Strobel’s One-Sided Cases

Last updated on: September 15, 2012 at 7:01 pm by Leah Libresco

Strobel’s One-Sided Cases 2012-09-15T19:01:23-04:00 Leah Libresco

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m reviewing Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus and The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity together since my objections to both of them are pretty much the same. I was more interested in The Case for Christ, which focuses on evidence for the historical Christ and his divinity than The Case for Faith which focused on theodicy. I don’t view theodicy as that much of a problem for
Christianity, so I was more inclined to respond favorably to Faith. The format left me frustrated by both.

Strobel frames his books as a journalistic investigation into the claims of Christianity, but they don’t match basic journalistic practices. Both books follow the same pattern: Strobel, in the role of skeptic (as he once was), interviews Christian apologists and asks them to respond to common critiques of Christianity. This format gives atheists short shrift. A real journalist would talk to sources on both sides of the issue, but, in Strobel’s books, atheists and skeptics are only present as channeled through Strobel. He cites quotations from or thesis of their books to the Christians he interviews, but he never gives the atheists a chance to rebut. Strobel casts himself in the role of an naif, and it’s ridiculous to think that atheists would like to be represented in a debate by any amateur, let alone an agnostic-turned-Christian.

As a result, each of the interviews tends to take the form of a blunt question from Strobel, several pages of response from the expert, and then an exclamation from Strobel that takes the form of “Yes, Socrates; you are quite right in saying so!” He doesn’t have the expertise to contest their claims. Some of the time (particularly when they discuss science or biology) I notice errors in the arguments of his interlocutors that Strobel lets pass unquestioned. I don’t have the expertise to notice any errors in the arguments from scripture, but I’m suspicious that Strobel skips over them there as well.

The discussion of the bear attack in Second Kings 2:23-24 Case for Faith illustrates pretty well my problems with the books. Here’s the excerpt:

And [the Prophet Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

Strobel asks Norman Geiser to defend the passage and Geisler advances a couple of arguments:

The KVJ is wrong to use the phrase ‘little children,’ the phrase should be translated as ‘youths’ or ‘young men.’ Thus, they were old enough to pose a threat.
The ‘bald head’ remark was a slur that likened Elisha to a leper, and to compare a prophet to an unclean person like a leper was extremely insulting.
The cries for Elisha to ‘go up’ are a reference to Elijah being taken up to heaven. The youths are taunting Elisha as less holy than Elijah, another insult.
The teenagers’ taunts undermined God’s authority, so their deaths served as a warning to all of Samaria. If people had heeded this warning and repented, their deaths would have been an act of mercy to save their people.
God gives everyone life, so it is His to take away as he pleases, in any circumstance that serves his end.

Strobel hears all these arguments, and his reaction is:

“Then it’s a misreading of the original text to see these as mere children,” I said.

Geisler’s answers had deflated much of the case against God’s character by bringing some balance and context to understanding his apparent intent in these controversial episodes.

At the very least, he might have asked Geisler or another biblical scholar why the KJV translated the phrase differently, rather than immediately accept Geisler’s assertion, which was not accompanied by an explanation. He might also have asked why Geisler believed that ‘bald head’ and the other slurs were necessarily attacks on God rather than casual taunts.

He really ought to have pushed Geisler on his final point, which implies that God could never take a life unjustly, since all lives belong to him by virtue of His creating them. By that logic, any creator god would never be guilty of an unjust smiting, since life was theirs to remove as they wished.

Strobel’s approach could be interesting if his books were written by an atheist or a journalist of any faith who was willing to ask tough questions and give both sides a fair hearing. As is, the books are considerably less interesting and challenging than the works of the apologists he interviews.

Apologetics

Reviews/Recommendations

Previous Post

January 22, 2011

Evolution is Not Destiny

Next Post

January 24, 2011 Reading about the Resurrection

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 7 Quick Takes Apologetics Atheism Book Conversion Debate Tactics Debates Epistemology/Philosophy Housekeeping Ideological Turing Test Marriage Morality in Practice Parsing Catholicism Possibly Heretical Radio Reviews/Recommendations Sequence Index Spiritual Practice Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was sold into slavery by his brothers?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Judah Benjamin Dan Joseph