Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 09-14-2007, 10:47 AM

Coto de Caza resident and author begins book tour about Jesus

Quote:

"We're seeing right now that the best-seller list is full of books by atheists," Strobel said. "I can't remember a time when so many books in the quote-unquote religion section are by atheists (and) agnostics who are attacking the traditional understanding of Jesus. That's why I wrote the book."

Strobel debuted the series in 1998 with "The Case for Christ," which chronicled his conversion from atheist to Christian through a series of interviews with noted scholars and experts. He said he felt the need for his latest book, which hit bookshelves Sept. 1, because of the number of phone calls and emails he received from Christians who have had their faith rocked or shattered by some of the recent books and TV shows challenging Christianity.

"I know what it's like to not have an answer when someone raises a challenge and it's a scary feeling for a Christian. The good news is there are good answers," Strobel said. "I hope my book can be a resource for people who may have been affected by some of the atheist writings recently who can see the other side of the story."

By his own admission, Strobel is not a biblical scholar.

The new book is "The Case for The Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ (or via: amazon.co.uk)."

Quote:

Atheist-turned-Christian Strobel, with four Gold Medallions and other awards, focuses on rediscovering the real Jesus, whose identity and message have come under attack in recent years. He addresses six major challenges and claims: that a different Jesus is seen in ancient documents that seem as credible as the four canonical gospels; that tampering by the church has damaged the Bible's portrayal of Jesus; that new explanations refute Jesus' resurrection; that Christianity copied pagan religions regarding Jesus; that Jesus didn't fulfill messianic prophecies; and that contemporary people should be able to choose what to believe about Jesus. As with his previous books, Strobel attacks the issues as an investigative journalist, though one with a clear agenda. He searches out experts (including Craig A. Evans and Michael Licona) to refute each objection, offering readers top evangelical scholarship revealed in everyday language while challenging the claims of liberal writers like John Shelby Spong, Bart Ehrman and others. In the end, he says, none of these seemingly daunting challenges turned out to be close calls... they were systematically dismantled by scholars... with facts, logic and evidence.

Yellum Notnef · 09-14-2007, 11:06 AM

"offering readers top evangelical scholarship....."

LOL. That says it all right there.

Keith&Co. · 09-14-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

because of the number of phone calls and emails he received from Christians who have had their faith rocked or shattered by some of the recent books and TV shows challenging Christianity.

You know, i've been seeing 'prepare to believe' in the ads for things since 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' was in theatres... And i've yet to have my skepticism about God, UFOs, white (or any other color) supremacy, or Bigfoot really 'rocked or shattered' by any of it.
Some was interesting, most was heavily slanted to one viewpoint and the rest was just onconvincing.
If people are one televised debate away from apostasy, they need to evaluate their ideology, not demand another fix of Stroebel's crap...

Steven Carr · 09-15-2007, 12:31 PM

There is an extract at http://www.zondervan.com/media/sampl...0x_samptxt.pdf

Doug Shaver · 09-15-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

He said he felt the need for his latest book, which hit bookshelves Sept. 1, because of the number of phone calls and emails he received from Christians who have had their faith rocked or shattered by some of the recent books and TV shows challenging Christianity.

Proving yet again that apologetics is not about persuading the skeptics. It's about reassuring the believers.

They're not trying to change minds. They're just trying to keep the ones they already have.

Toto · 09-15-2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Carr

There is an extract at http://www.zondervan.com/media/sampl...0x_samptxt.pdf

It cuts out just as Craig Evans is explaining why all those liberal academics are wrong about Jesus because they don't read Aramaic, and don't know the Semitic background of the NT.

Toto · 09-16-2007, 07:23 PM

On the Road with Strobel: "Open Season on Jesus"

Quote:

In a 50-minute interview, Strobel spoke mostly about how he stopped being an atheist and came to be a Christian. He also told why he wrote his latest book.

"We live in a culture where it is open season on Jesus right now,'" he said.

...

He also reassured the crowd that it is OK to have doubts about Christianity, if it spurs them to investigate further.

Alan Kosinski of Elgin, who has been attending Christ Community for about three years, said Strobel's message really connected with him, especially when Strobel talked about how things like abuse or parental alienation can shape a person's belief in God. And as for challenges from non-churchgoers, he says the reaction is mostly positive, not negative, when co-workers see him carrying his Bible.

InnocentSmith · 09-16-2007, 09:30 PM

I've read some of Mr. Strobel's books, and they are uniformly awful. It goes without saying that they are biased, but he attempts to present his case as if it were not. He argues that he enters a project with no clear bias, and is merely searching out experts to answer his questions. Perhaps it is only a coincidence that he only questions those who happen to agree with his own presuppositions, but I doubt it.

That said, he is no more dishonest than some of the atheist "scholarship" we see these days; I'm thinking of Messrs. Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris, here.

Toto · 09-16-2007, 10:10 PM

In what way are Dawkins, Hitchens, or Harris dishonest? That's a serious charge to just fling out without any qualification or proof. For one thing, they are all openly polemical and do not pretend to be doing something that they are not.

InnocentSmith · 09-16-2007, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

In what way are Dawkins, Hitchens, or Harris dishonest? That's a serious charge to just fling out without any qualification or proof. For one thing, they are all openly polemical and do not pretend to be doing something that they are not.

Dawkins in particular is often intellectually dishonest at best, though generally only in his work on religion. His biological work is interesting, if not widely accepted. Harris was fine in The End of Faith (or via: amazon.co.uk), but there were a number of issues with his Letter (or via: amazon.co.uk). In general, these authors have the obnoxious habit of commenting on religions which they have not seriously studied, on books they do not seem to have read, and with logic that would embarrass a first-year philosophy student.

You are right, however, when you say that Dawkins & Co. are at least open about their polemics. That's something, even if it is not very much.

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09-14-2007, 11:06 AM	#2
Yellum Notnef Banned Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Gone Posts: 4,676	"offering readers top evangelical scholarship....." LOL. That says it all right there.

09-15-2007, 12:31 PM	#4
Steven Carr Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: England Posts: 5,629	There is an extract at http://www.zondervan.com/media/sampl...0x_samptxt.pdf

09-16-2007, 09:30 PM	#8
InnocentSmith Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United States Posts: 26	I've read some of Mr. Strobel's books, and they are uniformly awful. It goes without saying that they are biased, but he attempts to present his case as if it were not. He argues that he enters a project with no clear bias, and is merely searching out experts to answer his questions. Perhaps it is only a coincidence that he only questions those who happen to agree with his own presuppositions, but I doubt it. That said, he is no more dishonest than some of the atheist "scholarship" we see these days; I'm thinking of Messrs. Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris, here.

09-16-2007, 10:10 PM	#9
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	In what way are Dawkins, Hitchens, or Harris dishonest? That's a serious charge to just fling out without any qualification or proof. For one thing, they are all openly polemical and do not pretend to be doing something that they are not.

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