Rating: 
Summary: Re: Didn't make it out the store with me
Review: This is less of a review and more of a follow-up to
the review " Didn't make it out the store with me"
The fact that children die and that good people suffer is a fact of the world. ***1) This world is of the devil. When Jesus was tempted the devil tempted him he said I will give you all this if you bow down to me.
Luke 4:5-7
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. ***2) The pain we suffer, death etc. has been since the beginning. How many children died in the great flood? ***3) Death is not the end. However the fear of death binds us. Hebrews 2:14..-15
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. as Bob said "Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die"
Do not fear death, faith is in God thru Christ who gives life everlasting. ***4) The Innocent Children go to heaven.
David inquired of God of his child born of fornication and who died as a result of that sin. 2 Samuel 12:21-23 David sure of seeing his child in heaven
21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. In other words while he was sick I begged God to save him, however now that he has died I rest assured I will see him in heaven. This is contrast to his other older son who died and he weeped as he knew he was going to hell. 2 Samuel 19 - David weeps for Absalom - For he was going to hell..
1 Joab was told, "The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." 2 And for the whole army the victory that day was turned into mourning, because on that day the troops heard it said, "The king is grieving for his son." 3 The men stole into the city that day as men steal in who are ashamed when they flee from battle. 4 The king covered his face and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!" ***In closing the existence of pain and suffering does not prove the absence of God but rather the existence of the devil. Second if Jesus himself suffered and died (the ultimate innocent). God allowed his own son to suffer and be killed. Do we think anyone would be exempt from suffering and death? Death is not the end, but the resurrection through Christ is the beginning. And finally to the original question innocent children go to heaven, worry not for them. Worry for the unsaved who know of Jesus but have not accepted him and thereby rejected also God his father. I have bought this book and The Case for Christ I may give reviews of both later.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating First Step Towards Apologetics
Review: Lee Strobel's book The Case For Faith is an interesting and insightful first step for anyone interested in examining the claims of Christianity. While the book does not answer every question about the faith it seeks to provide insight into some of the more difficult questions about Chrisitianity as a religion. It is a must read for anyone embarking on a quest for the truth about Chrisitianity.
Rating:
Summary: The Case For Certainty
Review: If you are looking into Christianity or are wanting to know the answers to the 8 Objections listed above by Amazon, get this book. Lee Strobel, as in The Case For Christ, visits scholars and gets their answers on the Objections. The Case For Christ and The Case For Faith books were great for me (who hadn't previously read any theology) in affirming my faith. They should be reissued together and be titled, "The Case For Certainty!"
Rating: 
Summary: Good, with a few weak points.
Review: Just as in the first book (Case for Christ) this is meant to be an overall general answer to each question. As pointed out, volumes could be written and points discussed about each question (and others) but hopefully it should be obvious that you can't really do that just 1 little paperback. If reading it, afterwards, you still want more on any and all subjects, there is more than enough to fill in the blanks. His biggest weakness is that he really does need a few more interviews per question since alot of what he says only comes from 1 theological line of thinking (depiction of hell, age of accountibility, etc) and as such, is only a fraction of possible answers. The breifness of it all is probably his second weakness (even though its meant to be) as its really hard to discuss such things as "Why does God let evil persist" briefly unless those participating have along of background behind them in the discussion, which this book is clearly not aimed at. So if you are new, go ahead and pick it up and use it as a spring board to delve into each topic as a primer. If you've been around such topics for a long time, it probably won't contain anything new, but still, its always good to read other's views on the subject. And before I forget, it seems that the vast majority of complaints are by people who are just looking to bash it one way or the other (note the qualifier, not all) and really didn't read it, or are unfamiliar (truly) with their objections. For example, Seth from Joplin, MO argues that the bible is full of contradictions and rattles off a handful of "problems". I've seen all of them before (I just knew he'd pick part of the ressurection story, everyone does) and he pretty much spoofed it all. There are far too many books (even websites) that give clear responses so I won't dwell on it here any more. Others argue that it is based soley in Christianity and therefore is biased (and is also not fact based). Well of course it is. Be very clear that this is not a book proving or validating the historical accuracy of Christianity. This is a book on theology (albeit intro to theology 101 lite) and as such, keep in mind that all his arguements automatically stem from the notion that Christianity is true (Otherwise, you can't really ask, Why does the Christian God allow evil?).
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't make it out the store with me
Review: I have been struggling immensely lately with some Biblical difficulties and picked this up in passing at the bookstore the other night. I was in luck because it dealt with one such problem I was having: Why did God permit and sanction the slaughter of children in Joshua's conquests? Strobel interviews Norman Gielser and spends no shortage of space pumping up his man in the corner before unleashing him on the reader. Lee plays the role of a serious skeptic who seems to soften over the course of the debate with Norm giving rock solid answers, of course Lee knows the answer, but pretends to play the role for our benefit. The answers, to anyone with even an ounce of reason, fall flat. For instance, Norm G. informs us that we must first remember that not even infants are innocent and so it's not really unfair for them to die with a crude spear through the chest (no, he doesn't use this language, but that's what happened). In other words: God giveth and taketh away, and He doesn't mind taking away with hatchet blows to the head and neck of babies. Or in by King David's preference'smashing their heads against stones. But he doesn't stop there. He tells us that God is actually being merciful to the babies because, after all, they would just wind up being sinners one day and go to hell--as if they were all permanently and irrevocably set on this course by virtue of being born to wicked parents. Which presents other enormous problems left unanswered or touched. Hey, at least this way they get to go to heaven! Now at this point had Lee been actually being objective, he would have asked some, if not all of the following questions: 1. If things were so bad that God had to have the children killed as an act of mercy, why not just close the wombs of the women 1 generation before the slaughter? He does in fact close wombs of other women in scripture, why not now? or 2. Couldn't the Hebrews have adopted the children, thus rescuing them from child-sacrifice, and reared them in a Godly environment? 3. Is it possible that the mere reference of these events have soured countless people over the centuries to the Bible? Which, of course, they have. I could go on, the implications are clear and staggering. Let's take another example. Giesler explains that the story of Elisha and the 42 youths killed by bears was actually a story of God making an example of a few bad apples. He reasons that we have the incorrect interpretation in our hands (never mind the problems this introduces) and that what was really going on was that a street gang was threatening Elisha with his life. Ok, so even if this is true, why does the Bible not say so explicitly? Why not just give them all a bad case of herpes or stomach flu to teach them the lesson? Sure, God is free to act as it pleases him, but it just seems that the example could have been made in a way the possibly brought about positive redemption for the youths. The point is, I am simply conjecturing as Giesler is because WE WERE NOT THERE AND THUS CANNOT SAFELY INFER CONTEXT WHEN NONE IS GIVEN. These are the sort of answers that make me doubt even more.
Rating: 
Summary: Answers to Questions About Christian Faith
Review: Lee Strobel investigates 8 of the "biggest" questions, or challenges to the Christian faith is this followup to "The Case for Christ". I thought Lee did an okay job on finding scholars and theologins, who could bring up valid points that point to why suffering happens, why do people go to hell, evolution...etc. Some of the experts had good responses, but I would have liked Lee to interview more than one person about each topic. Overall, A lot of their remarks, reaffirmed most of what I have heard before in church, and my personal beliefs. I disagreed with J.P. Moreland's view of hell without flames. In the book of Luke, which was not brought up, Jesus mentioned the rich man in hell who wanted Lazarus, the beggar, to give him just one drop of water, due to the torment in the flames. If hell has no flames, then why does the bible mention it, lake of fire, why not lake of darkness, or ice or whatever. Anyway, this is a good book to study and take with you to church and discuss in Sunday School, or Bible Study. However, Lee could have interviewed even more, but guess he did not want to make a book more than 500 pages. By the way, I wonder if Charles Templeton ever gave his life back to the Lord?
Rating: 
Summary: Only suitable for those looking for confirmation.
Review: To begin, I would like to state that I am not a skeptic nor a christian - I feel more as if I do not have a definitive stance as to one way or the other. I personally don't agree with the word "skeptic" as it seems to imply that christianity is truth. After reading this book, I must say I am wholly unsatisfied. First, it does not deal with any (except 1) of the questions I want answered about the existence of god. Instead, it catipults itself into a discussion of "why" the arguments AGAINST christianity are wrong, and therefore somehow substantiate the claim that there is a truth the christianity.
While I did enjoy the writing style of the book, as well as the numberous interviews present, I was disturbed to find that many, many sources were eschewed in favor of people that would back up the claims being made presently in the book. I am sure that I could also make claims about the non-existence of a god and interview people who agree with my opinion and write a book - although I am sure it would sell a lot less, seing as how any book that confirms the existence of Christianity will be eaten up by anyone seeking to reaffirm their religious faith.
Anyone even slightly versed in logical progressions and arguments knows that the simple fact that because one thing is not substantiated does not imply the substantiation of the other. The questions I really want answered about god.
1. Why did God create Earth, and thus people?
2. WHAT if there is an alien species (and I am sure people will jump to say this is outlandish, but is it more outlandish than the proposition of a god, I think that our own existence backs up the possibility of an alien race much more than the existence of a god) that possesses a different religion than our own?
there are a number more, but are not necessarily relevant to the quality of the book. Finally, I would like to mention that in seeking to invalidate the scientific theories of the past few centuries, Lee Stroebel has gone to great lengths to make them seem outlandish to the point of impossiblity.
I was immensely disappointed with section about the apparent "agreement" of the scientific community.
His argument was that if the universe had a beginning, thus the big bang - this is an argument for a divine creator. He dismisses the multiverse theory as obscenely outlandish, and totally ignore s the theory which compensates for his problems, having the universe run a cycle between expansion contraction and so on - big bang, big crunch, big bang, big crunch. Also, in the case for faith, I would like some answers about other parts of the bible and the gospels, and not just the ones that agree with his claims.
Overall, I had a number of problems with the book, although I DO DO DO DO DO DO DO think the book should be read, at least for the exposure to the subjects.
Rating:
Summary: Is the Case for Faith legit?
Review: In the Case for Faith, Lee Strobel shares a personal story from which he draws eight questions critics have asked about faith. He then interviews eight different authority figures, and transcribes their responses, intersperced with his thoughts on the matters at hand.
Some of the chapters were definitely better than others, by which I mean that I felt some were more satisfying in terms of answering real questions, while some of them were completely strawman arguments in my opinion. However, that being said, each of the personalities interviewed has at least one book out there dealing with these and other questions, so if you are unsatisfied with the answers, Strobel lists a few books at the end of each chapter, most worth looking into.
I would venture to say that if you are of the mind to use this book to further your argument against or for Christianity, you will find what you are looking for. On the other hand, if you are honestly seeking, I would encourage you to use this book as a springboard of sorts to the wealth of information referenced within. This book is too well-built for the casual reader, to be taken seriously as a complete and fulfilling answer to most of the very troubling theological questions it raises. I believe it will be worth your time, if you truly give it the time it is worth.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book to Go Through With a Sunday School Class
Review: If you are looking for some material to cover in a Sunday school class or small group, this is a good choice. Overall it is a great book, but some of his chapters are better than the others. Overall it stimulates conversation and gets people thinking about their faith.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Great for Doubting Believers and Skeptics Alike
Review: The Case for Faith is, in my opinion, markedly better than Strobel's Case for Christ. While both books were excellent, this book is much more relevant and accesible for the average Joe, which is Strobel's intended audience. Like Case for Christ, Strobel's new effort does not get into issues very deeply. However, satisfying and compelling answers are given to quite a few common objections to Christianity. Also, Strobel provides resources for the interested reader to study each question more closely. The issues covered by Case for Faith are quite varied, and I believe are an accurate representation of the real questions being asked. Thus, Strobel's work is a very important contribution to beginner apologetics. His work should be well-received by all.
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