The Case for the Real Jesus (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

The Case for the real Jesus
By Lee Strobel
Pre release copy.
Before I became a Christian (in 2005) I used to read all the books that agreed with what I then believed. You know the ones, the Richard Dawkins types. Then I thought, "Hmmm, I've read loads of evidence AGAINST religion, why don't I read some evidence for it. That should be funny!" I simply thought that an intelligent case for ANY religion was impossible. So I looked at all the major faiths, Islam, Buddhism, Hindu and even the Jehovah's witness', Judaism and then finally Christianity. I discovered that when one is able to take on board the evidence from both sides, then and only then can one reach a fair conclusion.

The Case for the real Jesus is a book that offers a fair and intelligent look at evidence both for and against the real Jesus. It quite easily dispels a lot of the myths surrounding Jesus, His life and His teachings. It even points out a few "error's" within the Bible and explains how and why they are there.

It looks into the claims of popular fiction authors, such as Dan Brown with his Da Vinci Code and quite easily lays those fictitious claims to rest.

This is a book I couldn't put down. I thrilled whilst reading every page, experiencing dozens of, what I call "A-Haaa!" moments.

Lee interviews several experts on the subjects raised within the book, he asks the difficult questions that I used to throw at Christians. He doesn't let these experts off easily, and they make their case wonderfully.

This book will help any Christian solidify their faith, and let non-Christians read the "True" evidence about Christ. The great thing about this book is that whilst explaining how and why some of the popular myths are propagated in today's society, it explains away those very myths quite easily.

Obviously there will always be bigots (like I was-look up the meaning of Bigot!!) that will still refuse to accept what is plainly there for them to see, instead they will only see the evidence that leads to the conclusion they want...& not the truth.

I loved this book and the way it opened my eyes to details I wasn't even aware of.

This is Lee's best book to date...in my opinion.
A great read.
Daniel L Potts. (UK)

Out of all the Christian apologetics's I have read, Lee Strobel is simply one of the best. As a committed Christian the recent years have been ones of having to repeatedly answer objection's from my Atheistic friends and attacks by Muslim's attempting to persuade me that Jesus was never crucified.
Lee Strobel's investigative approach to unearthing the real Jesus will provide any Christian worth his salt with enough ammunition to answer all of these questions, by pursuing an evidence-based approach Strobel clearly demonstrates the reliability of the Gospel's, the actuality of the Resurrection and therefore the reliability of the Hebrew scriptures.
The Holy Spirit truly walks with this man.

"So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" -- Matthew 27:54 (NKJV)

I developed an interest in reading this book after hearing Lee Strobel preach at Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a few weeks ago. He presented a lot of background information about Jesus that was new to me, and I decided I wanted to learn more.

I believe that you will gain the most benefit from The Case for the Real Jesus if you first read Lee Strobel's earlier book, The Case for Christ. The facts and arguments in The Case for the Real Jesus are often connected to material in The Case for Christ.

In the interest of helping you figure out if this is a book you want to read, I suggest you begin by taking a look at pages 266-267 where the key issues addressed in the book are summarized.

The book considers these challenges that have been frequently raised in the public press during recent years:

1. "Scholars are uncovering a radically different Jesus in ancient documents just as credible as the four Gospels."

2. "The Bible's portrait of Jesus cannot be trusted because the church tampered with the text."

3. "New explanations have refuted Jesus' resurrection."

4. "Christianity's beliefs about Jesus were copied from pagan religions."

5. "Jesus was an imposter who failed to fulfill the Messianic prophecies."

6. "People should be free to pick and choose what to believe about Jesus."

Each section basically follows the format of finding one of these six challenges, documenting who made the claim and what the claim was based on, locating an expert in that area, and asking the expert to comment on the claim.

You may find that format a little restrictive for getting all of your questions answered. I think you'll find that reading this book is a little like getting an appetizer-sized portion of the information. It would have been much more interesting if Mr. Strobel had arranged for those who made these claims to debate the "expert" who was interviewed and then reported on the give-and-take. The book is filled with references, however, so you'll have an easy time tracking down the original claim and what others have written on the subject. I believe there's enough here to lead you to the information you are looking for to make up your mind from what the sources say or suggest and your heart tells you.

If you are a graduate-level theology student, this material will be too simple for you. If you are just an average person who wants to understand more about what scholars are disagreeing about, you'll probably find that you will get enough information in many areas to satisfy your curiosity.

I feel that people should know why they believe what they believe. The historical record about Jesus' life through the ascension into heaven is richer than is typically the case for events that happened almost two thousand years ago, and I think most people who want to know more about Jesus will be glad they became more familiar with the sources and how they were developed and analyzed.

May God bless you, your family, and all you do in the name of Jesus!