I liked several aspects in this book, and disliked a few; For the positive aspect, Strobel's book is very readable, almost always fascinating, and captivating without being heavy. Strobel tries to show that it actually requires a lot more faith for an atheist to maintain atheism than it would to trust in Jesus. All the scholars Strobel interviews try to defuse atheist/skeptical arguments and show that the historical evidence that Jesus was who he claimed to be is overwhelming.

Does Strobel manage to convince you? Well, it will depend. I am very open to Christian arguments, but I am also very receptive to be best arguments against Christianity; your belief when you start the book will inevitably have a strong influence leading you to a final position.

Like other readers, I quickly realized that Strobel's book had a glaring deficiency: Strobel does not show us any direct interview with critics of Christianity. For instance, Gregory Boyd (One of my favorite Evangelical apologists) spends many pages criticizing the Jesus Seminar, but Strobel never lets us read any of their replies. The atheist Michael Martin is also attacked, most times, the arguments against his work are justified, but still, I always had that annoying feeling of not being shown enough of the opposing side. Strobel's method is quoting some skeptical book to a Christian Apologist, and then asking for his comments. Unfortunately, Strobel never does the opposite, quoting passages from Christians to Non-Christians in order to get their responses.

And so, to some readers it might be reasonable to claim that Strobel's book is very unbalanced, failing to show interviews with ANY critic of Evangelical apologetics. People who want the truth will want to hear both sides of the story.

Still, I was left with the feeling that it will be a big mistake to dismiss the entire book on this basis, even if you are a skeptic who will be annoyed by the limitation. The reason? Well, for a start, this book comes with a number of endorsements from high-profile Evangelicals, so it somehow might represent their best arguments; It is also very creative, and well written and organized. It summarizes the work of several leading apologists for Evangelical Christianity, in a compact and accessible format. Ultimately, the evidence provided is far from being completely unconvincing. You might need more, but even the hard skeptic with an open mind will definitely have to stop to think when reading some of the arguments in favor of Christianity.

I suggest you complement this book with something written by skeptics. A good article is "The Rest of The Story", written by Jeffrey J. Lowder especially as a response to this book (Should be freely available on the internet, try Infidels.org). I thought Lowder points some of the flaws in Strobel's book, but still recognizes its value and is never bitter against it, a good article against some weaker parts of this book, but it still justly recognizes the quality of Strobel's contribution.

Overall: Not as balanced as the title would suggest, but very well written, creative, full of quality Christian apologetics from several authors, in a very effective summarized way. Also with a good Summary, Notes and Index, something I always like in my books.

Has its weak points, but I still strongly recommended this work for any theist or atheist seeking truth.

65 of 79 found the following review helpful:

Opened doors  Mar 03, 2004

I read this book a few years ago while just investigating christianity. I was very skeptical, and had all kinds of doubts, based on my knowledge of evolution, my public school education, exposure to the discovery channel, PBS, etc., which all tend to support a mere mythological view of christianity. I read the whole book in a matter of days, and was very impressed with the amount of topics that were satisfactorily covered in this book.

I'm not going to say I gave my life to Christ immediately, but this book opened the door for me to take Christ seriously, and to apply the same skepticism toward scientific theory that I had previously applied only toward religion. I eventually became convinced of the reality of God and the truth of the gospels, and have since trusted my life to Christ gratefully. I've bought several copies of this book and given it as a gift to family members and other non-believers in hopes that it will open doors for them as it did me.

This book isn't perfect, but its a very readable exploration into christian apologetics for a newcomer. I read The Verdict recently (the book written to counter this one), and it was surprisingly weak. Nearly every major argument in The Verdict was based on the same faulty logic (argument from silence). I started highlighting major logical fallacies from the beginning, and got about halfway through that book before my hand had turned yellow and I decided it just wasn't challenging enough. The sheer inability of the author of The Verdict to adequately challenge the arguments in this book are a testament to its quality. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone, along with Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

163 of 204 found the following review helpful:

A must-read for open-minded seekers  Jan 27, 1999

This extremely readable and historically solid book is a must-read for any open-minded person who is truly seeking reliable information about Jesus and his identity. On one level, it's highly entertaining. The author has an uncanny ability to make complex issues understandable and to use colorful and compelling language to convey his points. He's an extremely gifted writer. And yet on another level it's a fully indexed reference book that will be an excellent resource in studying the controversial issue of whether Christianity is based on mythology or historical truth. I found the author's quest for accurate information about Jesus to be thorough, credible, and balanced. He raises tough questions and demands satisfying answers from the thoughtful scholars he cross-examines. A few have claimed the book is one-sided, but this completely misses the point! The author takes critiques of historic Christianity by Michael Martin and others and then seeks a response from the experts he interviews. It's up to the reader to decide whether these scholars give appropriate and meaningful responses. Also, the author exposes the faulty thinking and pseudo-scholarship of the liberal Jesus Seminar. Thus, it's false to say the book is one-sided. It deals responsibly with the toughest challenges to Christianity. One indication of the success of this book is that it has struck a raw nerve among atheists and others who apparently feel threatened by the book's ability to undermine their philosophy. A few have written reviews critical of the book. However, I say READ THE BOOK YOURSELF. In most cases, the author has already answered the critique of the reviewers!!! One example: a reviewer says, "Who would die for a lie? Heaven's Gate is only a recent example." However, this is faulty thinking, as the author points out. People in Heaven's Gate were willing to die for their faith because they BELIEVED their faith was true. However, they had no way of knowing whether their faith was REALLY true; they merely believed it was true. This was totally different for the disciples of Jesus. They didn't just believe Jesus was resurrected in the ultimate authentication of his identity as God; they KNEW it was true because they were in a unique position to actually encounter and interact with him. KNOWING what really occurred, they were willing to die for their beliefs. Thus, this is a completely different situation. I see this over and over: reviewers who raise issues but then ignore or misunderstand the author's point. In fact, I will say this: every single objection raised by reviewers is easily answered. Unfortunately, those who lack adequate background knowledge of these issues may be misled into thinking these criticisms carry more weight than they do. Some sound impressive -- until the reader goes through this book himself or examines similar books, such as Dr. J.P. Moreland's "Scaling the Secular City." I strongly recommend "The Case for Christ" to anyone who is sincerely interested in exploring whether Jesus was merely another man or was, indeed, the unique son of God. It will inform and challenge those who begin (as the author himself did!) as skeptics. And it will encourage and undergird the faith of those who already have concluded that Jesus is who he claimed to be. I'll add this: read ALL of the reviews before deciding whether to buy this book. Don't just read the most recent ones, but go to the next screen and go through all of them. And consider buying copies for friends. I've already purchased four paperback editions and given them to friends of mine who are curious about whether Christianity stands up to scrutiny. For those who speak German, I'd encourage you to read the foreword to the German edition of "The Case for Christ." It's written by Dr. Klaus Berger, one of Germany's most distinguished and thoughtful New Testament scholars -- and someone who is NOT an evangelical Christian. Dr. Berger's enthusiastic endorsement gives this book STRONG credibility. In fact, his intellectually informed endorsement is much more significant and important than some random and misleading critiques by amateurs who merely object to the author's conclusions. So CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF. I did, and I'm richer for the experience.

See all 785 customer reviews on Amazon.com