spin

Usually a person is challenged with such a book, in that someone attacks the person with book. Nobody can refute this book, so why are you still a non-believer? Books of the type have always proven to be appalling scholarship, masquerading as the answer to life, the universe and everything. The bible is accurate (despite the fact that the contrary has been so often demonstrated)! How can you ignore this book and walk away from the ***"TRUTH"***?

They always work on the fact that the writer knows more than the reader and that the reader doesn't have the training to seriously look into the complexities of the issues dished up in the book as the way things were. Such books are always cons. They are not written as cons, but they are invariably written by people who show no knowledge of historical methodology and whose approach is often no better than the von Danikens of the world. The books bear a high level of spin, aimed at putting the susceptible reader in the position of admitting ignorance and accepting the superior "knowledge" of the writer, even though the writer is usually incapable of doing history.

Count it all joy my brethren (and sistren) when temptation (such as this sort of book) comes your way, for once you overcome it, you have the ability to endure.

Internet Infidels is here partly to help people not be conned by such books, by such people. eleven's wife wanted the opinion of people here, which is a healthy step. It means she doesn't want to take the gullible wide path which leads to the perdition of thought.


spin

Lola

Hello eleven,

You can tell Mrs eleven that the Case for Christ, Faith and part of Creator, helped to lead a pretty solid Christian towards being a skeptic. Strobel's series is one of the reasons I started questioning and dissecting my faith. If you are a believer who doesn't question, who isn't thoughful and is gullible, then you'll think these books are wonderful and the case is closed.

When I first read the C for Christ, I thought there were a few soilid historical facts, but I didn't know any better. Then I looked into a few claims like Josephus' accounts of Christ, and saw that Strobel's assertions weren't as factual as I'd read in his books.

Of course, most of his sources come from the Bible and he "shows" how it's very accurate. One claim Strobel makes in CforC about the authenticity of the Bible is that, back then, the Jews had to be very good at passing things down verbally because most people didn't know how to read and write. So, when they told a story to each generation that happened eons ago, they had to be very exact and that's how we can tell that the Bible is what really happened.

Also, something that bugged me was why didn't he interview a bunch of scholarly atheists/agnostics in his books? The only one I recall was in the CforF; Strobel interviewed Charles Templeton, a man with alzehimers, who was a friend of Billy Grahm's and later, after seminary, became an agnostic. Strobel leads the reader to believe that Templeton wanted to turn back to God, but couldn't.

Just my thoughts,
Lola

Jayrok

After reading this book, I began to wonder what the motive was for the author. He claimed to be a former athiest, but he isn't much of a skeptic if he conceded arguments as quickly as he did in his interviews.

It was very odd. He would present a canned skeptical question and when the apologist would give any answer, Lee would say "hey, that's good enough for me" or "I'm satisfied with that answer".. I found myself thinking WTF?

The book is no more than a Hi-five book for believers to share with each other to pad their faith. I don't see how it could sway any moderately informed skeptic to becoming a believer.

Matthew_Green

I don't like any of Strobel's books. I was somewhat impressed by them back in my Christian days but now I cannot read them without feeling patronzied, my intelligence insulted, and digusted with the reeking dishonesty behind Strobel's books. Strobel feigns skepticism and in such a patronizing way as to be insulting. He pulls punches and lets some of his interviewees skate by with very simplistic answers that fall apart on closer scrutiny. Strobel is also ludicrously unbalanced and is only presenting information he wants his would-be skeptical readers to hear. It wouldn't be so bad if this book was designed for Christians. I'd have no problems if it were. But, it's designed for us skeptics and therefore I feel so insulted that I want to bitchslap Strobel senseless.

I have been working on a detailed point-by-point rebuttal of Strobel's book The Case for Faith and I will soon be working on a rebuttal of Strobel's The Case for Christ. I thought of putting such a rebuttal off until graduate school but I realized that many of the arguments Strobel raises are answered and dealt with in the fair and balanced book Studying the Synoptic Gospels by E.P. Sanders and Margaret Davies.

I plan to also write detailed, point-by-point rebuttals of Strobel's other "Case" books as well. I eventually plan to put them up on a website that is in pre-planning stages later this fall or winter. I also plan to put up a detailed, point-by-point rebuttal of William Lane Craig's insufferable nonsense on the resurrection of Christ as well as his horsecrap on the Big Bang and the confirmation he thinks it provides of the kalam cosmological argument.

Matthew

Fortuna

Well, I was also challenged as it were to read C4C by an Xtian co-worker and casual friend. She knew I was ex-RJ, but what she probably didnt know was that I actually knew quite a bit about the claims of Christianity.

After reading about 1/2 of the way through and skipping around, I was wondering if this author was either ignorant of the facts, uninformed, shady or outright dishonest.

Anyway, don't bother. A lot of claims are made with no support at all, what I think we would call heresay evidence. I honestly cannot believe that any court in the USA would allow such evidence, but not being an attourney or having much experience with courtrooms ( I just pay out my traffic violations) I really dont know that for sure.

Tars Tarkus

This would be a great blurb on the back cover!

eleven

Thanks to everyone who has responded. You opinions have been very interesting to read. I actually plan on going by a used book store to look for a copy just to see what it's all about, if for any other reason than to investigate what Christians feel are "solid" aurguments. (My wife was loaned a copy.)

By all means, though, continue to contribute your opinions of the book.

Thanks,
eleven

eleven

OK, I bought the book. And between my large reading assignments for school, I've had a chance to start reading the book.

I made it to chapter 3 before I finally started skipping around realizing the whole book was all the same shit.

From the very first interview, I was asking (even out loud as I read) rebuttal questions to the scholars answers. Strobel seemed to say at every answer, "That's good enough for me. Very convincing! But, ooooh, I'm going to get serious now." Which, of course, he doesn't. Every chapter started out as a comparison to his legal journalism career and a oozing, dare I say "saintly", description of the scholar he was about to interview. He reminded me of one of those infomercial host "interviewing" the inventor. "Wow! What a great product! But is it as good as you say it is?!"

Maybe after the semester I'll actually try and entertain myself with the rest of the book. For now, it's not worth my valuable time. I guess I'll have to make a list of my questions for my wife, who has never been interested in theological matters and as such, I feel, more easily impressed.

She's still an Atheist, BTW.

spin

You didn't give her the book, you cad!


spin

Clivedurdle

Could IIDB bring out an edition with this on the backcover, like Da Vinci Code explained?

I wonder if it has actually led to more deconversions than conversions?