The Case for Christ

[Ice Man]

By Lee Strobel. Quite an interesting read. I'm only through the first 100 pages or so but it provides a lot of answers for those that think Jesus did not exist. I've also heard his books the Case for Faith and The Case for Easter (short read) are really good and thought provoking.

I highly recommend this book for those seeking answers regarding Jesus. The author was a skeptic/non-believer and it wasn't until his wife accepted Christ that he decided to investigate Jesus further (the author is/was an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune).

Has anyone else read this book or his other books?

[Rob]

I read it a few years ago. It was good.

[Superfluous_Nut]

he seems more like a keg guy...

[jbghostrat]

what is a keg guy?

[Blueblood32]

I read it...Great read. It really lays out the evidence that Christ was who he said he was - God incarnate. He fulfilled every old testament prophecy regarding his arrival...The book gives the odds for such a person filling just a few of the prophecies. He filled them all and the odds were astronomical.

[Superfluous_Nut]

what is a keg guy?
keg... case... oh nevermind.

[BigVito]

keg... case... oh nevermind.Nut, did you buy "Message Board Humor" by Mathmajors?

Seriously, is there a list of these prophecies? I'm going to play devil's advocate here, (no pun intended) but if Jesus had rabbinical training wouldn't he have been aware of the prophecies and had knowledge of what it took to fulfill them?

[Rob]

Nut, did you buy "Message Board Humor" by Mathmajors?

Seriously, is there a list of these prophecies? I'm going to play devil's advocate here, (no pun intended) but if Jesus had rabbinical training wouldn't he have been aware of the prophecies and had knowledge of what it took to fulfill them?

Many of them occured after His death or were concerning what other people did. Here is a site that describes some of them:

http://www.bprc.org/topics/fulfill.html

[Superfluous_Nut]

Nut, did you buy "Message Board Humor" by Mathmajors?
i have to admit that i'm a sucker for bad puns.

[hasbeen99]

I've read about half of it. Some of it is very good, other parts of it leave a bit to be desired. IMHO, his other book, The Case for Faith, is much better.

[hasbeen99]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, (no pun intended) but if Jesus had rabbinical training wouldn't he have been aware of the prophecies and had knowledge of what it took to fulfill them?

Many of them, yes, He would. Even if He didn't have formal rabbinical training (and I don't believe He did), legends among the common people would've included many of the prophecies. For example, His riding into Jerusalem on a donkey wouldn't be that tough to fulfill.

Some were completely out of His humanistic control. The exile in Egypt right after His birth, for example. The virgin birth, obviously, but of course that can't really be proven.

[spud]

For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary
For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.

[BigVito]

Many of them, yes, He would. Even if He didn't have formal rabbinical training (and I don't believe He did), legends among the common people would've included many of the prophecies. For example, His riding into Jerusalem on a donkey wouldn't be that tough to fulfill.

Some were completely out of His humanistic control. The exile in Egypt right after His birth, for example. The virgin birth, obviously, but of course that can't really be proven.
If we can agree on the assumption that all the Gospels were written after Jesus' death, how sure can we be that any on the prophecies were fullfilled in reality and how many were fullfilled by the writers?

[hasbeen99]

For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary
For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.

Tell that to Lee Strobel.

[hasbeen99]

If we can agree on the assumption that all the Gospels were written after Jesus' death, how sure can we be that any on the prophecies were fullfilled in reality and how many were fullfilled by the writers?

Good question. Regarding some, maybe even most, we can't. There just aren't that many other legitimate sources or documents to corroborate the claims. But not all.

[BigVito]

HB, good to have you back.

This may bear discussion in another thread but Bible prophecy is something that I have a hard time getting my brain around. So much of the prophecies that came true are only corroborated by the very book that the prophecies are made in. To one as skeptical of most things as I am, this stands as a great hurdle to any belief in the reality of Biblical prophecy.

What are your views on prophecy and what resources do you recommend for further study?

[hasbeen99]

HB, good to have you back.

Thanks. Good to be back. :)


This may bear discussion in another thread but Bible prophecy is something that I have a hard time getting my brain around. So much of the prophecies that came true are only corroborated by the very book that the prophecies are made in. To one as skeptical of most things as I am, this stands as a great hurdle to any belief in the reality of Biblical prophecy.

What are your views on prophecy and what resources do you recommend for further study?

Regarding prophecy that has supposedly already been fulfilled, I view it as just additional pieces of evidence to the whole. I don't put all my faith eggs in one basket. To do so is not only shallow but dangerous, IMO, and missing the point of faith completely (from a Christian point of view).

Regarding prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled, I think it's just that -- unfulfilled prophecy. It's a prediction, not yet fact. That being said, I am literally depending on those predictions to come true with my very soul.

I'm sorry I don't know any great in-depth prophecy writing, but Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ actually isn't bad in that regard. The problem is that we're talking about ancient history here. There just aren't that many existing artifacts with any kind of integrity from that time period to work with. From what I've learned, the Bible is actually regarded as one of the strongest pieces of cultural archeology from it's day, and it's difficult at best to back it up with anything generally considered lesser in comparison.