"The Case for Faith" - by Lee Strobel
Book Review (Peter Byon)

 

 

"Always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. 
But do this with gentleness and respect," 
(1Peter 3:15)

 

This verse, in a nutshell, defines Christian apologetics.  Many of us have been confronted about our faith and the claims made in God's Word.  We try our best to answer questions and rebut any erroneous claims, but we may sometimes get frustrated by our inability to provide a satisfactory response to some of the tougher questions.  Part of it of course could be wounded pride, but surely much of it is rooted in our sincere desire to worthily represent the Lord.  Lee Strobel's The Case for Faith is an ideal resource for anyone who wishes to be a more effective ambassador of Jesus Christ.

 

The overall layout of The Case for Faith is simple enough.  It tackles eight of the most common objections non-Christians give as reasons for not believing in God, covering various topics such as evolution, hell, miracles and the apparent contradiction of how a loving God could allow evil and suffering.  For each objection, Strobel interviews a leading Christian scholar well-acquainted with that particular topic (and we're talking about some real heavyweights here, like Ravi Zacharias, Norman Geisler and Peter John Kreeft).  Playing the role of devil's advocate, he does not pull any punches:  He asks all the tough questions and has very high expectations for the quality of the answers. 

 

Now, most of us are pretty familiar with the first part of 1 Peter 3:15, but what differentiates The Case for Faith is that its author – law school grad, journalist and former atheist – is genuinely committed to "gentleness and respect."  He and his interviewees clearly understand that these are questions that real people, including Christians, struggle with.  You'll find many touching anecdotes and recollections that keep things rooted in the day-to-day realities of life.  Strobel and his roster of scholars freely admit that they, like us, still struggle with some of the issues.  The book is refreshingly free of any pretense or condescension, and I'm sure even the most jaded, post-modernist atheists would feel that they're being met where they are. 

 

"We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
and we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ." 
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

 

As you read their conversations, it becomes apparent that there are many persistent "pretensions" (falsehoods) and "arguments" (patterns of reasoning based on one or more falsehoods) that often go unchallenged.  Examples include the widespread presumption that faith and reason are incompatible, or that if God existed there would be no suffering in the world.  By following Jesus' example of countering defiant arguments and pretensions with the truth of God's word ("the knowledge of God"), what each scholar reveals is that these eight supposedly bullet-proof, rational objections are actually loaded questions and pre-supposed conclusions in disguise.  

 

 "I am the way, the truth and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through me." 
(John 14:6)

 

The Case for Faith concludes by addressing the heart of the issue, which Jesus addresses in John 3:19 and which a Ravi Zacharias quotation in the book lays down quite bluntly: 

 

"A man rejects God neither because of intellectual demands nor

because of scarcity of evidence. A man rejects God because of

a moral resistance that refuses to admit his need for God."

 

Strobel himself confesses that many of his objections and hang-ups as an atheist skeptic were simply "smokescreens" to avoid having to submit to Jesus Christ.  He reminds us that we can be armed to the teeth with good debating skills and Biblical knowledge, but only the Holy Spirit can change a person's heart.  Ultimately, The Case for Faith makes it gently but unashamedly clear that the sole answer to all of our questions is faith in "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).

 

Like a Simpson's episode, this book can be appreciated on many levels.  Despite all of the keen intellect and vast knowledge, the discussions in this book can be easily understood and applied,  whether you're an everyday Christian eager to live up to the call of 1 Peter 3:15 or a die-hard skeptic seeking rational, substantive answers to some of life's most nagging questions.  The Case for Christ is as about as accessible and seeker-sensitive an apologetics book as I've ever come across.  This is a worthwhile read and an indispensable resource, and I unreservedly recommend it to both believer and skeptic alike.