Lee Strobel

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Lee Strobel
Lee Strobel (cropped).jpg
Born (1952-01-25) January 25, 1952 (age 72)
Arlington Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Legal editor, writer, journalist, clergy
Nationality United States
Alma mater University of Missouri Yale University
Period Current
Genre Science and religion
Historicity of the Gospels
Subject Christian apologetics
Spouse Leslie Strobel
Children Kyle Strobel, Alison Strobel
Website
LeeStrobel.com

Lee Patrick Strobel (born January 25, 1952) is an American Christian apologetic author. He has written several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards (1994, 1999, 2001, 2005)[1] and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant view of Christianity.[2] Strobel also hosted a television program called Faith Under Fire on PAX TV,[3] and runs a video apologetics web site. Strobel has been interviewed on numerous national television programs, including ABC's 20/20, Fox News, and CNN.[4]

Biography

Strobel received a journalism degree from University of Missouri and a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School,[5] becoming a journalist for The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers for 14 years. Formerly an avowed atheist, he began investigating the Biblical claims about Christ after his wife's conversion. Prompted by the results of his investigation, he became a Christian.[6][7]

Strobel was a teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, from 1987 to 2000, before shifting his focus to writing and producing his TV show.[8] He continues to speak periodically at churches and has been a board member of the Willow Creek Association. In 2007, Strobel was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by Southern Evangelical Seminary in recognition of his contributions to Christian apologetics.[9]

Strobel is married to Leslie, and they have two children and several grandchildren. His daughter Alison is a novelist,[8] and his son Kyle is an Assistant Professor of Spiritual Theology and Formation at the Talbot School of Theology.

Books

The Case for Christ

According to Strobel, The Case for Christ retraces and expands his journey toward becoming a Christian. The book summarizes his interviews with thirteen evangelical Christian scholars—Craig Blomberg, Bruce Metzger, Edwin Yamauchi, John McRay, Gregory Boyd, Ben Witherington III, Gary Collins, D.A. Carson, Louis Lapides, Alexander Metherell, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and J. P. Moreland—in which they defend their views regarding the historical reliability of the New Testament. [10]

The book is divided into three parts, preceded by a Preface: Introduction: Reopening the Investigation of a Lifetime

  • Part 1: Examining the Record
    • 1. The Eyewitness Evidence: Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted? with Dr. Craig Blomberg
    • 2. Testing the Eyewitness Evidence: Do the Biographies of Jesus Stand Up to Scrutiny? with Dr. Craig Blomberg
    • 3. The Documentary Evidence: Were Jesus' Biographies Reliably Preserved for Us? with Dr. Bruce Metzger
    • 4. The Corroborating Evidence: Is There Credible Evidence for Jesus outside His Biographies? with Dr. Edwin Yamauchi
    • 5. The Scientific Evidence: Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies? with Dr. John McRay
    • 6. The Rebuttal Evidence: Is the Jesus of History the Same As the Jesus of Faith? with Dr. Gregory Boyd
  • Part 2: Analyzing Jesus
    • 7. The Identity Evidence: Was Jesus Really Convinced That He Was the Son of God? with Dr. Ben Witherington III
    • 8. The Psychological Evidence: Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God? with Dr. Gary Collins
    • 9. The Profile Evidence: Did Jesus Fulfill the Attributes of God? with Dr. D.A. Carson
    • 10. The Fingerprint Evidence: Did Jesus – and Jesus Alone – Match the Identity of the Messiah? with Louis Lapides, M.Div., Th.M.
  • Part 3: Researching the Resurrection
    • 11. The Medical Evidence: Was Jesus' Death a Sham and His Resurrection a Hoax? with Dr. Alexander Metherell
    • 12. The Evidence of the Missing Body: Was Jesus' Body Really Absent from His Tomb? with Dr. William Lane Craig
    • 13. The Evidence of Appearances: Was Jesus Seen Alive after His Death on the Cross? with Dr. Gary Habermas
    • 14. The Circumstantial Evidence: Are There Any Supporting Facts That Point to the Resurrection? with Dr. J.P. Moreland
  • Conclusion: The Verdict of History: What Does the Evidence Establish – And What Does It Mean Today?

The Case for Faith

In his book The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity, Strobel replies to doubts about Christianity, including the problem of evil, the contradiction between miracles and science, whether God is worthy of worship if he kills innocent children, whether Jesus is the only way to God, and the church's history of oppression and violence.[11]

The book is divided into 8 Objections:

  • Objection #1 "Since Evil and Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot" with Peter Kreeft, PhD
  • Objection #2 "Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True" with William Lane Craig, PhD
  • Objection #3 "Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed" with Walter L. Bradley, PhD
  • Objection #4 "God Isn't Worthy of Worship If He Kills Innocent Children" with Norman L. Geisler, PhD
  • Objection #5 "It's Offensive to Claim Jesus Is the Only Way to God" with Ravi Zacharias, D.D., LL.D.
  • Objection #6 "A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell" with J.P. Moreland, PhD
  • Objection #7 "Church History Is Littered with Oppression and Violence" with John D. Woodbridge, PhD
  • Objection #8 "I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian" with Lynn Anderson, D.Min.

The Case for a Creator

File:The Case for a Creator.jpg
The Case for a Creator

The Case for a Creator consists of interviews with intelligent design advocates and Christian apologists who argue for the existence of a creator.[12][not in citation given][13]

The advocates interviewed in the chapters and their topic(s) of discussion are as follows:

The Case for the Real Jesus

The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ presents a number of counter-arguments to challenges to the evangelical Christian view. Strobel addresses differences between the portrayal of Jesus in the non-canonical gospels versus the four canonical gospels, whether the church has changed this depiction over time, new explanations that challenge Jesus's resurrection, the proposed origins of the Jesus story in pagan religions, whether Jesus fulfills messianic prophecies, and whether contemporary people should have the freedom to believe what they want about Jesus.[14]

The book is divided into 6 Challenges:

  • Challenge #1 "Scholars Are Uncovering a Radically Different Jesus in Ancient Documents Just as Credible as the Four Gospels" with Craig A. Evans, PhD
  • Challenge #2 "The Bible's Portrait of Jesus Can't Be Trusted Because the Church Tampered with the Text" with Daniel B. Wallace, PhD
  • Challenge #3 with Michael Licona, M.A., PhD (Cand.)
    • Part 1 "New Explanations Have Refuted Jesus' Resurrection"
    • Part 2 "The Cross Examination"
  • Challenge #4 "Christianity Beliefs about Jesus Were Copied from Pagan Religions" with Edwin M. Yamauchi, PhD
  • Challenge #5 "Jesus Was an Impostor Who Failed to Fulfill the Messianic Prophecies" with Michael L. Brown, PhD
  • Challenge #6 "People Should Be Free to Pick and Choose What to Believe about Jesus" with Paul Copan, PhD

The Case for Christianity Answer Book

The Case for Christianity Answer Book provides simple, understandable answers to questions you've probably asked—or heard—about Christianity, including whether the Bible contradicts what we've learned from science, why God allows tragedy and suffering, and if there is solid evidence that Jesus really rose from the dead. Strobel uses his investigative journalism skills to dig deep into science, history and the Bible to find the truth. Then he offers what he has learned in an approachable question-and-answer format.[15]

The book is divided into six parts:

  • I. Prelude: Seeking Spiritual Answers
  • II. Answers About God, the Creator
  • III. Answers About the Bible
  • IV. Answers About Jesus
  • V. Answers to Other Challenges to Christianity
  • VI. Postlude: Turning Answers into Action

Other books

Strobel says that he wrote Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary to help advance lay people's understanding of Christianity and to increase the effectiveness of evangelistic efforts, and says the book includes insights drawn from his own experiences as a former atheist as to why people avoid Christianity.[16]

Experiencing the Passion of Jesus was co-written with Garry Poole as a discussion guide for Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ.[17] Strobel and Poole also co-authored Exploring the Da Vinci Code.

Bibliography

Children's apologetics series

References

  1. ↑ 1994 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners – Missions/Evangelism at the Wayback Machine (archived November 2, 2007). ecpa.org
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Biography on The Unexpected Adventure page. Theunexpectedadventure.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lee Strobel Books and Ministry. Christnotes.org. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 About Lee Strobel. Leestrobel.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lee Strobel. The Case for Christ, September 1, 1998, Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-22605-8
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Callahan, Tim. No Case At All, Skeptic, June 22, 2005.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Publishers Weekly Nonfiction Reviews: Week of 7/23/2007 at the Wayback Machine (archived April 15, 2009)
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Product Description. Christianbook.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.
  17. ↑ Christianbook.com. Christianbook.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-14.

External links

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