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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accessible but slightly simplistic,
By
This review is from: The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Paperback)
I would highly recommend this book to anyone exploring Christian apologetics for the first time. It is a compellingly written and easily readable defence of Christian claims about Jesus Christ. Strobel tackles the subject from about every conceivable angle by investigating everything from the geography of the New Testament to the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It is on this latter point that the book builds is case most strongly, providing credible arguments for a rational basis for believing in the resurrection.
The book's structure is both its strength and its weakness. The author assumes the role of detective as he jets around America meeting and interviewing experts on the various aspects of the case he investigates. The cross-examinations that take place are recounted to the reader and make for more lively reading than a traditional narative. The interviews are also cleverly interspersed with the little anecdotes that tie in with the unfolding argument. However, the question-and-answer format tends to leave gaps in the arguments and gives the overall case a disjointed feel. Also, arguments tend to get simplified because they are related in the form of a dialogue. On the whole, the book is well-written and accessible, but slightly simplistic, and can serve as a good starting-point from which to explore the case for Christ further.
68 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book that stands up to scrutiny,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Paperback)
As someone who has spent years studying ancient history, I can attest to the accuracy, fairness, readability, and thorough nature of this excellent new book. And while it's great that "The Case for Christ" has generated so much response at amazon.com, I'm concerned that a handful of people who disagree with the author's conclusions have sought to discourage others from obtaining the book through reviews that are at times misleading or which miss the point of the book entirely. Taking simplistic potshots when there is no ready mechanism for response by the author seems terribly unfair. Let me give just a few examples. One reviewer tries to discredit the author's citing of Josephus, a first century historian. First, the reviewer claims that Josephus wrote about Jesus 80 years after Jesus died, which is absurd because this would place the date after Josephus' own death! Further, he claims Josephus' work has been "universally acknowledged to have been altered or doctored by later Christians." Yet this is a point that the book's author, Lee Strobel, readily concedes! However, Strobel takes the approach of a true historian by seeking to determine what part of Josephus' work is authentic and what was likely a later Christian interpolation. Unfortunately, potential readers of the book might think from the review that Strobel's book is lacking, when it's the review that misses the mark. A reviewer points out that several of the experts interviewed in the book are from Christian universities, so of course they believe Jesus is who he claimed to be. However, these scholars don't hold this view because they are at Christian universities; they are at Christian universities because they have been personally convinced by the evidence that Jesus is who he claimed to be! These experts are highly respected scholars with excellent academic credentials. Why aren't opposing scholars interviewed? Because the scholars in the book are confronted with the claims of these opposing scholars and are forced to defend their positions with facts. Thus, the claims of opposing scholars are given due consideration. In addition, the author devotes an entire chapter to debunking the highly questionable -- and sometimes laughable -- scholarship of the left-wing Jesus Seminar. Concerning the resurrection, a reviewer claims: "If one disciple claimed to see Jesus, wouldn't others also do so in order to not feel less special or blessed?" Why would someone falsely claim to have seen the resurrected Jesus when it meant a life of hardship, rejection, poverty, and eventual torture and death? Can anyone find a single example in history of a person who knowingly and willingly allowed themselves to be tortured to death for a lie? I could go on and on. There are logical and rational responses to every single point brought up by the reviewers. In fact, a fair reading of this book shows that it already provides answers to much of what is raised! At about 300 pages, this book is clearly intended to be an overview of the evidence concerning Jesus. To fault the author for not going deeper on one point or another does not mean there aren't adequate answers. It simply means one book can only give so much information. What is in this book, as far as I can determine, is accurate, balanced, and written in a very creative and highly readable form. I strongly recommend it to anyone with an open mind.
45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Christ presented credibly, convincingly and compellingly,
By
This review is from: The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Paperback)
I have been wrestling with Christianity and was attracted to this book by the many mysteries that it claimed to clarify. I was in no way disappointed. I don't think that the author claims to offer a 100% money-back guarantee that you will find Christ upon reading this book, he does however present in a very readable manner, a case for Christ which if not leading you to a spiritual conclusion will lead you to questioning any doubts that you might raise. Strobel critically analyses the foundations for which 12 well-chosen prominent scholars base their faith and in much the manner of his education as a successful journalist looks for specific factual evidence, a quest which ultimately leads to his own spiritual fulfillment. It's absolutely genius how he manages to seize the reader's attention with some brilliant and gripping analogies (right from page one!) proceeding to relate them directly to the bible with enviable ease. I have only just finished this book and immediately starting reading the equally 'unputdownable' follow-up, 'a case for faith'. I would suggest you buy both books as the 'case for jesus' book will leave you thirsting for more of Strobel's no-nonsense approach to the key questions playing on your mind. I would encourage everyone to read this book. Lee Strobel presents not only a case for christ, but a case for a brilliant piece of work.
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