book review by Harold Kim

Many individuals refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God for lack of scientific "proof" or "evidence". Even many Christians have difficulty taking that giant leap forward because there is the "rational" side of their minds that refuses to give in completely to the teachings of the New Testament. This Book claims Jesus’ virgin birth, his teachings, persecution, death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. In fact, many Christians find it quite difficult to defend their faith when confronted with the "why should we believe in Jesus" debate with their secular friends when scientific evidence is inevitably sought. Christians often reply with the most common of responses: "Well, if we had proof of everything, there would be no room for faith, right!?" The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, is a book that provides Christians with the necessary armour to defend that "truth of truths" residing in every sincere Christian heart – that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Lee Strobel, who for much of his life was a skeptic and an atheist, holds a Master’s degree from Yale law school and is an award-winning journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Armed with a relentless desire to search for the truth, Strobel was once quite certain that God was a mere product of wishful thinking. How could there be a loving God who consigned people to hell for simply not believing in him? How could miracles contravene existing scientific laws? Strobel was content in believing that Jesus was a charismatic Jewish teacher who had an unusual gift of kindness and wisdom - until he decided to use his probing mind to look for evidence that supported, or debunked, Christians’ claims that Jesus is the Son of God.

Strobel touches on several points of contention raised in academic circles. Can the eyewitness evidence of the disciples be trusted and tested? Is there credible evidence outside of Jesus’ biographies in the four gospels? Does Archaeology confirm or contradict Jesus? The profile evidence: Did Jesus fulfill the attributes of God? Did Jesus – and Jesus alone – match the identity of the Messiah? Is there medical evidence to prove that Jesus did in fact die on the cross? These examples are just a sliver of the issues probed by Strobel during his interviews with 12 scholars or "experts" on the New Testament and the "rational" response of the "experts" is persuasive.

Strobel starts each question or controversy with a real-life court reference so that the reader can put the case of Jesus in perspective. For instance, when Strobel interviews Dr. Craig Blomberg Ph.D, Blomberg states that lawyers need witnesses with credibility. The jury will not find convincing the eyewitness testimony of a man with drunken tendencies and with a suspicious history. However, they will be more inclined to believe a family man with no criminal record and a track record of excellence. It is with this meticulous probing that Blomberg and Strobel come to the conclusion that Jesus’ eyewitnesses who wrote his biography (the four gospels) were credible. Not only were they credible, but they were accurate as well. We discover that Luke, the physician, was no slouch when it came to being meticulously accurate. Strobel finds that archaeology and fresh scientific dating methods support most of Luke’s accounts (among others) of Jesus’ biography.

Strobel quotes John McRay, an archaeologist from Wheaton College who says that archaeology cannot prove that an entire story is true, but it can enhance the reputation of the writer’s accuracy. In this archaeologist’s mind, the writers of the gospels were very accurate – in fact more accurate than those writers of antiquity whom scholars today consider to be infallible in their accuracy. We discover that there are more than 5,000 original manuscripts of the New Testament in existence today, far more compared to other pieces of antiquity that catalogue events in history. Strobel logically concludes that if you compare the four gospels with other writings that the general public consider to be truth, the biographies of Jesus come out far ahead of the rest and with more credibility.

One further point worthy of mention is that Christians often emphasize that the many prophecies from the Old Testament foretelling the coming of the Messiah infallibly point to Christ. Sceptics are quick to point out that these are all "coincidences". What if Jesus is one of many significant historical figures that just happen to fit the prophetic "fingerprint?" This suggestion is ludicrous according to Louis Lapides, former Professor at Biola University. "The odds are so astronomical that they rule that out. Someone did the math and figured out that the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled is one chance in one hundred million billion."

Most books discussing religious issues usually create more questions and doubt than answers. However, readers, believers and non-believers - will be pleasantly surprised to feel a sense of conviction that the controversy surrounding Jesus' life and resurrection can be explained with reasonable probability within the Christian context. That is the key phrase in making a "case for Christ". Like any lawyer pursuing "truth" in a civil court of law, Strobel produces experts to testify for or against the person on trial. Not unlike real court trials, experts usually do not produce irrefutable evidence, but rather evidence that has a high degree of probability. Based on this civil standard, Strobel succeeds in proving that Jesus is who He claims to be.

After reading this book, I have to agree with all twelve experts who were under Strobel's microscope when asked after the interview, "Have your years of research and studies bolstered or weakened your belief in Christ?" The answer was unanimous: "There's no question - that my studies have greatly strengthened and enriched my spiritual life."