Lee Strobel
Encyclopedia
Lee Patrick Strobel is a writer, creationist
, former journalist
and former megachurch
pastor. He is the author of several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards (1994, 1999, 2001, 2005) and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant
view of Christianity. Strobel also hosted a television program called Faith Under Fire
on PAX TV, 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
.
and a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School
, becoming a journalist for The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers for 14 years. He states that he was an atheist and began investigating the Biblical claims about Christ after his wife's conversion. As a result of the evidence he discovered in his investigation, he chose to become a Christian.
Strobel was a teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church
in South Barrington, Illinois
, from 1987 to 2000, and of Saddleback Church
in Lake Forest, California
from 2000 to 2002, before shifting his focus to writing and producing his TV show. He continues to speak periodically at both 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. His daughter Allison is a novelist.
advocates and Christian apologists
who argue for the existence of a creator. Critics of the book accuse it of bias, which they assert is contrary to the book's own claims of being neutral and scientifically rigorous.
The advocates interviewed in the chapters and their topic(s) of discussion are as follows:
Strobel describes The Case for Christ as a retracing and expansion of him becoming a Christian. It summarizes Strobel's interviews with 13 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
— defending their view of the historical reliability of the New Testament
.
The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity offers replies to doubts of 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.
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' 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.
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
.
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
, former journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and former megachurch
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
pastor. He is the author of several books, including four which received ECPA Christian Book Awards (1994, 1999, 2001, 2005) and a series which addresses challenges to a Biblically inerrant
Biblical inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that the Bible is accurate and totally free of error, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact." Some equate inerrancy with infallibility; others do not.Conservative Christians generally believe that...
view of Christianity. Strobel also hosted a television program called Faith Under Fire
Faith Under Fire
Faith Under Fire is a television series that aired every Saturday at 10pm EST on PAX TV and was hosted by Lee Strobel. In the main segments, two guests would discuss current issues related to Christianity. In segments following commercial breaks, people on the street were interviewed on the same...
on PAX TV, and runs a video apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
web site. Strobel has been interviewed on numerous national television programs, including ABC's 20/20, Fox News and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
Biography
Strobel received a journalism degree from University of MissouriUniversity of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
and a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, becoming a journalist for The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers for 14 years. He states that he was an atheist and began investigating the Biblical claims about Christ after his wife's conversion. As a result of the evidence he discovered in his investigation, he chose to become a Christian.
Strobel was a teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church
Willow Creek Community Church
Willow Creek Community Church is a non-denominational, multi-generational Evangelical Christian megachurch located in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Bill Hybels, who is currently the senior pastor...
in South Barrington, Illinois
South Barrington, Illinois
South Barrington is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States south of Barrington, Illinois. The population was 3,760 at the 2000 census. South Barrington is a wealthy suburb of Chicago and home to the famous megachurch Willow Creek Community Church. The village is known throughout the area...
, from 1987 to 2000, and of Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, situated in southern Orange County, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The church was founded in 1980 by pastor Rick Warren...
in Lake Forest, California
Lake Forest, California
Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 77,264 at the 2010 census.Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to a vote of the residents in that year, the community had formerly been known as El Toro since the 1880s...
from 2000 to 2002, before shifting his focus to writing and producing his TV show. He continues to speak periodically at both churches and has been a board member of the Willow Creek Association
Willow Creek Association
The Willow Creek Association , a 5013 not-for-profit ministry, is an international, evangelical Christian association of more than 9,000 member churches from 90 denominations and 45 countries.-Mission:...
. In 2007, Strobel was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by Southern Evangelical Seminary
Southern Evangelical Seminary
Southern Evangelical Seminary is a Christian college in Matthews, North Carolina near Charlotte. The seminary was established in 1992 by Dr. Norman Geisler, a Christian apologist and theologian, and Ross Rhoads, former pastor of Calvary Church and currently the chaplain of the Billy Graham...
in recognition of his contributions to Christian apologetics. His daughter Allison is a novelist.
The Case for a Creator
The Case for a Creator consists of interviews with intelligent designIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
advocates and Christian apologists
Christian apologetics
Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views...
who argue for the existence of a creator. Critics of the book accuse it of bias, which they assert is contrary to the book's own claims of being neutral and scientifically rigorous.
The advocates interviewed in the chapters and their topic(s) of discussion are as follows:
- Intelligent design advocate and Discovery InstituteDiscovery InstituteThe Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design...
Center for Science and CultureCenter for Science and CultureThe Center for Science and Culture , formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture , is part of the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian think tank in the United States...
(CSC) fellow Jonathan Wells presents a case against evolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
; - Intelligent design advocate, CSC fellow and philosopher of sciencePhilosophy of scienceThe philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
Stephen C. MeyerStephen C. MeyerStephen C. Meyer is an American scholar, philosopher and advocate for intelligent design. He helped found the Center for Science and Culture of the Discovery Institute , which is the main organisation behind the intelligent design movement. Before joining the DI, Meyer was a professor at...
discusses the relationship between science and religion, as well as the origin of life, arguing against the likelihood of abiogenesisAbiogenesisAbiogenesis or biopoesis is the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose...
without the assistance of a creator; - CSC fellow and philosopher of religionPhilosophy of religionPhilosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious language and texts, and the relationship of religion and science...
William Lane CraigWilliam Lane CraigWilliam Lane Craig is an American analytic philosopher, philosophical theologian, and Christian apologist. He is known for his work on the philosophy of time and the philosophy of religion, specifically the existence of God and the defense of Christian theism...
discusses the Big BangBig BangThe Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
and argues for a creator as first causeCosmological argumentThe cosmological argument is an argument for the existence of a First Cause to the universe, and by extension is often used as an argument for the existence of an "unconditioned" or "supreme" being, usually then identified as God...
, using the Kalam cosmological argumentKalam cosmological argumentThe Kalām cosmological argument is a variation of the cosmological argument that argues for the existence of a First Cause for the universe. Its origins can be traced to medieval Jewish, Christian and Muslim thinkers, but most directly to Islamic theologians of the Kalām tradition. Its historic...
; - International Society for Complexity, Information and DesignInternational Society for Complexity, Information and DesignThe International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design was a non-profit professional society that promoted intelligent design...
fellow and philosopher Robin CollinsRobin CollinsRobin Collins is an American philosopher. He currently serves as Professor of Philosophy at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. His main interests include issues in science and religion and theories of atonement.-Education:...
discusses the anthropic principleAnthropic principleIn astrophysics and cosmology, the anthropic principle is the philosophical argument that observations of the physical Universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it. Some proponents of the argument reason that it explains why the Universe has the age and the fundamental...
and argues that the universe must be designed by a creator; - Intelligent design advocates and CSC fellows Guillermo GonzalezGuillermo Gonzalez (astronomer)Guillermo Gonzalez is an astrophysicist, proponent of intelligent design, and a professor at Grove City College, a Christian school, in Grove City, Pennsylvania...
(astronomerAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
) and Jay RichardsJay RichardsJay Wesley Richards is an American analytic philosopher and advocate of Intelligent Design. He is the Director of Acton Media and a Research Fellow at the Acton Institute, and Program Director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture , which has as its primary role the advocacy...
(theologian) present a case that the Rare Earth hypothesisRare Earth hypothesisIn planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the emergence of complex multicellular life on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances...
supports intelligent design; - Intelligent design advocate, CSC fellow and biochemistBiochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
Michael BeheMichael BeheMichael J. Behe is an American biochemist, author, and intelligent design advocate. He currently serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and as a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture...
discusses irreducible complexityIrreducible complexityIrreducible complexity is an argument by proponents of intelligent design that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or "less complete" predecessors, through natural selection acting upon a series of advantageous naturally occurring, chance mutations...
in biology as an argument for a creator; and, - CSC fellow, philosopher and theologian J.P. Moreland examines the supposed existence of consciousnessConsciousnessConsciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
separate from the brain, including near-death experiences, as an argument for a creator.
Other books
Strobel says that he wrote Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary to help advance lay people's understanding and to increase the effectiveness of evangelistic efforts, and says insights drawn from his own experiences as a former atheist on why people avoid Christianity.Strobel describes The Case for Christ as a retracing and expansion of him becoming a Christian. It summarizes Strobel's interviews with 13 evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
scholars — Craig Blomberg
Craig Blomberg
Craig L. Blomberg is an American New Testament scholar. Since 1986 he has been Distinguished Professor of the New Testament at Denver Seminary in Colorado.-Life:...
, Bruce Metzger
Bruce Metzger
Bruce Manning Metzger was a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the American Bible Society. He was a scholar of Greek, New Testament and Old Testament, and wrote prolifically on these subjects.- Biography :Metzger was born in Middletown,...
, Edwin Yamauchi, John McRay, Gregory Boyd
Gregory A. Boyd
Gregory A. "Greg" Boyd is an evangelical pastor, Christian theologian and author. He is Senior Pastor of the Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States and is President of Christus Victor Ministries.-Biography:...
, Ben Witherington III
Ben Witherington III
Ben Witherington III is an American evangelical Biblical scholar, and professor of New Testament Studies.Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.-Education:...
, Gary Collins, D.A. Carson, Louis Lapides, Alexander Metherell, William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig is an American analytic philosopher, philosophical theologian, and Christian apologist. He is known for his work on the philosophy of time and the philosophy of religion, specifically the existence of God and the defense of Christian theism...
, Gary Habermas
Gary Habermas
Gary Robert Habermas is an American evangelical Christian apologist, historian, and philosopher of religion. He is a prolific author, lecturer, and debater on the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus...
, and J. P. Moreland
J. P. Moreland
James Porter Moreland , better known as J. P. Moreland, is an American philosopher, theologian, and Christian apologist...
— defending their view of the historical reliability of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.
The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity offers replies to doubts of Christianity, including the problem of evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
, the contradiction between miracles and science, whether God is worthy of worship if he kills innocent children, whether Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
is the only way to God, and the church's history
History of Christianity
The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth who they believed to be the Christ or chosen one of God...
of oppression and violence.
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' 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.
Experiencing the Passion of Jesus was co-written with Garry Poole as a discussion guide for Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's film The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
.
Children's apologetics series
- The Case for Faith for Kids (2006), Zonderkidz, ISBN 978-0310711469
- The Case for Christ for Kids (2006), Zonderkidz, ISBN 978-0310711476
- A Case for a Creator for Kids (2006), Zonderkidz, ISBN 978-0310711483
- Off My Case for Kids: 12 Stories to Help You Defend Your Faith (2006), Zonderkidz, ISBN 978-0310711995