Rating: 
Summary: Misleading nonsence
Review: I am a muslim and i can state as a matter of fact that a lot of the comments concerning the Islamic religion are taken out of context and are in error. If this is wrong what else is wrong? I approached the book with an open mind wanting to learn something about Christian beliefs but found the innacuracies concerning Isalm jarring which made me wonder what other inaccuracies there may be in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: The perfect gift for Christmas and the New Year
Review: About five minutes after the Christmas festivities end, everyone's attention turns toward the New Year and the improvements we intend to make in our lives. If you know of someone who has at least thought about religion, faith, a Creator and what it all means, but can't understand how a loving God can allow so much suffering in the world, or why Church history is littered with oppression and violence, they will thank you for slipping this little wonder into their Christmas stocking.Lee Strobel has an innate gift for transforming the very complex philosophical issues surrounding religion into an easy-to-read dialogue. As a result, the pages fly by enjoyably while the reader receives a firm grounding in modern philosophy, theology and justification theory, all without having to stumble over the $10 words which normally betray such heady subjects. So rather than give a gift that might last a day, a month or a year, give one that might just last an eternity. At a minimum, the reader will be able to enjoy the mind-expanding experience of contemplating the reason for our existence in the company of a hot cup of cocoa. And that will still elicit thanks from those on the receiving end.
Rating: 
Summary: A solid work
Review: The Case for Faith is a good book that explores in some detail some of the vexing questions often raised about Christianity and life itself. I thought that the book was well written, easy to follow, well organized, and included a good bibliography which is helpful to the reader who wants to conduct more research into the topics discussed. In particular, I thought that Moreland's contribution was the high point of the book. This surprised me since I don't always agree with Moreland. Many of the interviewees provided sound logic and common sense to support their assertions. Like the Case for Christ, this book mostly succeeds in providing a good defense of the Christian worldview. And it puts those in opposition to Christianity on the defensive by forcing them not only to discredit Christianity in substantive ways (as opposed to the superficial arguments usually heard) but also challenging them to respond to the same kind of questions Christianity is forced to answer. This continually puts the non Christian in a quandry since many non Christian belief systems, whether they be atheist or anything else, regularly has to borrow many basics of the human experience and life origins from Christianity in order to even begin to construct their own belief system since their belief system can't explain many of the fundamentals upon which they base their belief system. I did not give the book 5 stars for a couple of reasons. First, I was a bit disappointed by the Geisler section. I have great respect for Geisler, but it seemed as if his section was glossed over a bit, rather than being thoroughly explored. Secondly, I was also a bit disappointed that Strobel did not explore the issues of slavery and suppression of women. It is mentioned in passing in the section that discusses the Witch Trials, the Crusades, etc. But the whole concern about whether the Bible and Christianity supported slavery and the suppression of women are hot topics and strong objections that deserved to be explored. Having done some research in this area, I personally believe there are many compelling responses to these objections, but if a person based their whole knowledge of these subjects on the Case for Faith, it could be reasonably concluded that these objections are legitimate and that Christianity has no explanation for these things. It was a mistake for Strobel not to thoroughly explore these issues. Other than the concerns raised above, I do recommend this book for the new Christian, the seasoned Christian, or the non Christian who is sincerely investigating the claims of Christianity with an open heart.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent arguments for those on the fence
Review: If you are on the fence of deciding to follow Jesus but have some reservations, I believe this book can help you resolve those issues. I think this book is especially helpful for those people that consider themselves intellectuals. Strobel tackles issues head on with strong factual and philosophical arguments. By the way, the reviewer on this site that is still hung up on the concept of hell with its "fire" and "flames", obviously needs to read that chapter again because,respectfully, he didn't get it. As Strobel says in this book, if you don't want to believe, then you can ignore the evidence and explain it all away to mean nothing. However, if you are a seeker, this book WILL help you find what you are looking for with sound basis for it.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This book was good from start-to-finish. It raises a lot of salient points, and I think this should be read. It is also readable, well-written, and very thought-provoking. (I had a lot of those "Why didn't _I_ think of that?" moments...) In response to the reader below, Strobel was not proving that there was a God. He was arguing that evil can coexist with the Christian God, and I think that is fair. These were arguments that were supposed to be incompatible with the Christian God, and Strobel simply showed that they were compatible. Is it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only Way? I think it's arrogant to believe you're a better person, yes...but not necessarily to believe you're right. That's about it. You should buy this book; it's quite good. God bless, Christinaphylus
Rating:
Summary: Sensitive response to some HARD questions!
Review: Lee Strobel's two books are invaluable resource material. He takes on some tough questions in his latest work. I appreciate how he blends philosophical reasoning with personal stories to address the issues. I didn't always agree with the conclusions, but we cannot know the answer to some of these questions until we are in heaven. Maybe not even then! He handles suffering with gentleness and respect. If you are ever assailed by doubts, or spend time with people who are, read this book.
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Summary: Another Solid Work by Lee Strobel
Review: In the same vein as "The Case for Christ" Strobel uses his investigative prowess to interview certain scholars regarding the issues of faith, evil, suffering, evolution, miracles, etc. Strobel seeks answers from some of the most renown Christian apologists, theologians and philosophers. Some of the men Strobel interviews are Norman Geisler, J.P. Moreland, Ravi Zacharias, John Woodbridge, Peter Kreeft, etc. The style in which Strobel writes makes the book very engaging and helps keep the reader's attention throughout. While the book itself does not exhaustively answer to my satisfaction every issue that was covered (which I don't think was Strobel's intention), it nonetheless gave me a desire to further research the issues. I wish the issue of faith and reason could have been detailed but perhaps Strobel had other intentions. Nevertheless, this book would be a great "starter" text for those who are desiring to get a basic handle on certain issues (i.e. the problem of evil and suffering, evolution, etc.) but it is not the kind of text for the academic researcher in those areas. Thus, this book is a must for lay people of the Christian church, and those who want to know where to begin researching the issues on a small scale. I would recommend this book to anyone involved in Christian ministries, Christian leadership positions, and especially youth ministers. Once again Lee Strobel has provided a fairly solid work.
Rating: 
Summary: The case for faith, for the faithful
Review: Two items in this book stuck out most for me; "the problem of pain" and the existence of hell. However, I wanted to see everything. Human suffering is a serious issue, and most folks are tired of hearing the same old excuses. "It's God's will!", "We don't understand!" "The suffering really does something good, though it doesn't seem so, now!" "The suffering of the body is nothing, because only the soul matters!" Strobel doesn't back down a bit. He asks "How can an omnipotent God allow suffering to happen?" The answer is that sometimes things happen and they look really bad; an example is used of a hunter trying to release a bear from a bear trap. The hunter must force the bear's trapped foot down to release the trap, and the bear sees only that it is being hurt, badly, by this kindly hunter. Moreover, suffering will bring us closer to God, even if we don't see it while we're suffering. Things that are bad might not be as bad as they appear, if you consider the long term view. "What?" you say, "Isn't that exactly the set of excuses you said people were tired of?" Well, yes. That's exactly what I said. Strobel works with the idea that there is an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God, that there is a historical *FACT* that Jesus rose from the dead, and that Christianity is the only path to God/Heaven. Once you accept those premises, that is, once you HAVE FAITH, you can now overcome these obstacles to faith. I'm not anti-Christian, though I do oppose many Christian people's viewpoints. I do not mind that this book has a lot of good re-affirming arguments for Christians. What I can't deal with is the lack of rigor in the arguments. We are asked if it is arrogant to believe that only Jesus' name can lead us to salvation; part of the answer is that anyone who seeks the truth will *GET* Jesus' name. Carefully, think about this. "If you seek what is good with all your heart, Jesus will be given to you". No problem. If God is good, and Jesus *IS* the only path to salvation, this must hold. How could a good God *NOT* give someone who wants it the path to follow for salvation, right? But that also says "Anyone who does not find Jesus is not truly seeking what is good." Do you know someone tortured with doubts? Well, they must not really be seeking, then. Do you know someone who looked for truth and tried to believe? Well, they didn't try very hard. I guess, from what I've read, that they were too prideful, and refused to surrender themselves to God. Yes, it's arrogant. Come on; if you (generic "you", not "you, the reader") are going to believe that, believe it. But please don't pretend that it's anything but blatant arrogance. Maybe you're right in your belief(a lot of arrogant people are right; sometimes that's why they are arrogant), but please accept that yes, you are saying non-Christian seekers aren't as good as you are in looking for goodness and truth. That's what I mean by a lack of rigor; rigorous assessment would not allow a person to back away from that point. I completed entire chapters in the book (and there seem to be about ten chapters; one for each "major question" and introduction and summation. I could not finish the book, as Strobel is exactly the kind of Christian apologist who I can not deal with. Why? Not because I dislike Christian thought; C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. However, when Lewis came up against an unanswerable question, he didn't posit an all powerful God already existing, and then declare the question answered by spouting doctrine. Lewis would try to find an answer that could satisfy us mere humans, even if it required questioning, or bending, doctrine. No, I dislike him because he argues from his conclusion, and does not truly understand 'the other side'. He doesn't seem to have a good grasp of what it means to be non-Christian. And that's fine for preaching to the choir, but when you want to speak to people outside the church, you need to be able to tune in to their view.
Rating:
Summary: An honest and daring look at tough questions
Review: Even before I had read the book, I was looking forward to how the author would answer some of the tough issues he posed as chapter headings, including: "How could a loving God be worthy of worship if he kills innocent children", "Church history is littered with oppression and violence", and a "Loving God would never torture people in Hell". These are some very direct and honest questions that I have had myself, and have heard as some of the main reasons why people often have rejected Christianity. While this book does not have all the answers (and who would expect it to?) it does provide some great insights from a variety of sources that put these questions in context and provide some relevant information which I had not previously considered. I am impressed with the honesty and the way the author, and the experts he consulted, did not dodge or attempt to deflect away the accusations or tough material. I won't give away the conclusions here, because the book is excellent and should be read on its own, but I will say that I came away from the experience with some questions answered to my intellectual and emotional satisfaction. The book is in no way "stuffy" or dry, and is well worth the effort!
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as TCFC, but compiles a few good arguments.
Review: This time Strobel covers some of the major claims against faith in God, and in particular, arguments against Christianity. He starts by talking to skeptic Charles Templeton, and from there proceeds to question several scholars. My criticism to "Case for Christ" still applies here; Strobel did not directly interview many sceptics, but simply mentioned some of their claims to Christian scholars, who tried to refute the problems. If the reader keeps in mind that this title clearly isn't intended to be a debate, it's not a problem. Strobel tries to defend his faith as well as he can, and that's what you probably will be reading the book for. Anyone wanting more arguments from the other side will have to read separate titles (Strobel mentions many skeptic works). Strobel interviews Peter Kreeft (problem of evil and suffering), William Lane Craig (Miracles and science), Walter L Bradley (attacking evolution), Norman Geisler (God's violence on innocents), Ravi Zacharias (Problems on Jesus being the only way to God), J.P. Moreland (Eternal torture in Hell), John D. Woodbridge (Church History and violence) and Lynn Anderson (Belief while in doubt). My favorite expert was definitely William Lane Craig, showing once again all his knowledge while dealing with such a hard subject. I expected better from Geisler, who needs no introduction but left me feeling that the subject was not as well defended as it could have been. Woodbridge's interview was good. Strobel did focus the book on the toughest intellectual obstacles to belief, missing a few, but hitting the major ones. Unfortunately, this book will be somewhat unsatisfying for anyone looking for more depth and rigor then dealing with the most difficult questions about God and the divine. Beginners will value the brevity and plain language of the interviews, but it will limit its power to make hardcore skeptics feel in trouble; I can't blame Strobel on this however, that's the price to pay for having such complexity reduced to accessible answers, and one should keep in mind that each one of the 8 problems covered is complex enough to fill a whole fat book, or a pile of them. Anyone who finds this title interesting should also take a look at "Letters From a Skeptic" by Gregory Boyd, which covers many similar questions and supplies more satisfying answers in a few aspects. And of if you want to balance it with something from the other side, "What is Atheism?" by Krueger is a easy way to start. While "The Case for Faith" compiles many good arguments against questions made by doubters, it doesn't have as much impact as "The Case for Christ" and will probably take more fire from skeptics, but this is still a good contribution, almost always captivating no matter if you believe or not. (Reviewer Bill Hays from Tustin did a good job showing some of the problematic issues covered, but didn't mention that the point of this book is precisely defusing some of those claims; Also, Strobel can hardly be considered dishonest for not mentioning he's a pastor, since anyone can easily see all that simply by...Reading the back cover) You might also like to know that this title is well organized, includes a nice compact Summary of his previous book (TCFC), useful for those who missed it, supplies references to both pro and against books and also a includes a good Index.
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