Name: Case for Christ, The
Rating: 4.305555555555555 (36 reviews)
ISBN: 9780310226055

Lee Strobel

Case for Christ, The

Jacob

A must-read for atheists everywhere, as it gives a great preview of the shitty apologetics Christians engage in. Oh and do yourself a favor and watch the movie, which is almost worse. <br /><br />Chalked through with strawman arguments and flimsy evidence. He only interviews fellow Christians, and poorly. He is clearly asking questions he either knows the answer to, or knows the interviewee will be able to easily answer in a way that confirms Lee’s preconceived conclusion that Jesus is a god. He uses emotional appeal and demonizes atheists as stupid and amoral. His chapter introductions are incredibly stupid, and show everything wrong with crime reporting. He cites eyewitness account as the most reliable form of evidence. They also have nothing to do with anything related to the premise of the book other than to explain what evidence is. And he appeals to authority like crazy with his glowing Tinder-bio introductions of how “smart” his interviewees are. Fucking disgusting. This is really the best selling Christian apologetics book? The “Five million copies sold” on the cover is the most depressing thing I read in my life.

This was a fantastic book! It helps to deepen your faith with facts. Took me a while to finish because it’s not necessarily exciting. But so very worth the read!

Moriah Howard

Mariel Adrianna de la Garza

This book was given to me when I was in college; I don't remember where, or when, or by whom. I stuck it on my bookshelf with my other bible/theology reads and left it untouched until this month. I was at home and picked out unread books from my bookshelves and saw it sitting there. I found it much more interesting than anticipated and I really enjoyed it.

Strobel has a Master of Study in Law degree from Yale. If you're confused by that (as an almost-J.D., I was) look at http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/MS.... He worked as a journalist for The Chicago Tribune covering legal issues. He presents the "case" for Christ using a legal/investigative framework. As a law student, I found this refreshing at first, though by the end I feel it was worn out as a rhetorical strategy.

The book is basically a series of interviews with respected scholars and the chapters have titles like "Testing the Eyewitness Evidence" and "The Corroborating Evidence." They're clearly written, easy to follow, and full of what I found to be useful information. They're also flecked with anecdotes, and stories about interesting criminal cases lead each chapter to illustrate the particular kind of evidence Strobel is seeking.

At times I found the information a bit superficial, but then I remembered the book is intended as a starting point for further personal investigation, not an authoritative tome. A really great quality is the long list of sources Strobel provides. Each chapter ends with a list of "more resources on this topic" and there's a long list of sources at the end of the book. It's more than enough information for someone to dig deeper into whatever area they found most interesting or challenging. I love when books encourage further learning. 

I'd definitely recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians alike. Strobel is a former atheist and clearly using his writing to appeal to those who are struggling with belief in Christ or who do not believe at all, and he does so in a manner that is not condescending or accusatory. I grew up a Christian and still found it interesting and, at times, touching. (I cried when reading the chapter dealing with the crucifixion.) All in all, worth the short amount of time it took to read.

Case for Christ, The

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