Rating: 
Summary: Should be retitled "The Case for Agnosticism"
Review: The "arguments" in this book, the bias, the straw-man set ups, the out and out lies influence the thoughtful reader more towards agnosticism or atheism than any embrace of Christianity. The chapters on suffering and God's ban on civilizations (which was basically genocide and the complete destruction of not only infants and children but even animals -- and basically, were Amalekite sheep all that sinful?) was maddening. When other religions and other ideas are presented they are not presented or discussed in an honest or fair fashion. And then to suggest that if Templeton (the most honest, thoughtful person in this book) didn't buy these cheap attempts at rationality that it was only because he was too far gone to Altzheimers -- I am appalled. I concur with another reviewer, "Where is C.S. Lewis when we need him?" I disagree with some of Lewis' ideas but his honesty as a thinker and as a Christian was evident. I could point out the weaknesses of all these chapters but other reviewers have already done so. If you are a Christian and wish to teach non-Christians about your faith, please do not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to read book about tough problems in Christianity
Review: Lee Strobel takes some of the toughest questions that surround Christianity and goes to experts on the subjects to get an answer more than just you can't understand the mind of God. Strobel never pretends that this book is the end all be all to these questions but he does an excellent job of giving us answers to some of the toughest questions. If you've ever been troubled by why people are tortured in hell or why innocent children are killed then this would be a great book to start with.
Rating: 
Summary: Dance around the woman in Africa, Lee! Dance!!
Review: This book is typical of simplistic
Evangelical thinking. Strobel tries to tackle the ultimate stumbling block to trust in God: why so much horrible, sickening evil happens. He centers around the story of a woman who cried to God for rain so that she and her children would not starve to death because of crop failure, only to be answered by continuing drought. He interviews conservative theologians who do a delicate dance around the problem posed by this scenario. In so doing they carefully fail to ever answer the question. Why would God not simply send a shower to bless and feed the crops? Let us consider the primary responses:
1.) The possibility of evil must exist in the Universe for there to be free will.
My response: True - at least in the case of moral evil. What about natural evil with no moral context, such as disease, drought, etc?
2.) God allows evil because He sees that good will ultimately result from it-
Problem: assuming this is true, then we may rightfully ask: what ultimate good could result from a woman and her children dying from malnourishment and thrist? What deficient deity has to use such means to produce a later "good" outcome?
Problem two: even if we allow that some later good may result from the woman and her children dying, does this justify God letting it happen? To use an analogy, what if a criminal went out and shot a wealthy, elderly woman, then used the money he took from the purse to feed the poor? Would this justify his actions? No; he is still guilty of murder. So is God when He withholds rain from starving people.
Problem three: Even if we let God off the hook for His murder of the woman and her children, even if we acknolwledge that some long-term good may ultimately result, there is one ultimate stumbling block for Strobel and his ilk: the words of Jesus:
"Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find..."
"Which of you, if your child asks for bread, shall give him a stone?"
and, last but certainly not least....
"HE SENDS THE RAIN TO FALL ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST."
Evangelicals have tried getting God off the hook for decades, but all they can do is dance around the stone that blocks their path. This book is full of such artful choreography: pretty and well executed, but ultimately useless.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect book for believers and skeptics.
Review: Ironically, some of the greatest books on Christianity have been written by some of its greatest skeptics. Then again, skepticism is something all Christians have had in common at one time or another. Although this may be hard to believe, I recommend this book to skeptics not only because i feel it would open their eyes to some spiritual issues, but also because i feel they would find it entertaining as well. After all, one of the reasons why the questions tackled in this book are so difficult to answer is because skeptics and critics of Christianity raise a lot of valid points!
WHY IS THERE SUFFERING?
WHY IS THERE A HELL?
WHY ARE CHRISTIANS INCONSISTENT WITH CHRIST'S IDEALS??? If you're a believer, this book may strengthen your faith; if you're a spiritual free agent, it may help you find some concrete answers; if you're a skeptic, it may offend you. No matter what, though, you will be entertained. The pace of the narrative is incredible, as Lee Strobel is a very gifted writer (or maybe he just had great material to work with). Written in the same style as THE CASE FOR CHRIST (another must-read, btw), this book is probably friendlier and more approachable to skeptics, especially for those who read the previous and were disappointed with Strobel's conversion at the end. Once you've read this book, you're bound to have a different perspective. For the Christian, the world is a more bearable place, and for the non-Christian, Christians are more bearable. I implore you, whatever your religious background or lack thereof, don't write this book off simply because it's a Christian perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Where is CS Lewis when we need him?
Review: Lee Strobel's "The Case For Faith" is one of the least intelligent books I have ever read... an embarassingly naive and myopic attempt to sell conservative Christianity under the guise of objective journalism. Strobel likes to sell himself as a "Yale educated journalist," and "former atheist" as if this makes him uniquely qualified to be objective. This is typical of the dishonesty of his writing. His agenda is clear from chapter one. I'll give the book credit for one thing: it is an unique idea to have a journalist interview experts on the leading doubts keeping the unfaithful from embracing Christianity. I wish a journalist without an obvious agenda would have used the idea before Strobel did. If an unjaundiced eye looked at these issues, they would draw from a diverse group of theological thinkers, not this paltry collection (three are affiliated with the same Deerfield, IL evangelical university). The book reserves its subtly to discussions of the non-evangelical, using an underhanded language to discredit Catholics, Jews and Mormons, and in fact anyone who is a non-literalist. Additionally it sells a myopic version of what is asked of Christians -- Strobel repeatedly talks about a desire for carnality and materialism as being his own stumbling block to faith, which conveniently ignores that lack of compelling evidence is what keeps most people away. A block, I might add, not helped by this book. Most pathetically, one of Strobel's arguments for faith is that the early followers of Christ were willing to die for what they believed and "no one would be willing to die for a lie". I laughed out loud when I read that -- and considered calling Yale to see if Strobel really attended there. Institutions of higher learning are supposed to teach people critical thinking skills...
and clearly Strobel is blinded by his agenda and desire to believe. It doesn't take an Ivy League degree to know that millions of people have died for the lies of propaganda... including many people of faith. There really isn't much I enjoyed about the book. For non-Christians seeking an intelligent examination of Christianity, I suggest CS Lewis's "The Problem of Pain" and "Mere Christianity".
Rating: 
Summary: intellectually satisfying
Review: This book hits the mark. Though not an in depth study of every subject, it satisfies the needs for every day harry and marry who are looking rebuttles to christianity's most persistant questions and intellectual challenges and presents intellectual challenges for atheists to consider.
very well written!
Rating:
Summary: The case for reason
Review: Strobel claims to be an investigative journalist, but his intellectual dishonestly destroys any credibility that he may have brought to the table. He rarely asks his subjects the hard questions that beg to be asked, and quite often he merely leads the interview in the direction that he wants the conversation to go. This is not an investigation of faith by any means, it is simply an affirmation of one mans faith.
Rating:
Summary: Brillant and potentially life-changing.
Review: If read with an open mind, this book can prove to be radically influential in the way you view faith in God.
Rating:
Summary: Clear, concise, compelling.
Review: I came to the Lord "heart-first" instead of headfirst so I never sought intellectual fact-finding that others have desired. I believed first and discovered the truth and accuracy of the Bible later. Strobel tackles the issues of faith the other way around: headfirst. "The Case for Faith" is one man's account of his search, discovery, and testimony for Jesus Christ. Strobel finds the evidence for believing in the Lord more compelling than the "evidence" against Him. Strobel presents tough, legitimate questions soberly and thoughtfully and seeks to find the truth. The search is nearly as interesting as the verdict: Jesus Christ is who He says He is.
For the thoughtful seeker, here are clear steps to follow, factual, logical reasons to believe, and through it all, a growing display of a loving, powerful God who knows our names, has a plan for each of us, and is passionatley pursuing us. For the unbeliever, the seeker, and the believer there are many riches to discover in this lode of truth. Our generation needs
this book - just in time for these last days.
Rating:
Summary: Is this the best christianity has to offer?
Review: Starting out with an interview with a former man of faith who claims to miss jesus, without once mentioning that the gospels and claims about jesus cannot be proven factually, to making the saddest strawman out of evolution ever. "If the atheists are right then evolution has been around long enough and we should all be perfect now". Honestly, is this book that stupid, or is the author using the tool of lies so often used by apologists to misrepresent the arguments of their opponents. For purporting to use journalistic integrity, I am yet to see the author have the answers given by his "experts" rebutted by those who would tell the other side of the story. This should be read only as an expose of how sad the state of christian scholarship of this nature really is. Unfortunately this important topic was taken on by someone with an agenda that squashed honesty and integrity at every turn. Apparently the author was the least informed atheist the world has ever seen prior to his conversion. Because nothing that a self respecting atheist understands to be reality has been shaken by the juvenile arguments in this book.
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