaker parts of this book, but it still justly recognizes the quality of Strobel's contribution. Overall: Not as balanced as the title would suggest, but very well written, creative, full of quality Christian apologetics from several authors, in a very effective summarized way. Also with a good Summary, Notes and Index, something I always like in my books. Has its weak points, but I still strongly recommended this work for any theist or atheist seeking truth.
Rating:
Summary: A Fresh Perspective
Review: While a wonderful new look at the gospels and the truth behind most of the lore surrounding Jesus, this book is often lacking in hard scientific evidence later in the book. Lee Strobel writes with authority on many aspects of Christianity without giving evidence of both sides of the situation. In most cases he only speaks with one Christian Bible Authority, in most cases, ignoring their atheist or non-christian counter arguments. With most of the quality research focused in the first few chapters of the book, with evidence coming from respected bible authorities such as Craig Blomberg and William Lane Craig, Strobel is reaching for something towards the end of the book. The evidence becomes sketchy and the arguments less coherent. Altogether a good read, but lacking in certain areas.
Rating:
Summary: "Balanced" in what way?
Review: So, let me get this straight. If I write "The Case for Green Leprechauns," and I proceed to interview every expert on the matter WHO BELIEVES IN GREEN LEPRECHAUNS and not a single one who doesn't, then according to Lee Strobel and his book I would be engaging in "balanced" journalism. ?!?!?!
Rating:
Summary: More evangelical than intellectual
Review: This book is extremely interesting, but it is not an openminded overview as the author would lead you to believe. The only scholars directly interviewed are those who are Christians. The conclusions of scholars who do not support the author's position are simply dismissed. Many hard questions, such as eternal hellfire, are not satisfactorily dealt with. Still, it contains material worth reading about...it will appeal the most to Christians who have already made up their minds and enjoy having their positions bolstered. It will irritate those who would like an honest intellectual look at the pros and cons.
Rating:
Summary: This Evidence Demands a Verdict!
Review: Masterful continuation of the legacy of C.S.Lewis, Josh McDowell and other articulate spokespersons for the overwhelming Case for Faith in Christ, updated for new generations of seekers, skeptics, sages, saints. Irresistible food for thought for all inquiring minds. The interview-reporter style is powerfully convincing as to not just what is believed, but why. Engages the evidence on multiple levels for maximum audience appeal: historical, medical, clinical, Biblical, philosophical, psychological, judicial/forensic, intellectual/rational, as well as emotional/practical: what difference will it make to believe? Must reading for all who seek to deepen their awareness of why Christ is still on trial in the minds of many today and how best to reach them- lovingly, patiently, cogently, effectively. I look forward to the follow-up volume: Case for Faith. If this doesn't light your fire, you have no wood!
Rating:
Summary: Helpful to some
Review: The Case for Christ will be helpful for "some" people. A person already leaning toward Christianity, may be convinced of it's validity by this book. So it could be used for evangelistic purposes. Or a person already a Christian that is just starting to have a few doubts about it's validity may be encouraged by this book. Strobel brings many notable conservative Christian scholars thoughts into his pages and covers many of the issues often raised by skeptics. But as a tool to convince a serious knowledgeable skeptic, this book won't be of much help. The thing that I didn't like about the book was Strobels rather shallow attempts to play the role of a skeptical investigative journalist. Obviously, at some point in his own life he did investigate and became convinced of Christianity. But the questions and objections he raises in the book (under the role of skeptic) were not very thorough. I would have preferred it if he just presented the positive information without trying to give the appearance he was asking serious skeptical questions. An example would be the fragment of the Gospel of John that Metzger mentioned as the earliest NT fragment. It contains 5 verses and is dated from between 100 and 150 AD. Strobel compares that with skeptical German scholars that thought John wasn't composed until 160 AD. He then accepts this as conclusive evidence that the German scholars were wrong. A serious skeptic would have raised the issue that John could have been written over a period of years (as are many books) and 5 verses doesn't mean the entire book was completed yet. A serious skeptic would have also stated there might be only 10 years difference, so the German scholars assumption of a growing mythological component could be valid. There were many other instances where I wanted to ask the scholar questions myself. I could often think of several objections (and I'm not a serious skeptic, but a Christian) to the explanation Strobel accepted from his experts. The book did help me in a few areas. Some of the skeptic arguments were dealt with very well, and for that I was pleased. But it would have been better if he really had allowed some skeptics to respond to his questioning or challenge his experts.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I enjoyed the book very much. It addressed many of the thoughts and doubts I have experienced over the years. It only strengthened my faith.
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