Tonight I tried to sit down and read "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. I made it through one chapter. I'd like to offer my initial thoughts.
It has always been my understanding that the strength of a journalist is in his ability to not only ask the right questions, but to analyze the answers given. If this is indeed the case, it has been proven to me Lee Strobel is - beyond a reasonable doubt - among the worst journalists in history.
When questioning Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D - a New Testament scholar - Strobel asks him how likely it is that three "synoptic" gospels were actually written by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Dr. Blomberg replies that "There are no known competitors for these three gospels" and Strobel simply accepts it as an open and shut case. By this logic, Benjamin Franklin was the author of the poem Beowulf, because there is no known competitor for my claim. The gospels are all anonymous, and there is no more reason to believe that Matthew - for example - was written by the Jewish tax-collector-turned-disciple than there is to believe that it was written Pontius Pilate. In fact, Pilate becomes a MORE likely candidate when you consider that there is secular evidence for his existence (the same cannot be said for dear Matthew).
Furthermore, Dr. Blomberg unequivocally states that the vast majority of "early testimony" states that John the disciple was the author of the Gospel of John. This claim seems rather strange when you consider that John never wrote of the "Transfiguration", the raising of Jairus' daughter, or the "Ascension" despite being one of only three people to have supposedly witnessed all three miracles. The claim that John wrote this book becomes even more impressive when you consider that Acts 4:13 clearly states that John was illiterate.
In light of the discovery that I am apparently more knowledgable about the New Testament than a man with a Doctorate in the subject; and more able to examine and cross-examine the presented evidence than a man with a degree in Journalism and an M.S.L. from Yale, I don't think I will be continuing to read this book. I also would like to strongly discourage anyone else from reading this book, or from seriously considering its claims to be "evidence" for the divinity or existence of "Jesus of Nazareth".
