The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel is an amazing writer. Being a former atheist with a background in law and journalism, he attacked the issue head on and straight to the heart of the matter. He was not searching for the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice, or the love of Christ that has changed so many lives already, but instead he went to tackle perhaps the most fundamental thing — whether Jesus Christ of Nazareth even existed in the first place.
His search for the evidences of Christ’s existence took him to 13 well-respected, high-caliber evangelical scholars and apologists. As Strobel went from one scholar to another, he brought with him all the questions that had always bothered him as a skeptic of the Christ. “Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted?” Do these biographies stand up to scrutiny? What about the apparent contradictions of the four gospels? Did Jesus really die on the cross, and if He did, did He really rise from the grave after three days? Are there any other collaborative evidences outside of the Scriptures that prove the existence of Jesus Christ?
Despite being a believer, I’d be lying if I said these questions never crossed my mind. This is what I liked about this book. It’s “a journalist’s personal investigation of the evidence for Jesus,” but it is great reading for both believers and non-believers. This book is not perfect in all of its arguments and answers, but then again, where can we ever find a document with all the perfect arguments and questions ever raised?
My take on this book is that it is a great supplement and reinforcement to my personal journey of faith. The Case for Christ did not answer all of my questions, (the Bible already did that for me), but Strobel did a great job in excavating historical truths and life-changing insights.
For all the people objectively seeking the truth about Christ, I would highly recommend this reading, but this book should not replace the Gospels. When you read The Case for Christ, you should examine all the evidences and arguments presented, but I want you to look beyond the facts and immerse into the experience of discovering and knowing Christ personally. The main purpose of this book is not to bring you to attain mere facts or trivia on Jesus Christ, but the experiential truth of Jesus’ love, which you could only know personally within yourself.
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