( S ) Books

The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus

Lee Strobel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 641 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Failed to Address Any of My Questions 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

A good friend of mine, who is quite sincere in his belief, provided me with a copy of this book, believing it would quickly dispel my lifelong agnosticism. I read it in good faith, hoping that here at last might be a book that would address a lifetime's worth of questions. Unfortunately, I realized within the first few minutes of opening it that it would do no such thing. It glossed over the most fundamental objections I have within the first few pages and never looked back from there. Thus, to me, it was essentially worthless, though I labored on to finish the entire book out of respect for my friend. Thankfully, it was mercifully short, and the language made for an easy read. The content was of no value to me, but Strobel, at least, can write a coherent sentence and is a decent writer.

Christian believers should be aware of how weakly this book addresses genuine agnostic objections to the Jesus story, and how poorly it will prepare you to discuss and/or debate the matter with an informed unbeliever.

Quite simply, I have never believed the Jesus story, from the time I was a child. I don't believe in invisible things, be they ghosts, demons, leprechauns or the various and sundry gods of a thousand different religions. I have serious doubts that Jesus ever existed, though I can't rule out that the stories are not based on some bonafide rabbi who actually lived and breathed and preached for a time, even though he somehow missed the attention of Philo of Alexandria, a Jew who lived at exactly the same time and wrote extensively about the history of Palestine. I am puzzled by the existence of religion, which obviously has arisen in virtually every culture that has ever existed on this planet, but have accepted the reality that skeptics like myself are in the minority. Perhaps it is because I am a member of such a seemingly small minority that Strobel's book was not tailored to a mind like mine - but to me the fundamental flaw in his book is that he simply assumes from the very beginning that invisible and supernatural things do exist, that miracles happen, and that the stories told in the Gospels are true.

To me, it is obvious that all the biographical information we have about Jesus was first written by whoever developed the Gospel of Mark, and that little new or different regarding the actual life and biography of Jesus was added by the other three gospel writers. Thus we have what is essentially a point source regarding the life of Jesus, and I have yet to receive a compelling argument from anyone that counters my suspicion that maybe the entire story was a work of fiction invented by some literary genius now known to the world only as "Mark." Unfortunately, Strobel does not address this concern in the least. His only comment on this very serious objection is along the lines of: "these gospel writers seemed like good men, so why would they lie?"

Why indeed? The problem of course is that a devout Mormon will say the same thing about Joseph Smith, when to most outsiders it really does appear as if Smith made the entire Book of Mormon up virtually single handedly, and his motives for doing so: money, power, and even sex, are crystal clear to any outsider not caught up in the Mormon faith. The objection that no one person could have come up with the Jesus story is refuted not only by Joseph Smith, but by looking at the complex worlds created in fiction by people like Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, or J.K. Rowling. So of course one person could have come up with the Jesus story, especially since any simple course in comparative religion shows that most of the major premises of Christianity already were present in the Mediterranean basin at the time of St. Paul: whoever Mark was, living where he did, would have had access to the teachings and belief systems of Plato, Buddhism, Zoroaster/Mithras, Judaism, Heracles, and the ancient and well-developed Egyptian religion. From there, it would not be difficult to fuse and merge the best of each into a new amalgamation - the creation of such a hybrid religion would require creativity and ingenuity to be sure - but would not require the development of any new insights or philosophy - those were already there for the taking.

Strobel fails to address the fact that not a single contemporary Roman source mentions Jesus, and that references to Jesus from later writers like Tacitus and Josephus are not only scant but controversial. The oft repeated claim that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are "one of the most documented events in history" becomes ridiculous to anyone who has ever actually investigated the matter - but again - Strobel fails to address this.

Having thus blithely, and as I said earlier, in one sentence, dispensed with the most serious objection to Christianity - that the entire thing might have been invented, just like every other religion known to man, Strobel barrels along, treating each story in the gospel now as though it was actually witnessed by a sober and honest person.

I do not make these comments in an effort to stir up a debate, but in the event a Christian apologist happens to make a good faith effort to refute any of the concerns I've just expressed in the last few paragraphs in a "comment" to this review, I would observe that his or her efforts would be far superior and far more useful to me than anything in Strobel's book.

And THAT, more than anything else, drives home the point that Strobel's book is useless. If a stray Christian passerby can spend five minutes responding to me and come up with more compelling and direct arguments than Strobel did in the year or so he spent writing this book, that ought to tell you something about how useful Strobel's book really is as a refutation to agnosticism.

Editorial Review:

The Case for Christ records Lee Strobel's attempt to "determine if there's credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God." The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity

Lee Strobel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 217 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Award-winning reporter and author Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) once again uses his investigative skills to address the primary objections to Christianity. As a former atheist, Strobel understands the rational resistance to faith. He even names the eight most convincing arguments against Christian faith:

1) If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil?
2) If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true?
3) If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?
4) If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe the right things about him?
5) If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?
6) If God really created the universe, why does the evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life?
7) If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?
8) If I'm still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?

These are mighty tough questions, and Strobel fields them well. Rather than write a weighty dissertation about the merits of faith, he brings us along on his quest as we meet leaders in the Christian community, such as Peter Kreeft and William Lane Craig. We also encounter his everyday friends and acquaintances that serendipitously fill in the holes in each of the eight arguments against faith. The use of dialogue from personal interviews and a scene-by-scene active narrative makes this an easy and engaging read. However, easy does not mean breezy. This is a book of substance and merit, one that will help Christians defend their faith, especially during the hardest of times, when they have to defend their faith to themselves in moments of doubt. --Gail Hudson

The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God

Lee Strobel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 217 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Are Christianity and science incompatible? If there is a God, is he only an impersonal starter force? An introductory high school biology class first propelled Lee Strobel toward a life of atheism. God and science, he reasoned, were mutually exclusive. When the former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune converted to Christianity, he decided to investigate the science he had once accepted as truth. Did science point toward or away from God? As Strobel interviews a variety of scientists on everything from debunking evolutionary icons to the implications of the Big Bang to the existence of the human soul, he builds his case: scientific evidence points toward Intelligent Design.

Although the discussion often veers into the academic, Strobel works hard to make it accessible to those without scientific training. Throughout the book, he salts interview transcript information with interesting personal stories of his own spiritual and scientific quest for knowledge, as well as sometimes over-detailed descriptions of the actual interviews (right down to the type of beverages consumed). Each chapter contains suggestions for further reading on particular issues of science and faith.

Strobel concludes that, when correctly interpreted, science and biblical teaching support each other. He quotes physicist Paul Davies, "…science offers a surer path to God than religion." Open-minded readers will find that this book, and its questions for reflection and group study, invites conversation and investigation.--Cindy Crosby

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas

Nancy Guthrie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

An anthology of Advent readings collected from the writings and sermons of 22 classic and contemporary theologians and Bible teachers.

Between purchasing presents and planning travel, enjoying holiday pageants and attending parties, it is all too easy for Christmas to silence the sacredness and crowd out a quiet anticipation of the season’s truths. So when editor Nancy Guthrie decided she wanted a reflective book of Advent readings that would help her pause and consider the riches of Christ come to earth, she embarked on what she calls “a sacred adventure,” putting together such a collection herself.

The result—this special volume—draws from the works and sermons of classic theologians such as Whitefield, Luther, Spurgeon, and Augustine, and from leading contemporary communicators such as John Piper, J. Ligon Duncan, Randy Alcorn, John MacArthur, Francis Schaeffer, R. C. Sproul, Skip Ryan, and Joni Eareckson Tada to beckon you and your family into the wonder of Jesus’ incarnation and birth.

With its high view of Scripture and its focus on the gift of Jesus, this lovely book is sure to ready your heart and mind for a fresh experience of “Immanuel, God with us” this and every Advent season. Open the cover and discover what Christmas was meant to be…

Redemption (Redemption Series-Baxter 1, Book 1)

Karen Kingsbury, Gary Smalley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

disappointing 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am very disappointed with the book. I agree with the original critic - it reads more like a self-help book than a literary novel. The adultery, alcohol described in the book seem very unrealistic and organized to create certain points that the author wants to get across to the reader. I would find it hard to believe if this author has any real understanding of the circumstances that they try to describe in the book.

Editorial Review:

When Laura Baxter Jacobs finds out that her husband is involved in an adulterous relationship and wants a divorce, she decides she will love him and remain faithful to her marriage at all costs. This book shows how God can redeem seemingly hopeless relationships, and it illustrates one of Gary Smalley's key messages: Love is a decision.

Redemption is the first book in the five-book Redemption series that Gary and Karen will write about the Baxter family--their fears and desires, their strengths and weaknesses, their losses and victories. Each book will explore key relationship themes as well as the larger theme of redemption, both in characters' spiritual lives and in their relationships. Each book includes study questions for individual and small-group use as well as a "teaser" chapter of the next book in the series.

St. Augustine Confessions (Oxford World's Classics)

Saint Augustine

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Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage, and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica had taught him during his childhood. Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context. The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library)

Shunryu Suzuki

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 140 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

If you are going to read on book on Zen...Right Here 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I can't count how many times I have read this book. this book is the rudder in my life.

Editorial Review:

A respected Zen master in Japan and founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki has blazed a path in American Buddhism like few others. He is the master who climbs down from the pages of the koan books and answers your questions face to face. If not face to face, you can at least find the answers as recorded in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a transcription of juicy excerpts from his lectures. From diverse topics such as transience of the world, sudden enlightenment, and the nuts and bolts of meditation, Suzuki always returns to the idea of beginner's mind, a recognition that our original nature is our true nature. With beginner's mind, we dedicate ourselves to sincere practice, without the thought of gaining anything special. Day to day life becomes our Zen training, and we discover that "to study Buddhism is to study ourselves." And to know our true selves is to be enlightened. --Brian Bruya

Remember (Redemption Series-Baxter 1, Book 2)

Karen Kingsbury, Gary Smalley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Redemption series won Christian Retailing's 2005 Retailer's Choice Award for Best Series!

Convinced she could make it on her own, Ashley Baxter has kept the most important people in her life at a distance--her family, the man who loves her, and the God she is sure can never forgive her. Now, just as she begins to open her heart, the events of September 11 rip into Ashley's world and she is led to heartbreaking and hope-filled decisions that will forever change her life. This story vividly illustrates that we must value others more than ourselves, and it drives home one of Gary Smalley's key messages: Honor one another.

Remember is second in the five-book Redemption series by Gary Smalley and Karen Kingsbury that centers around the Baxter family. As readers follow the hopes and struggles of the family, they will explore key relationship themes as well as the larger theme of redemption, both in characters' spiritual lives and in their relationships. Each book includes study questions for individual and small-group use as well as a "teaser" chapter of the next book in the series.

Twelfth Planet: Book I of the Earth Chronicles (The Earth Chronicles)

Zecharia Sitchin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 173 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Outstanting 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Don't let the bad publicity against Mr. Sitchin influence your mind.
Many jealous people and especially failed writers hate him.
We all understand that.
There is a person in America who asked the authorities to put him in jail.
Crazy!
Only in America people massacre others with dirty words,
personality assassination and personal hatred. What they do?
They are incapable of writing successful books
so they began to throw dirt from their mouth
and snake-style criticism.

Mr. Sitchin is a remarkable writer.

Respected all over the world.

I collect all his books.

S. Mahdi, Cairo, Egypt.

Editorial Review:

Zecharia Sitchen's The 12th Planet is the starting point on a quest that spans six books and 20 years worth of ancient aliens, genetic manipulation, and scrutiny of linguistic minutiae. If we trust Sitchen's translation abilities, we must be prepared for the imminent return of an alien race who created us some 300,0x00 years ago. The 12th Planet is perhaps the best written of Sitchin's Earth Chronicles series; full of example after example of ancient Sumerian passages, astronomical observations, archaeological finds, and technological coincidences supporting his theories. The price we pay for all this evidence is a bit of a dry read at times, but the ideas Sitchin proposes are more than scintillating enough to make up for the overtly scholastic tone of his text. --Brian Patterson

If Only He Knew: What No Woman Can Resist

Gary Smalley, Norma Smalley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

OK in a pinch 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 21 people found this review helpful.

I bought this product because my son had one (also called the "Shark") that would pick up sizable dog kibbies off the floor. This one was $20.00 more than he paid and it does an OK job if you're looking for a quick cleanup. The suction does not seem to be nearly that of what my son had, but it will pick up dog hair and crumbs and such. Also, I find that the bagless compartment has to be emptied quite often. Sorry, I couldn't say more. I was really excited to buy this machine, but not so excited when I actually used it.

Great Read for Men Who Want to Understand Women! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

If you want to better understand your wife, girlfriend, mother, female boss, and other females, be sure to read this. It is well thought out and researched.

IF ONLY HE KNEW: WHAT NO WOMAN CAN RESIST 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

THIS BOOK BROUGHT MY MARRIAGE BACK FROM EXTINCTION WHEN I GAVE IT TO MY HUSBAND. WHEN WE FOUGHT, I WOULD END UP YELLING, "GO READ YOUR PAPERBACK BOOK" !!! HE DID AND I THANK THE GOOD LORD THAT HE WAS WILLING TO READ THAT LITTLE PAPERBACK BOOOK. This book contains the wisdom to turn a troubled marriage around. My husband had lost completly what it meant to cherish and love me. We were doomed. No other book, not even the Bible, was helping to breath life back into our marriage. This book finally became the words that spoke to him. WIVES, BUY A COPY FOR YOUR HUSBAND. YOUR GREAT MARRIAGE CAN BE BETTER OR YOUR LOUSY MARRIAGE CAN BE WONDERFUL--IF YOU CAN CONVINCE YOUR HUSBAND TO READ THIS BOOK.

Editorial Review:

A how-to book for men that seeks to clarify distinctions between the sexes with a view toward building a stronger marital relationship with this understanding.