Book Review - “The Case For The Real Jesus” By Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel is quite a prolific author. Fortunately, he always has worthwhile things to say. Most folks are familiar with Strobel’s story…how as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, he undertook a two-year investigation of the claims of Jesus, which led him to belief and salvation in 1981 (a story worth reading in his book “The Case For Christ”).
Since then, he has written numerous other “A Case For…” books (Easter, Christmas, Faith, Creator...). Now, recent attacks on the claims of Christianity have led Strobel to revisit his original subject matter.
In “The Case For The Real Jesus”, Strobel lays out six major challenges to the identity of Jesus that have emerged in recent years:
#1 - Scholars are uncovering a radically different Jesus in ancient documents that are just as credible as the Gospels
#2 - The Bible’s portrait of Jesus can’t be trusted, because the Church has 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, and he failed to fulfill messianic prophecies
#6 - People should be free to pick and choose what they believe about Jesus
Strobel interviews a who’s who of scholars on each point. The evidence and explanations are extremely detailed. Don’t be fooled, this is a tough read - but it’s worth the effort. I learned new things in each chapter, including some things that I had never heard before in a lifetime of following Christ.
I found the chapters dealing with challenges #1 and #6 to be especially relevant. I’ve been in conversations with people about these very topics, and always felt too uninformed to give a proper response. This book has given me the tools I need to be able to engage in these conversations intelligently.
I highly recommend Strobel’s latest.
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sounds great…gonna have to get it