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    The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ
    The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ
    The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ

    Written by Lee Strobel

    Narrated by Lee Strobel

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    About this audiobook

    Has modern scholarship debunked the traditional Christ? Has the church suppressed the truth about Jesus to advance its own agenda? What if the real Jesus is far different from the atoning Savior worshipped through the centuries?

    In The Case for the Real Jesus, former award-winning legal editor Lee Strobel explores such hot-button questions as:

    • Did the church suppress ancient non-biblical documents that paint a more accurate picture of Jesus than the four Gospels?
    • Did the church distort the truth about Jesus by tampering with early New Testament texts?
    • Do new insights and explanations finally disprove the resurrection?
    • Have fresh arguments disqualified Jesus from being the Messiah?
    • Did Christianity steal its core ideas from earlier mythology?

    Evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others. Sift through expert testimony. Then reach your own verdict in The Case for the Real Jesus.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateAug 21, 2007
    ISBN9780310275411
    Author

    Lee Strobel

    Lee Strobel, former award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Lee earned a journalism degree at the University of Missouri and was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship to study at Yale Law School, where he received a Master of Studies in Law degree. He was a journalist for fourteen years at the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois’ top honors for investigative reporting (which he shared with a team he led) and public service journalism from United Press International. Lee also taught First Amendment Law at Roosevelt University. A former atheist, he served as a teaching pastor at three of America’s largest churches. Lee and his wife, Leslie, have been married for more than fifty years and live in Texas. Their daughter, Alison, and son, Kyle, are also authors. Website: www.leestrobel.com

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    Reviews for The Case for the Real Jesus

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      Engaging and well-written. One criticism would be that the author only interview's "friendly witnesses", so that while it is ostensibly an impartial journalistic enquiry we never really get to hear the other point of view. This may be seen as disingenuous by some.
    • 4/5
      Journalist Lee Strobel sets out to examine many of the attacks against the historicity and deity of Jesus Christ. He approaches scholars respected by both liberal and conservative scholars as he attempts to verify that Jesus was Whom He claimed to be. He looks at the Biblical narratives and other contemporary sources as he examines allegations involving the text, the resurrection, Christianity's origins, Messianic prophecies, and postmodern interpretations. This book is written in such a way that laypersons will understand it.
    • 5/5
      This was a very interesting and compelling book. I read it as a believer, so I needed no convincing, but I liked reading the way an attorney approaches the subject.
    • 5/5
      Lee Strobel asks some tough questions about Christianity and as a crime reporter knows how to get some answers.
    • 3/5
      Substance: Each element of the "case" is based on the evidence Strobel would consider necessary in any legal case, and each chapter is prefaced by an actual case relevant to that type of evidence. These anecdotes are quite interesting, although not always exactly on point. For the evidence about Christ he depends on doctrinal scholars and their research. Not much of what he discovers is new, but it's useful to have it gathered into one volume.Style: Strobel's presentation and evaluation of the evidence is journalistic rather than scholarly. There may be an associated documentary available.Notes:"Legend today develops instantly - it's called 'spin' and it happens on purpose."Check the rest of the notes marked in the book.For some bizarre reason, he drops in a paragraph condemning the Book of Mormon without any further explanation or previous motivation.
    • 5/5
      For anyone who has questions about Jesus Christ, this is the book for you. This book is great for both believers and nonbelievers alike. Lee Strobel interviews several experts in various fields and asks them the tough questions about Jesus Christ, and the New Testament. Read it with an open mind: it'll change your outlook forever.
    • 4/5
      I finished Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus next. He was a former religious skeptic but is now a Christian and teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church. He worked for the Chicago Tribune as an investigative reporter and he studied law so I thought it would be interesting to see what he found. This book was a 432 page book broken up into 3 parts, "Examining the Record", "Analyzing Jesus", and "Researching the Resurrection."In this book there was a lot of information and was well written and interesting. The author interviewed 13 Christian experts including such people as Craig Blomberg, Bruze Metzger, Edwin Yamauchi, Ben Witherington III, and William Lane Craig. This book was a book about Strobel’s reasons for his belief in Jesus but not a well-balanced pro and con view of both sides. If you are looking for that, this is not the book. His book also had others like one of my favorites, Ravi Zacharias, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; Phillip Johnson, Law Professor, University of California at Berkeley; D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries; J.P. Moreland, Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University; and Peter Kreeft, Professor of Philosophy, Boston College. It would take too long to get into each subpart of the three main parts to flesh out all the details here but I’d be happy to talk to anyone a little more in-depth about this book in this thread. This book has a lot of one sided "evidence" but many are begging the question issues in my mind but overall I thought he did a good job with this book. I'd give this 4 stars out of 5.
    • 5/5
      This book examines the evidence for Jesus by interviewing a dozen academics who specialise in a variety of different fields. Evidence that was examined included scientific, medical psychological evidence and also examination of the Bible and other historical documents. It would be great book for anyone seeking evidence for the existance of Jesus as the Messiah. A great book to recommend to non-Christian friends.
    • 4/5
      A very good exploration into the historical evidence that Jesus really was who he claimed to be. In it, Strobel interviews Biblical experts and challenges them to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. He is thorough and unyielding in these interviews, challenging the texts themselves, the witnesses, the death of Jesus, and all points in between.I would recommend this to anyone who really wants to know if the claims of the Bible are true. I'm sure those who are determined to not believe will find a reason to, but those with more open minds will at very least find the claims of Christianity are a little more credible than they may have first thought.
    • 5/5
      Lee Strobel interviews and investigates some of the top religious, scientists, archeologists to come up with this book...to say there really was a Jesus Christ that walked among the earth and he is the son of God. Praise be to God for Lee. If you struggle with explaining Jesus to someone you love, give them this book.
    • 5/5
      So amazing. The man went from being an antagonistic Athiest to a born again Christian--it's a great read for everyone in that spectrum. I like how he used secular writings from the 1st century as well as the culture of the early church to help us understand different aspects of the history behind Christ's story.He asked the logic questions that most people have, and the answers he found are very convicting. I have a new found love for Luke as a historian, and the preface to his gospel makes me smile. I also like how he breaks up his research into different parts, and the part I most appreciated was the information on Resurrection of Christ.I'm proud that a professor from my Alma Mater, Liberty University, was referenced!
    • 3/5
      One of a series includingThe Case for the Real JesusThe Case for a CreatorThe Case for Faith
    • 4/5
      The author builds a strong case that Christ was a real person and actually performed miracles.
    • 4/5
      Atheists don't have a leg to stand on with the hard evidence that this journalist presents in his case for Christ. Nothing else in history has the kind of proof and witnesses that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has and it is simply wonderful to see how this case unfolds. Lee Strobel had started out on this quest as a hard-core skeptic and atheist. And he emerged a devout Christian. I doubt this means that others will do so too. If there's one thing I've learnt each person needs to go on their own spiritual journey and discovery. However, I enjoyed reading this book. It was confirmation of my faith and very very informative. I would recommend this book to all seekers of faith and christians alike.
    • 4/5
      With his trademark efficiency, Strobel digs into the question about Jesus. He answers several of the most common questions about Jesus – including the one I most wanted answered: Did Christianity build the myth of Jesus from Pagan Myths. While Strobel didn’t answer this completely to my satisfaction, he laid the ground work for further investigation. Each of the experts he speaks with have a list of credentials a mile long. These are some of the smartest, most respected scholars in the world. To see them not only address these ideas about Jesus, but the scholarship that led to these ideas, gives the reader confidence that the answers presented have merit and truth. Worth reading if you have questions about Jesus.
    • 4/5
      Sounded like it'd be "investigative", but seemed more the author lobbing himself softballs, and cheering himself on hitting them out of the park. Having said that, it was a fairly enjoyable read, and I've got Case for Faith on my stack to read. And the closing few pages were worth the rest of the book, IMO.
    • 1/5
      The first of what became a string of "The Case for..." books, presented under the guise of 'fair and balanced investigative journalism' but is actually nothing more than an opportunity for Strobel to lob soft balls at his favourite fundamentalist preachers so that they can make his case for him. Strobel's stated intent is a lie. He has not set out to present a true treatment of the issues but to evangelise, pure and simple. A true investigation by an investigative journalist would have included opinions and research from people who actually hold the contra-positions - positions that Strobel simply constructs 'straw man' versions of to give the illusion of asking the tough questions. An appallingly bad book.
    • 5/5
      This is a great and easy read. I read this as a skeptic before becoming a Christian and it helped me find a starting point in my own search for Christ.
    • 1/5
      Do yourself a favor. If you're not already a Christian nothing this book insists is evidence is even slightly convincing. If you are a Christian don't give this to you're non-Christian friends to try and convert them, you'll just annoy them (and waste your money).It is obvious to any skeptic reading this book, that for all of Strobel's insistence that he was a hardcore atheist and bristling skeptic he has absolutely no idea what sort of questions and answers matter to skeptics. Nor does his interaction with his all Christian interviewees suggest anything but compliant and soft handling. He appears to be wearing two or three pairs of kid gloves. He'll say that he can't let them off the hook and that he's going to give them a tough question and then lob some sort of crackpot theory no self respecting skeptic would ever take seriously.The formula it this. 1. Start chapter with an exciting, but irrelevant anecdote about criminal investigation. It's a terrible and transparent gimmick aimed it showing that investigating the Bible is the same as investigating contemporary crime, even though there aren't any witnesses, material evidence, forensics or really any means at all to demonstrate anything concrete whatsoever. 2. Talk about the dude you're going to interview. Spend a page talking about his credentials, but then tell us not to worry about him bein' some unrelatable academic snot. He likes hockey! And has pictures his kids drew! And and he looks like a nice guy! Frankly I'm surprised he never got around to comparing them to lovable pop culture icons. Reading this ridiculous dribble about why I should like this academic every-man I couldn't help wondering what he would have said about skeptical academics had he actually interviewed any. I doubt that he would talk about them in such sappy heartwarming language. Would he simply omit the gratuitous page of leg-humping (which really didn't need to be there at all) or would he mention the "cold uncomfortable feeling he felt in their presence" and describe the "lack of human touches in their office"? I don't know. It's one more reason I wish he had included interviews from people that weren't all presenting the argument he was selling.3. Next you dive into the interview. This involves Strobel asking a question involving the theme of the of the chapter and immediately accepting whatever answer is given. Sometime he admits that that was enough to convince him, but asks a few more softball questions anyway to demonstrate his commitment to academic pursuit. Almost all examples of scholarly opinion and evidence is only vaguely referred to and lacking reference. They say things like "every one agrees that..." but fail to say who everyone is, or more importantly why they agree. It is assumed that hearing that some unknown theoretical scholars think it is as good as actual evidence and evaluation. It's not uncommon for them to insist that agreement is unanimous in the academic community regarding an issue when a simple google search shows it isn't. I shouldn't need to point out that conducting a criminal investigation or trial in this manner would be a joke. 4. Having declared the previous claim fact without actually applying any sort of rigorous evaluation or providing any evidence Strobel then uses it to prove more claims. This is basically all the book is. Making a claim, not really investigating it, declaring it inequivocally proven and then using it to prove other claims.5. Throw in some strawman versions of skeptic arguments and you're good to go.In a nut shell, this book argues that what the Bible says must be true because the Bible says it. It never addresses any real arguments against religion in general or Christianity in particular and on the occasion Strobel accidentally raises a legitimate objection his subject wasn't prepared for it is dismissed with a wave of the hand rather than actual logic or evidence. Unless you already accept the Bible as fact this is just going to be a lot of self appreciative nonsense and a giant waste of time.Some of you may be wondering why someone like myself that so clearly didn't like the book felt the need to read it and review it. It was given me by my mother. She was completely convinced it would show me the light and save me from my atheist ways. This is the third book I have read that was given to me to these ends, and while none of them has come even remotely close to addressing the sort of the things that me make an atheist rather than a Christian, this book was by far the worst of the bunch. I don't recommend giving your atheist or agnostic friends religious books or attempting to convert them, it is more likely to strain the relationship than make good Christians of them.
    • 4/5
      I had an open mind when I read the book and it seemed to convince me , or at least to provide for me the ability to argue in better defense of christianity , but I have since came to the realization that I was fooling myself and ignored some of the obvious slants in the book. I gave it a 4 because this book creates very sharp opinions before or against. I did like the writing unlike some of the other reviewers here.
    • 3/5
      I'm currently reading this book. I have a couple of religious books that I have lined up for reading. And this is the first. I'll be sure to tell you all what I think when I'm done with this one. But so far it's pretty good.
    • 4/5
      This is the third book I've read in author/journalist Lee Strobel's "Case" series. While I did not enjoy this book as much as "The Case for Faith" and "The Case for Christ", Mr. Strobel's writing gave me much to contemplate.One thing I really enjoy is how the author brings up internet and literary attempts to discredit Christian beliefs, only to have experts, scholars and such show the inanity of the attacks on Christ as a historic figure.
    • 1/5
      This book could easily be called "Lee Strobel Speculates Wildly from Unconvincing Premises" or "Lee Strobel Interviews People that Agree With Him". This book is a strange combination of soft-ball interview questions and absurd leaps of logic. Lee Strobel may once have been an atheist, but if he was he wasn't a particularly thoughtful one. You would have to have no knowledge of logical fallacies and no understanding of history or human psychology in order to be convinced by these arguments.
    • 3/5
      A bit verbose, but good information inside.
    • 1/5
      Strobel claims to be a journalist, and yet the only 'experts' he interviews during his 'investigation' are evangelical christians.What kind of journalist writes a piece on a controversial subject without finding sources on all sides of the given issue?The title should have been "The Case for Christ: A shoddy journalist's personal quest to find people who agree with me."
    • 3/5
      Full of info and very deep in meaning
    • 3/5
      This book I have taken notes and re-read numerous times. I recommend to anyone who studies the bible or anyone who would like to know more about Christianity.
    • 3/5
      Decent, for introductory evidentialist apologetics.
    • 4/5
      I found many aspects of Strobel’s book enlightening and very thought provoking. He interviews many experts on the documentation for the New Testament. The book dispels many of the myths surrounding what people “think” they know about the Bible and covers many aspects of reliability for the Bible and for Christ that many people, including Christians, just are not aware of. In this book, he also gives good demonstration that there is quite a body of attestation for Jesus’ existence in history.There were minor parts in which I disagreed with what was said, but those mainly pertained to certain interpretations or positions of doctrine that either Strobel or an interviewee and made, not necessarily to the topic of the reliability of the Bible or to the Messiah. Over all, a very good book and worth the read.There have been those who complain that Strobel doesn’t interview those who “have a case against Christ”. This is true, but to be fair to the author, he never intended to do this and doesn’t purport to. He is simply putting out the case for Christ, not against. Besides, what other books out there, by atheist or otherwise, write both pro and con arguments? Not many at all. You’re more likely to find those in academia any way.
    • 3/5
      This tool has been helping me answer questions from a friend who is struggling to find truth. What excites me about this book is that the story of Jesus, as told in the Gospels, is not only reliable, it is reliable in many categories. The internal and external proofs are overwhelming, and anyone who is sincerely looking for answers can be assured Jesus really lived on earth, died on the cross, and rose from the dead on the third day.