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The Case for Christ - Short Film...

Daisy

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I know Logicman will appreciate this video...:2razz:

Based upon the Gold-Medallion award-winning best-seller, The Case for Christ documents Lee Strobel's journey from atheism to faith through his two-year investigation of the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. Strobel, the former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, draws upon his investigative skills to examine the historical accuracy of the Gospels, the personal claims of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. Is there evidence to confirm that Jesus of Nazareth was, indeed, the son of God and the savior of the world? This remarkable film features interviews with 10 leading Biblical scholars from North American and England, cutting-edge apologetics, and a compelling original music score.

 
No, I haven't...have you?

Yes. The author does at least attempt to answer some pretty good skeptic questions, but some of the "answers" are more hand-wave than anything else. In the end it comes off as someone looking for a particular answer, then finding apologists who will toe the line in agreement with that answer. Follow up questions aren't very good, imo.

I can see why fundamentalist Christians would like it, but I doubt that reading it has converted many skeptics. The author did create a ministry and career off it, so kudos to him for finding a market and selling into it. That's the American way, in a sense.
 
Yes. The author does at least attempt to answer some pretty good skeptic questions, but some of the "answers" are more hand-wave than anything else. In the end it comes off as someone looking for a particular answer, then finding apologists who will toe the line in agreement with that answer. Follow up questions aren't very good, imo.

I can see why fundamentalist Christians would like it, but I doubt that reading it has converted many skeptics. The author did create a ministry and career off it, so kudos to him for finding a market and selling into it. That's the American way, in a sense.

Yeah, that's the thing and the reason I don't read such books...if they can't give their info for free, I don't want it..."you received free, give free"...thanks for the review...
 
I have, and the information is extremely one sided, badly presented, and inaccurate.

I thought the video was convincing, of course it's difficult to be objective, I know, since I already believe...
 
I thought the video was convincing, of course it's difficult to be objective, I know, since I already believe...

When looking at evidence, I tend to go to the minimalist viewpoint. I don't over look obvious forgeries either.
 
I thought it was a tad humorous how the video producers appealed to authority by name-dropping the American Medical Association, when all the AMA was doing was rebutting the Swoon Hypothesis in principle. The AMA never claimed the "resurrection" occurred.


OM
 
Yeah, that's the thing and the reason I don't read such books...if they can't give their info for free, I don't want it..."you received free, give free"...thanks for the review...

The book cost me < 3 bucks. That's about what it was worth.

He interviews a who's who of fundamentalist apologists. That is worth having a record of, even if you know they all reached the same conclusions - probably before they began to study anything.

I think people who radically change their views are more interesting. The author pretends to be like that, but half way through it I realized he came into the project as a believer. The list of interviewees is completely homogeneous. That and a few other things give it away, such as the chapter citing "rebuttal evidence". (Ch 6, I think)
 
The book cost me < 3 bucks. That's about what it was worth.

He interviews a who's who of fundamentalist apologists. That is worth having a record of, even if you know they all reached the same conclusions - probably before they began to study anything.

I think people who radically change their views are more interesting. The author pretends to be like that, but half way through it I realized he came into the project as a believer. The list of interviewees is completely homogeneous. That and a few other things give it away, such as the chapter citing "rebuttal evidence". (Ch 6, I think)

So it's pretty much a fraud, huh...which is disheartening because it only encourages skeptics and unbelievers to remain as such...thus defeating its purpose and doing Jesus a disservice...
 
So it's pretty much a fraud, huh...which is disheartening because it only encourages skeptics and unbelievers to remain as such...thus defeating its purpose and doing Jesus a disservice...

You might not see it as a fraud. What the book spends most of its time on is the resurrection. Specifically, trying to tie actual history as recognized from other, non-religious fields of study to the bible story of Christ's life, death and resurrection. How much it works for you is probably dependent on how much of that you buy. I don't argue that Jesus never lived, just that the supernatural stuff requires a lot more proof than the hearsay offered.

I don't want to get too specific without rereading parts of it, but basically the supernatural events don't wash as substantiated from the point of view of a skeptic. It's pop-apologetics, and probably better written than a lot of similar stuff. Not CS Lewis quality in any way, but Lewis was a great writer so the comparison is a little unfair.
 
You might not see it as a fraud. What the book spends most of its time on is the resurrection. Specifically, trying to tie actual history as recognized from other, non-religious fields of study to the bible story of Christ's life, death and resurrection. How much it works for you is probably dependent on how much of that you buy. I don't argue that Jesus never lived, just that the supernatural stuff requires a lot more proof than the hearsay offered.

I don't want to get too specific without rereading parts of it, but basically the supernatural events don't wash as substantiated from the point of view of a skeptic. It's pop-apologetics, and probably better written than a lot of similar stuff. Not CS Lewis quality in any way, but Lewis was a great writer so the comparison is a little unfair.

Well, thanks for your input...I think I'll pass anyway...I don't need some book written hundreds of years after the fact to convince me that Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected...I've already read the 66 books by 40 men, written over a period of 1600 years...that convinced me a long time ago...
 
I've already read the 66 books...

What about the other books that didn't make the canon? I thought you weren't the doctrine type? Do any of the other books of the non-canonized Bible inspire you?


OM
 
What about the other books that didn't make the canon? I thought you weren't the doctrine type? Do any of the other books of the non-canonized Bible inspire you?


OM

Nope...they are omitted from the Holy Bible for a reason...they have been proven to be false in one way or another...

How Are the Apocryphal Writings Different?
The apocryphal writings are quite different from the canonical writings. These apocryphal books date from about the middle of the second century, much later than the canonical writings. They paint a picture of Jesus and Christianity that is not in harmony with the inspired Scriptures.

For example, the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas ascribes a number of strange utterances to Jesus, such as saying that he would transform Mary into a male to make it possible for her to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas describes young Jesus as a mean-spirited child who deliberately caused another child’s death. The apocryphal Acts of Paul and Acts of Peter emphasize complete abstinence from sexual relations and even depict the apostles as urging women to separate from their husbands. The Gospel of Judas depicts Jesus as laughing at his disciples for praying to God in connection with a meal. Such notions are at odds with what is found in the canonical books.​—Mark 14:22; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5; Galatians 3:28; Hebrews 7:26.

Many of the apocryphal writings reflect beliefs of the Gnostics, who held that the Creator, Jehovah, is not a good God. They also believed that the resurrection is not literal, that all physical matter is evil, and that Satan was the source of marriage and procreation.

A number of the apocryphal books are attributed to Bible characters but falsely so. Did some dark conspiracy exclude these books from the Bible? One expert on the apocrypha, M. R. James, said: “There is no question of any one’s having excluded them from the New Testament: they have done that for themselves.”

Bible Writers Warned About an Apostasy to Come
In the canonical writings, we find a number of warnings about an imminent apostasy that would corrupt the Christian congregation. In fact, this apostasy had already started in the first century, but the apostles restrained its spread. (Acts 20:30; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6, 7; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 2:18, 19; 4:1-3) Such warnings shed light on writings that began to crop up after the death of the apostles, writings that contradicted Jesus’ teachings.

Granted, such documents may appear old and venerable to some scholars and historians. But consider: What if scholars were to collect a pile of dubious writings printed today, perhaps gleaning them from gossip magazines and the publications of radical religious cults, and then were to seal the papers in a vault? Would the passage of time render those writings truthful and reliable? After 1,700 years, would the lies and nonsense in those papers become true simply because the documents were very old?

Of course not! It is similar with claims that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and other outlandish statements from the apocryphal books. Why trust such unreliable sources, especially when reliable ones are at hand? Everything that God wants us to know about his Son is right there in the Bible​—a record we can count on.

The word “canon” refers to the collection of Bible books that give convincing proof of being inspired of God. There are 66 books that are generally recognized as canonical and are an integral and indispensable part of God’s Word.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2010253#h=1:0-41:0
 
The book cost me < 3 bucks. That's about what it was worth.

He interviews a who's who of fundamentalist apologists. That is worth having a record of, even if you know they all reached the same conclusions - probably before they began to study anything.

I think people who radically change their views are more interesting. The author pretends to be like that, but half way through it I realized he came into the project as a believer. The list of interviewees is completely homogeneous. That and a few other things give it away, such as the chapter citing "rebuttal evidence". (Ch 6, I think)

I downloaded it for nothing and got what I paid for. Your summaries are fairly accurate.
 
The Case for Christ documents Lee Strobel's journey from atheism to faith through his two-year investigation of the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ.

Proves anyone can return to their faith in God.
Keep posting small excerpts from your videos for those like myself whose computer platform doesn't supports the video.
 
Proves anyone can return to their faith in God.
Keep posting small excerpts from your videos for those like myself whose computer platform doesn't supports the video.

I keep you in mind, PTF...sorry you can't watch the video...
 
I know Logicman will appreciate this video...:2razz:






I've seen the movie and that "atheist" reporter becomes a pastor.


His "research" is shown as a the merest scanning of biblical scripture...which is presented as fact.


A movie to reassure the flock rather than one to persuade the non-believers.
 
Proves anyone can return to their faith in God.
Keep posting small excerpts from your videos for those like myself whose computer platform doesn't supports the video.

Lots of educated men can convince themselves that god is real.

Lots of confirmed Christians can come to accept that god isn't real.


Personally I struggle to understand how anyone who's studied religion in general, and Christianity in particular, can come to the conclusion that god (any god) is real.
 
Nope...they are omitted from the Holy Bible for a reason...

Yes they were.

They didn't fit the story the church wanted to sell to us.

The church couldn't afford to have too many contradictions in its holy book.
 
I keep you in mind, PTF...sorry you can't watch the video...

No problem. I like to make comments based on the title. It's interesting reading about different scholars and scientists and their findings/interpretations on religion.
 
Lots of educated men can convince themselves that god is real.

Lots of confirmed Christians can come to accept that god isn't real.


Personally I struggle to understand how anyone who's studied religion in general, and Christianity in particular, can come to the conclusion that god (any god) is real.

Like myself I struggle to understand how anyone can be a liberal/Demo. Candle burns both ends.
 
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