Rating: 
Summary: The Best Popular Apologetics Book I've Ever Seen
Review: As a Christian graduate student in philosophy, I spend a lot of time thinking about the tough questions Lee Strobel asks in "The Case for Faith." How can a good God allow evil? How can God send people to hell? Why is the history of Christianity so full of hypocrisy? Is the God of the Old Testament a loving God, or an evil one? Strobel sits down with some of the world's leading Christian thinkers and challenges them with the sharpest arrows in the skeptic's quiver. The book is a phenomenal success, and it should be required reading for any Christian who takes seriously the command to "love God with all your mind," as well as for any skeptic who is honestly pursuing truth.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Popular Apologetics Book I've Ever Seen
Review: As a Christian graduate student in philosophy, I spend a lot of time thinking about the tough questions posed in this book. Much like "The Case for Christ," "The Case for Faith" addresses many of the most common and most challenging objections to Christianity head-on. Lee Strobel sits down with some of the sharpest minds in the evangelical world and challenges them with the sharpest arrows in the skeptic's quiver. The book is a phenomenal success and should be required reading for any Christian who takes seriously the command to "love God with all your mind," as well as any skeptic who is dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
Rating:
Summary: Another Classic
Review: After I read the "Case for Christ" I didn't think that Strobel could match that masterful book. To my surprise, he not only matched it, he surpassed it. "The Case for Faith" answers the questions that have plagued everyone at one time or another. This book takes on the questions that I never thought could be answered, and does an incredible job of finding the truth. I not only recommend this book to everyone who has ever had a doubt about the claims of Christianity, but to anyone who is looking for truth. This book, as well as "The Case for Christ," should be in everyone's library who deems truth important.
Rating:
Summary: An Apologetic Book That Reads Like A Novel
Review: This book by Lee Strobel, is a sequel to his already popular book The Case For Christ. Like his previous book, this book is written in the first person as Lee plays devil's advocate and asks many of the same questions many skeptics and, quite frankly, Christains have asked about the Christain faith.He travels around the US interviewing many of todays top apologists and Theist philosphers. He focuses his questions on what he calls the "big eight" such as "Why is there suffering and evil?" and "Do miracles contradict sceince?" He interviews some of America's heavey hittters such as Philospher Peter Kreeft, J.P. Moreland, Norman Geilser and Ravi Zacarahias. They give straight answers. This book reads much like the first in so much that it is in the first person and he is asking questions from scholars. It is also a page turner. This book is a little better than the first as his writing style flows a little easier and his opening interview with agnostic Charles Templeton is heart felt and handled with tact. Every Christain needs to purchase this book. It is not the most academic work for its kind, but, because of its format and style, more understood. It delivers to whom these subjects need to be directed the most: everday people.
Rating: 
Summary: A shallow defense of Faith
Review: When I picked this book up I was extremely excited. I was having trouble refuting arguments made by friends that seemed to enjoy playing the skeptic. Reading this book as a Christian looking for "amunition" to be used against "hole-pokers" I was a little disappointed. I was hoping to find a thorough investigation of the hot buttons topics being debated in today's society. Instead Strobel seems to gloss over the surface of the these subjects, assuming that the reader is anxious to agree with his conclusion. That's the bad. THE GOOD: He interviews a wide range of experts in their field on various topics. He cites all his and their sources in each chapter. I came away with some better basic knowledge to refute arguments, but more importantly I came away with some new sources to look into on my own. I am excited about having an expansive list of respected work to refer to when studying certain areas of contention. BOTTOM LINE: A decent read, but not recommended for those that are looking to get their question about Faith answered in one book.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading case for Faith
Review: Strobel asks us to believe that he was a former atheist and that he sought out answers to the most difficult problems or objections to Christianity, or about God's existence, from leading thinkers in the field. He does no such thing. The so-called experts he uses to address these difficult questions aer all committed Christians who are very much biased in their thinking. Look at the credentials and bios of these experts. These people are fine if you intend to arrive at only one answer. When I first started reading the book I did so with an open mind, I hadn't looked at the background of the "experts" at first. And when I did, I still assumed that they would give reasoned honest answers. I was hoping for a good discussion of the various problems. But as I read I got my pencil out and started to write volumnous notes on the side of the page. There were many "Does not follow!", "Straw Man Argument", "Simply not the case", "Invalid analogy!", "Contradiction", and the like. I was extremely disappointed! And then I even got somewhat mad. What irritated me the most is that there are readers who really think that these are the most difficult problems or objections against Faith, God, or Christ. They are not. And it irritates me more to think that many readers may be mislead into thinking that the arguments and thoughts of the so-called experts are objective and sound. They twist any possible problem or objection in such a manner that the problem appears to go away. What Strobel and the "experts", all committed Christians, do is carefully craft the arguments and responses so that they appear answered or resolved. But they have not. For the most part the problems have been sidestepped by re-definition, tricky logic, setting up straw man examples, and the like. Pick one problem area and look carefully at the chain of reasoning that is used. See how Strobel and the expert change meanings and use examples that seem to resolve the problem. And observe how those who do not subscribe to their brand of faith or God are dismissed as sad, miserable, hopeless, and even in one case as communistic. Just because state communism, as conceived of in the USSR and China, is atheistic, it does not follow that all atheists are communists, as one of the experts (Kreeft) would lead us to believe. Originally Buddhism had no God to worship, or to use as the creator of the world; but Buddhists, as Buddhists, neither were nor are communists. The book is replete with these types of illogic. And, remember, there are many other much more serious problems than the ones presented here. Try these books if you really want to understand these issues.
Michael Martin, "The Case Against Christianity", (Temple Univ Press); George Smith, "Atheism: The Case Against God", (Prometheus); Alexander Waugh, "God", (St Martins Press);
G.A Wells, "Can We Trust the New Testament", (Open Court);
Tim Callahan, "Secret Origins of the Bible", (Millenium Press).
Rating:
Summary: Misleading
Review: I found Strobel's previous book (The Case for Christ) interesting as a person exploring Christianity. Unfortunately, his second book made me question everything in his books. You see, while I was unable to evaluate his sources in the previous book and most of this book, when he gets to the issue of evolution he displays a disturbing level of dishonesty. While in most of the book he interviewed a 'pro' and 'con', in the chapter on evolution he only interviewed the 'con' - literally, since his subject is a mathematician, not a biologist. Stoebel ignores the existence of Christian evolutionary biologists who could provide an argument in favour of evolution AND Christian faith and which have credibility in the scientific community (Francisco Ayala, a renouned evolutionary biologist with a doctorate in theology would probably be my first pick). What Stoebel does here is undercut his own credibility. In the only area in which I can at all evaluate his methods he comes up short. I am left to wonder if all his work is this intellectually dishonest. And this in support of faith in 'the Truth'.
Rating:
Summary: Great Questions with No Intelligent Answers
Review: Lee Strobel asks 8 excellent questions that challenge "mindless" faith in Christianity. Yet sadly, although not unexpectedly, he fails dismally at providing any answers to his own questions. Strobel begins his book with a characterization of himself as the "tough reporter" going after real "evidence" by interviewing PhDs and theological scholars as "experts" to provide "sound" answers to these tough questions. The result is almost comical. As an open-minded skeptic, looking for any shred of reasoning on which to build faith, I was really hoping that finally, in Strobel's work, there would be an intelligent discussion due to the honesty in the eight questions he raises. However, if you're looking for answers, this book will insult your intelligence and thoroughly waste your time. I give you the Cliff Note version of Strobel's "expert" answers to his eight questions and you can judge for yourself: #1 Since Evil & Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot - No logical answer provided , just that God can stop suffering but chooses not to for the sake of free will. Some quotes: "The good of God, the joy of God, is going to infinitely outweigh all of the suffering of this world." "God does, in fact, weep over every sparrow and grieve over every evil and every suffering." Oh really? My question for Strobel would be, "how do mere mortal men know what's in the mind of God?!" #2 Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True - Answered again by not answering,... "If you believe God exists, then there's no good reason to be skeptical." Strobel's expert must be divine because he claims to know a lot about god - "Since God never began to exist, he doesn't require a cause. We know this supernatural cause must be an uncaused, changeless, timeless and immaterial being." And regarding the biggest miracle of all, the Resurrection, the expert states, "Frankly, there is absolutely no naturalistic explanation that fits. I think the very best explanation is the same one provided by eyewitnesses: that God raised Jesus from the dead. In fact, this hypothesis easily passes all six tests that historians use in determining what is the best explanation for a given body of historical facts." Naturally. We would all logically conclude that a missing body "must" have risen from the dead. #3 Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed - Another long-winded chapter that is scientifically dishonest. Here's the quote that sums it up, relying on the same abandonment of reason, "If there isn't a natural explanation and there doesn't seem to be the potential of finding one, then I believe it's appropriate to look at a supernatural explanation. I think that's the most reasonable inference based on the evidence." Me too. #4 God Isn't Worthy of Worship If He Kills Innocent Children - The response here is summed up by the expert in this quote: "Let's keep in mind that technically nobody is innocent. The Bible says in Psalm 51 that we're all born in sin; that is, with the propensity to rebel and commit wrongdoing. Also we need to keep in mind God's sovereignty over life. God created life and he has the right to take it. If you can create life, then you can have the right to take it." Kind of matter-of-fact, isn't it. I wonder if Strobel should cross-reference question #4 with the "loving God" of question #1.... #5 It's Offensive to Claim Jesus Is the Only Way to God - The expert here talks of accepting only Biblical events as "facts" and says, "In sum, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity are not saying the same thing. They are distinct and mutually exclusive religious doctrines. They all cannot be true at the same time." Excellent point. However, they all CAN BE NOT TRUE at the same time. Another favorite part of this chapter is the discussion of how Gandhi (world famous peace activist and unifier) is most certainly denied heaven because he wasn't Christian, but yet the Son of Sam serial killer will be saved since he converted to a devout Christian in prison. So, it's not the deeds you do, but the unconditional "sucking up" that Jesus wants... Works for me! #6 A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell - Claims that Hell is not as described in the Bible but rather a "separation from God." The expert states, "We know the reference to flames is figurative because if you try to take it literally, it makes no sense." It's comforting that Strobel's experts know exactly which parts of the Bible can be taken literally and which are to be interpreted figuratively. Bottom line, this chapter talks again about free will and those that reject God or fail to seek him will suffer in eternal separation from him. My favorite quote is, "God is fair. He isn't trying to make it difficult for people." Not at all. Just get past the Fallen Angel that God allows to exist with all of his powers, whose sole purpose is to thwart you at every turn and you're home free! #7 Church History is Littered with Oppression & Violence - The usual reply here... No apologies. "The Bible makes it clear that because of our sinful nature, we continue to do things as Christians that we shouldn't. We're not perfect in this world. And unfortunately, some of the evil deeds committed through history may have, indeed, been committed by Christians." Just for the record, there's no "may have" about it! #8 I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian - This was the only question I think Strobel actually DID do a good job responding to. A quote, "... I do believe that where there's absolutely no doubt, there's probably no healthy faith." At least Strobel made a small attempt to remind the faithful to reject "fanaticism", as this mindless devotion only leads to the issues raised in question #7
Rating: 
Summary: A must read for the Mature Christian
Review: In this book, author Lee Stobel, picks out the most prevelent arguments that skeptics will raise, when questioning Christianity, than dispel them not just through scripture, (as most apologetics do), but rather through the techniques of modern analysis. His background as a trained investigational reporter are very evident in his approach, and serve to keep the reader wondering if he is pro or con, due to his efforts to keep his objectivity during his analysis. A must for preparing the mature Christian in defense of his faith, but a wonderful piece of outreach for those seeking Faith in general.
Robert James Luedke, (Author...Eye Witness: A Fictional Tale of Absolute Truth)
Rating:
Summary: Philosophically Strong, Scientifically Weak
Review: It cannot be overstated what Lee Strobel has done for apologetics. He is truly talented and articulate. I think that his lack of fear in tackling big Christian issues is noble. This book, like "The Case for Christ", is an enjoyable and faith-building read.
That said, I would like to make my one contention. Namely, as an individual with his master's degree, and a major in biology, I cannot help but say that Strobel's chapter on evolution is misleading at best. The issue is not about that one chapter, but the fact that his lack of forwardness may encourage honestly investigating "seekers" to discredit all his work.
First, he says that if evolution exists, it undermines God. Says who? He does not support this statement, but assumes it, as many uneducated about biology do. Strobel is willing to accept many non-literal interpretations of the bible (see his chapter on hell), but he is not willing to state that perhaps Genesis was written in a non-literal way.
Second, he says that any thinking person has to admit that evolution occurs, "at least somewhat". But, if evolution occurs, and it undermines God, then why is he writing this book?
Third, he talks nothing about evolution, but, rather, the origin of the first living thing. A misunderstanding about evolution is that it claims to answer where the first living thing came from. Evolution describes a pattern of change in organisms over time. It does not say where the first organism originated. There are scientists who study that, and Strobel does confront those scientists well.
The reality is, there is virtually universal consensus among biologists that evolution occurs; and among those people are Christians who see evolution as no threat to their faith whatsoever. Many would even argue that, once take slightly non-literally, Genesis takes on a surprisingly accurate description of exactly what scientists of all types are elucidating about our universe, and, as such reinforces the validity of the bible.
It seems, in this chapter, as though he is catering to a vocal demographic of Christians who wish their faith to be the result of neglected evidence, as opposed to supporting evidence. It goes without saying that there is plenty of supportive evidence as to believing in Christ, and, as such, it is disappointing to make such a flimsy argument here.
The biggest problem is not the lack of supportive evidence against evolution; it is that it undermines one's confidence in the rest of his work. The major problem is that he is in a position where people are using him to find their faith. If he becomes partial in the evidence he considers, then those reading him will begin to discount all his work, based on a few flaws, even if most of it is sound.
I am not willing to remain silent as he alienates well-educated people from Christ because he doesn't want to upset those pre-existing Christians who wish to deny the overwhelming evidence for evolution. He should not be writing things so poorly supported that people have to question the overall support of the evidence for Christ.
I would like to reiterate that I do find his work to be generally well supported, and think that he is doing great work. I simply could not leave it unsaid that this chapter could be seen as an apologetic weakness that encouraged greater skepticism in his work.
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