"Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;" -- Titus 1:1-3 (NKJV)
Many born-again Christians are reluctant to discuss their faith with skeptics, despite the Great Commission, and encouragement not to be ashamed of Jesus before men. This book will be a blessing for such uncomfortable believers.
Let me explain. I was working at a homeless shelter one night when I met a fellow volunteer who had lots of questions about independent evidence that Jesus is who is said He is. I listened to all of his questions and asked, "What kind of evidence would you like to study?"
He immediately replied, "Well, it would be great if a reporter looked into questions the way newspapers always do and wrote about what was discovered."
I smiled and replied, "Would you like to read a book that a reporter wrote while he was a skeptic, who later became a Christian?"
A huge smile spread across his face.
I handed him a slip of paper with all the information about this book, and suggested we talk further a month later when we next volunteered. I knew that the Holy Spirit was working overtime to bring this skeptic into the fold.
Before reading The Case for Christ, I had noticed that our church offered free copies to anyone who wanted to learn more about Jesus. I didn't pick the book up though until I heard Lee Strobel speak at a Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale service. I wanted to know more, and this book nicely expanded on what he had to say. It was time well sent in preparing me for more excellent witnessing opportunities. Since then I've also read The Case for the Real Jesus, also by Lee Strobel, and suggest that you read both books. Start with The Case for Christ.
As a legal journalist by profession, Lee Strobel likes to provide a legal context for his chapters and to describe the process he used to obtain the answers. This makes the book feel a little like so-called new journalism. The real meat comes in the questions and answers during interviews with leading Christian scholars.
Here are the key questions raised in the book and the authorities who addressed them:
1. "Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted?" (Dr. Craig Blomberg)
2. "Do the biographies of Jesus stand up to scrutiny?" (Dr. Craig Blomberg)
3. "Were Jesus' biographies reliably preserved for us?" (Dr. Bruce Metzger)
4. "Is there credible evidence for Jesus outside of His biographies?" (Dr. Edwin Yamauchi)
5. "Does archeology confirm or contradict Jesus' biographies?" (Dr. John McRay)
6. "Is the Jesus of history the same as the Jesus of faith?" (Dr. Gregory Boyd)
7. "Was Jesus really convinced that He was the Son of God?" (Dr. Ben Witherington III)
8. "Was Jesus crazy when He claimed to be the Son of God?" (Dr. Gary Collins)
9. "Did Jesus fulfill the attributes of God?" (Dr. D.A. Carson)
10. "Did Jesus--and Jesus alone--match the identity of the Messiah?" (Louis Lapides, M.Div, Th.M)
11. "Was Jesus' death a sham and His resurrection a hoax?" (Dr. Alexander Metherell)
12. "Was Jesus' body really missing from His tomb?" (Dr. William Lane Craig)
13. "Was Jesus seen alive after His death on the cross?" (Dr. Gary Habermas)
14. "Are there any supporting facts that point to the resurrection? (Dr. J.P. Moreland)
If you really want to dig into any of these subjects, you'll probably find the information here to be too superficial to be totally satisfying. You can, however, use the footnotes to find meatier material, and I encourage you to do so.
As a believer, I found myself gaining lots more reasons to believe. What a blessing! Praise God!
Get more detail about El Caso de Cristo: An Investigation Exhaustive.
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