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The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible
Review: Although my faith was strong before, this book has been a blessing to me. It has helped me to see that the existance of God is in fact a FACT and has showed me incredible answers to questions that I had (ie the existance of hell). Wonderful job. Mr. Strobel, well thought out and EXCELLENTLY written. I suggested it to some of my friends and know that it will strengthen their faith. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Sloppy Journalism
Review: This book is awful. Lee Strobel interviews philosophers who completely deny the sovereignty of God and completely ignore the Protestant Reformed views on these very same issues. The philosophers he interviews are so eager to push there views and without even using scripture to back them up! Like Peter Kreeft trying, but struggling to answer one of the big eight questions in the book called "since evil and suffering exist, a loving God cannot." Lee obviously doesn't know that Reformers from centuries past have gone to great extent to answer these questions with scripture, and have done it. I think this book would completely confuse the reader. I do not recommend this book and am glad I only checked it out at the library instead of buying it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Sloppy Journalism
Review: This book is awful. Lee Strobel interviews philosophers who completely deny the Sovereignty of God, and he completely ignores the Protestant Reformers views on these very same issues. The Philosphers he interviews are so eager to push there views and without even using scripture to back them up, like Peter Kreeft trying, but struggling to answer one of the big eight questions in the book called"Since evil and suffering exist, a loving God cannot." I think this book would completely confuse the reader. I do not recommend this book and I'm glad that I only checked it out from the library and didn't buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Best
Review: This is truly one of the best books I have ever read on this subject. It is very reader friendly but still a little fast moving at times. It is written by a former atheist so it is a book that might appear less threatening to someone having these objections. If you have doubts read this book...if you want your faith reinforced read this book. Believe it or not..this is a good book to give as a gift. Lee Strobel is amazing and obviouly gifted by God.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Are these folks reading the same book?
Review: After reading "The Case for Faith" and then perusing the reviews, I was struck by the disparity between the contents of the book and some of the comments by those who apparently object to its pro-Christianity conclusions. I found this book to be a convincing introduction to arguments in support of the Christian faith. The interviews with various scholars (particularly Boston College's Peter Kreeft on the issue of pain and evil) were substantive, well-supported, and creatively presented. The author plays the role of skeptic well, because he was once an atheist himself. He doesn't settle for trivialities or surface-level responses, but probes deeper for satisfying arguments, logic, and evidence. A handful of negative reviewers actually accuse the writer of arguing for positions that I could find nowhere in the book! Anyone who dismisses these interviews too blithely is failing to recognize (or purposefully overlooking) the substantial points these scholars make. A quick caricature of these interviews in a brief review does not do justice to their depth and probative value. I was helped greatly by reading this work. As a Christian, I now feel better prepared to deal with these tough questions when they come my way -- and I've already given away my book to a non-Christian friend in the hopes it will help her resolve some of her own faith struggles. Very few books receive awards from Christianity Today magazine; this work certainly deserved the one it was recently given. It's an intellectually honest effort to grapple with the toughest of roadblocks to Christian belief. I'm a C.S. Lewis fan, but now I've found a 21st century successor.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: EXCELLENT resource that answers the toughest questions
Review: This well-documented and highly accessible book successfully responds to eight of the most vexing questions about Christianity. Of course, not every book can respond to every conceivable issue that could be raised, and it's a bit disingenuous for a reviewer to complain that it fails to do so. An entire book, or even series of books, could be written about each of the topics addressed in this volume. However, the author manages to ask the most pressing questions and to demand good answers from the highly credentialed experts he interviews. His questions will probably be yours, too, as they were mine. In fact, it was uncanny that he posed the exact questions that were foremost on my mind!

The chapter on why God allows suffering is worth the price of the book. Also, as in each chapter, the book offers follow-up resources for anyone wanting to go deeper yet. The chapter on evolution was especially compelling to me because of my biology background. The author correctly points out that scientists have no credible theory for how life could have naturally emerged from non-living chemicals. This is the Achilles heel of evolutionary theory, because they cannot account for how life could have emerged in the first place. Darwin's own musings about life somehow spontaneously being created in some "warm pond" of chemicals is just plain silly in light of what we know today about the complexity of even the most basic living matter.

The chapter on the existence of hell did an admirable job of responding to one of the most troubling Christian doctrines. And I thought the response to the objection about violence in Christian history (i.e., the Crusades and Inquisition) was extremely well done. (In the author's previous work, "The Case for Christ," which I also heartily recommend, he dealt with the issue of Christianity and slavery.) In sum, I encourage anyone with questions about Christianity to read this book and then do what I did -- pass it along to a friend.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Christians Will Love this, but...
Review: I enjoyed the engaging style of this book, and Strobel does indeed ask some tough initial questions. Unfortunately, this tough questioning doesn't last long, and he allows each of his apologist friends off the hook. Remember the movie, JFK? Where Kevin Costner is reading the Warren Commission Report, muttering "...ask the question, ask the question..." Having read this book I know how he felt. It was very frustrating to read as time after time Strobel allows the likes of Norman Geisler & William Lane Craig to get away with murder. There has been much criticism of Strobel for not interviewing skeptics in his previous book, "The Case For Christ." At least in this more recent work, he does begin with "born again atheist" Charles Templeton, unfortunately this interview is overdramatised. The book is titled: "The Case FOR Faith," so I suppose Strobel could argue that this is the case for the defence. But the blurb for this book clearly leads one to believe that we're going to see both sides of the argument. We do not. Any fairly intelligent skeptic should have little trouble demolishing the answers to the "tough" questions posed in this book. Having said all that, this book will be highly satisfying for those who have no inclination to dig a little deeper.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good start to answering difficult questions
Review: 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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Case for Faith returns positve verdict
Review: How can loving, all-powerful God exist with all the pain, suffering and evil in the world? If God really created the universe, why does the persuasive evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life? Author and Christian apologist Lee Strobel tackles these questions and more in his latest book, The Case for Faith, the follow-up to his #1 best seller The Case for Christ. Seeking to present evidence supporting many of the faith's basic claims, Strobel pries into some of the deepest and hardest to answer questions facing Christianity. To answer these questions, Strobel takes his readers on his personal quest for answers. The book begins with a conversation between evangelist-turned-skeptic Charles Templeton. Strobel uses the doubts that Templeton raises in their discussion as the springboard for the rest of the book. This journey leads him into interviews with some of the world's most-reknown scientists, philosophers and theologians. This book is not light, "feel-good" reading. The reader best be alert and ready to dig into some deep intellectual issues. However, Strobel also conveys his point in such a way that you don't need a Ph.D in astrophysics to understand the material. In the end, Strobel, a former investigative reporter and legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, presents his "case" to his readers. This book would be good for anybody seeking insight into many of life's mysteries or Christians who want to have more knowledge to affirm their faith.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: very good introduction to apologetics
Review: Lee Strobel has done very well with this book. It is exteremely good as an introduction to apologetics. I would give it 4 1/2 stars. Mr. Strobel interviews one person per objection. The plus side to that is that if he interviews someone great, the interview can be in depth and the answers will be satisfactory. If the person isn't that great, the answers in the chapter will reflect that. I only found one chapter where the person being interviewed wouldn't be my first choice.

Objection 1 deals with the Problem of Evil, namely how can a good God allow evil to exist. This was by far the best chapter. The interviewee did a great job and went into many possible explanations. He hit the most important point. The objection assumes objective good and evil. And that can't exist without God. So for the objection to make any sense God must exist.

Objection 2 dealt with whether miracles contradict science. That was easily dealt with. This objection is derived from David Hume. Objection 3 was a good overview of the Achilles Heel of a pure-naturalistic view of evolution. Getting from dead chemicals to a hugely complex cell.

Objection 4 seemed a bit weaker than the others. It dealt with God's order to wipe out certain people groups. Some of the answers were quite good, but I would highly recommend RC Sproul's "Holiness of God" which also touches on this issue. Any discussion of this should be grounded in a proper understanding of God's holiness and love.

Objection 5 was dealt with masterfully by Ravi Zacharias, who dealt with the exclusivity of the claims of Christianity. There was a lot more that could have been said or emphasized. Ravi did a great job though. One thing should have been hit harder. It seems unfair to people that I believe and go to heaven, but someone who doesn't isn't. Seems arbitrary, like you have the wrong ticket or something. This overlooks the sin-payment Jesus paid for us. If you believe on Jesus this applies to you. If not, your sin remains on you. This emphasizes that our sin doesn't remain unpunished even if we believe, but Jesus gets punished in our stead.

Objection 6 was a "loving God wouldn't send people to hell." This was the worst of all objections, but that isn't to say some good wasn't in the chapter. The answers were too man-centered for my taste, focusing on our choice and our dignity. I would have focussed on the holiness of God. Once that's understood, most people's objections would be "how could a good God allow anyone in heaven." Another troubling thing was the quesiness the Moreland had with active punishment being a part of hell. Hell isn't just a sum of your choices. It's what you deserve. I recommend "Wrath of Almighty God" by Jonathan Edwards for a more biblical, although more unpopular approach.

Objection 7 dealt with all the nasty things that have occured in church history. Kudos for not glossing over the bad. They should have mentioned that we can't hide behind others on judgment day.

Objection 8 was a wonderful chapter on doubt in the life of the seeker and believer.


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