My Evaluation of Lee Strobel’s Book, “Case for Christ”

Earlier this year, a friend of mine asked me to evaluate a book called “Case For Christ”,
written by Lee Strobel. I was chosen because my friend believed I would provide an unbiased and analytical review of what is considered a carefully, documented treatise of the authenticity of the existence of Jesus Christ. According to my friend, the book is somewhat unique because, both legal & scientific procedures were used by the author to support his claims.

With respect to the legal issues, I am not an expert, however, I am familiar with some of its aspects, especially, “rules of evidence”. From a scientific standpoint, I believe I qualify as an expert, as I have been a practicing engineer for more than 34 years.

Before I present my evaluation, I would like to make it perfectly clear, it is not my intention to either promote or deny the existence of Jesus Christ. The following is a summary of what I was able to acquire from the book and its references. It represents my opinion.

I have read the book, “Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel and as promised, have enclosed my evaluation of the contents. Before I begin, I wish to reiterate, my spiritual beliefs and your spiritual beliefs are not the subject of this report, as they are not relevant to the task of the evaluation. It was my understanding, the purpose was to offer my opinion as to whether Mr. Strobel provided evidence to support what he believed in, the historical authenticity of the existence of Jesus Christ and the events associated with this individual.

I took notes and wrote a general summary of each chapter, reviewing them after reading the book. These notes included the background of the people he interviewed and the details of what I believe were the foundation of what he believes constitutes the “evidence”. Then, I examined his cited references at the end of the book. Without the opportunity to interview Mr. Strobel or his subjects themselves, I cannot comment, either way, as to the validity of their presentations. From what I read, based upon the aforementioned material only, I think Mr. Strobel provided the reader with an accurate account of his conversations with his interview subjects. I have no reason to believe he fabricated or augmented any comments made by his subjects and I am convinced he believes he has proved the historical accuracy of the existence of Jesus Christ. With this said, the material presented in the book does allow me to reach a conclusion concerning the “evidence” Mr. Strobel presented to support his “Case for Christ”. My conclusion is presented below.

Mr. Strobel is somewhat, of a hero to me. During the time when young people did not trust the Government or large Corporations, he was not afraid to expose their corruption, via his Journalism Career. For me, his most famous and beneficial work was the exposure of the Ford “Pinto Case” where he proved to his readers, Ford Employees were aware they produced a vehicle which was excessively, dangerous to the public and then attempted to cover it up. He did this by locating evidence to support his claim and then presented it to the public. It was a brilliant piece of investigation and outstanding journalism. His background in law, specifically, his expertise on “rules of evidence”, made him the perfect investigator. You may have doubts about our Country and its Constitution, however, I believe the founding principles, with respect to proving or disproving a case based upon the rules of evidence are sound and logical. If one follows the rules of evidence and does not facilitate premature conclusions, then the truth will become known. After reading Mr. Strobel’s Book, however, I was disappointed to learn those incredible skills and attributes which served him so well during his Investigative Reporting era, deserted him when he began to gather what he called “evidence” for supporting his “Case For Christ”.

The first conflict I had with Mr. Strobel was his constant need to paint a picture of his interviewed guests in a manner that suggested to the reader, the expert was sincere and his presentation facts were therefore, unimpeachable. He did this by providing descriptions of physical appearances, gestures and expressions of those he interviewed to the reader. He even, went as far to include one expert had recently, lost his wife to cancer and was convinced of the existence of deity as a result. What else could this imply but to say to the reader, one should not question the presentation but to accept it as fact, and therefore, evidence? This is not the way to present evidence. The facts, whatever they are, should speak for themselves and do not require colorful or emotional attributes.

The second conflict I had with Mr. Strobel concerns a technique all people are guilty of at one time or another, when they attempt to convince another of their view point. This is the “I was just like you…I did not know the truth either, until……..” syndrome. This is a common technique used to convince another individual that what one is presenting is the truth because like others, one did not have access to this new information which proves conclusively, one’s point. Mr. Strobel uses this technique, consistently, through the book. He attempts to show the reader he is like the reader, a true skeptic and upon the conclusion of an interview, attempts to convince the reader he has been presented evidence to eradicate his past skepticism, therefore, so should the reader. To a trained observer, this taints any evidence that may be presented and plants a seed of mistrust in the one who claims they are searching for the truth, via evidence.

The third conflict I had with Mr. Strobel is his seemingly, strange ability to ignore important points made by the subjects he is interviewing. He claims to have chosen these subjects because they are what he believes to be, experts in their field. However, in several instances, his experts inform him the material from the gospel does not actually prove any thing conclusively or is circumstantial and that it becomes one’s personal interpretation and personal conviction as to whether the events happened. One’s personal belief, no matter how sincerely, derived, does not constitute evidence to support the authenticity of a historical character or event. There is nothing wrong with the experts stating they believe ancient texts are true and therefore, affirm their belief in Jesus Christ, however, this is an opinion, not evidence. Just because these individuals are experts in Theology, does not make them exempt from providing evidence to support a claim.

The fourth conflict I had with Mr. Strobel concerns the issue of “Hearsay Evidence”. Our present day, Judicial Process of Law prohibits the use of hearsay evidence, that is, testimony taken by an individual without it being subjected to cross examination by opposing parties to test for validity. It is a basic principle of American Law and surely, Mr. Strobel, a Law Study Graduate himself, from one of the most prestigious and well respected Law Universities in the Country, should and would know this. However, he concludes the gospels, as written by those who claim to have seen or reported the relevant events are true and it is not necessary to interview them to test for validity. This is Hearsay Evidence. Although, part of or all that was said by ancient people may be true, it cannot be used as evidence because there has been no cross examination performed. The reader is expected to accept the material as testimony, without question. This is not evidence, but a dangerous precedent our Fore Fathers warned us about.

The fifth conflict I have with Mr. Strobel is perhaps, the most difficult to reconcile because it involves a violation of a fundamental principal when looking for the truth. That is, there are two sides to every story. When I became an engineer several decades ago, I adopted an unwritten code of ethics that comes with this title. That is, an engineer or scientist must look for the truth, in all potential sources, not just the ones that support their argument. There is nothing wrong with proposing a hypothesis, as long as one allows it to be criticized and examined fairly and conclusively, by all, not just one’s supporters. When I looked at the background of the subject experts chosen by Mr. Strobel, I noticed, most included those of Theological Study and/or related Education in this area. I did not come across any who were opposed to the theological material discussed. As a matter of fact, I did not see any in the author’s cited references. It is a well known fact, many historians are in disagreement with the transcribed meaning of ancient text and the authenticity of the text itself. In addition, a large number of archaeologists disagree with the historical events described in both the Bible and the Gospels.

My question is, where were their opinions and testimony when Mr. Strobel was making his “Case for Christ? How could someone who informs his readers he is looking for the truth, delete opposing and contradictory views from his process of proving his “Case for Christ” ? I find this most disturbing and most disappointing for a man I once considered to be a champion journalist for the people.
After reading the book, reviewing my notes and considering Mr. Strobel’s past accomplishments, I formulated the following opinion. I believe Mr. Strobel was very much in love with his wife and he wanted to become a part of whatever it was she experienced when she became a Christian. It seemed to bring peace and tranquility to her life so it seems reasonable he desired the same thing. That facilitated his need to validate Christianity and the most important way to do this was to validate the life and times of Jesus Christ. He did this the only way possible for him and that was to write about it. His skills as a writer were very evident in this book and he took advantage of his notoriety as a professional journalist and champion of the people to sell religion. Mr. Strobel did not present any evidence and I am confident he knows if this had been a court case, he would have lost the case on the basis of lack of evidence. His book is a reminder to me of how dangerous religion is in the hands of people who are trusted to serve the public. Instead of converting me to the belief in Christianity and the evidence to validate the life and times of Jesus Christ, he has reaffirmed my belief, all religion is dangerous and those who promote it under the false pretense of evidence are dangerous and irresponsible people.

For those who have read the book, you are no doubt aware, I did not engage in specific arguments concerning the contents of the New Testament, The Old Testament, The Gospels or the Bible. That is because, if I cannot conclude the validity of their content has been proven through evidence, it is pointless to argue their merits. However, this does not mean those events did not happen or the writings in the gospels were propaganda generated by the Christian Movement. I would be as guilty as Mr. Strobel if I told you those events did or did not occur without reliable evidence. What I am saying is, there is no reliable evidence to support it. What little is known about ancient cultures around 0-100 A.D. is considered inconclusive and highly argumentative by scholars. In this respect, I must agree with the people Mr. Strobel interviewed, which is, it comes down to a matter of faith because it is obviously, impossible to talk to witnesses who have been dead for almost 2000 years. Archaeological evidence has never become available which authenticates the existence of Jesus Christ. Some day, that may change, but for now, the life and times of Jesus Christ is legend, not fact.

On a personal level, I cannot tell you what happened 2000 years ago because I was not there… And neither were you nor any one else we know, living or deceased. Your path in life, along with, what you learn is what dictates what you will believe and not believe. As for the book, if it is your purpose and intent to convince others of the authenticity of the historical existence of Jesus Christ, then I would not recommend the use of Mr. Strobels book, “Case for Christ”, as a reference or support document.