Because a lot of this would be rehashing of things, I’m just going to point to where the questions are refuted for the first 12 sections.
Can the Biographies of Jesus be Trusted?
No. Read the problems with Chapters 1, 2 and 3.
Do the Biographies of Jesus Stand up to Scrutiny
No. Read the problems with Chapters 1, 2 and 3.
Were Jesus’ Biographies Reliably Preserved for Us?
No. Read the problems with Chapters 2 and 3.
Is there Credible Evidence for Jesus outside his Biographies
No. Read the problems with Chapters 4, and 5
Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus’s Biographies
Archaeology only shows that the gospel writers used geography as reliably as they knew (which often times wasn’t very) and does nothing to confirm the gospels. Read the problems with Chapter 5.
Is the Jesus of History the Same as the Jesus of Faith?
Insufficient data on a historical Jesus to give a meaningful answer. Jesus of Faith is based on an unreliable source. Even granting that a historical Jesus did exist does not provide any evidence for any claims of miracles, godhood, etc.
Was Jesus Really Convinced That He Was The Son Of God?
Insufficient data for a meaningful answer. Read the problems with chapter 7
Was Jesus Crazy When he Claimed to be the son of god?
Insufficient data for a meaningful answer. Read the problems with chapter 8.
Did Jesus Fulfill the Attributes of god?
Debatable. Read the problems with Chapter 9.
Did Jesus-And Jesus Alone-Match the Identity of the Messiah?
No. Read the problems with Chapter 10.
Was Jesus’ Death a Sham and his Resurrection a Hoax?
Insufficient data that Jesus actually died in the manner Christian’s believe. Read the problems with chapter 11.
Was Jesus’ Body Really Absent From his Tomb?
Point me to this tomb you’re talking about. Read the problems with chapter 12.
Was Jesus Seen Alive After His Death on the Cross?
Insufficient evidence for the gospel narrative. Read the problems with chapter 13
Are There Any Supporting Facts That Point to the Resurrection?
No. Read the problems with chapter 14.
Failing Müller’s Challenge
I don’t know what evidence Strobel found, but he certainly did not present anything that shows a large “[Strobel:] …amount and quality of the evidence that Jesus is the unique Son of God.” (Strobel, CFC, P. 285). Strobel also cites Dr. Craig as saying “[Dr. Craig:] The time span necessary for significant accrual of legend concerning the events of the gospels would place us in the second century A.D.” (Strobel, CFC, P. 286). Unfortunately, Dr. Craig misunderstood the source of what he was reading[1]. Because of his extreme desire to prove Christianity right, I’m not surprised he did.
Implications of the [“]Evidence[“]
Strobel lays out what he expects you to be believing by this point in the book.
First, Has the Collection of Evidence Really Been Thorough?
Despite Strobel claiming “[Strobel:] Yes, it has been.” (Strobel, CFC, P. 287), it’s apparent that there has been very little evidence collected at all. The little bit of evidence that was collected has been mangled beyond repair to fit it into a Christian worldview. Since chapter 3, almost no evidence outside of the bible was ever brought into the picture. To repeat this again, the bible is not a reliable source.
Strobel also shows extreme bias throughout this entire book. Not once did he interview anyone outside of Christianity. This is going to give extreme bias to your material and turn less credulous readers away quickly. I myself would have burned the book for being so academically dishonest by chapter 4 if it weren’t for 2 reasons:
- The book isn’t mine
- I promised that I would read the book
Second, Which Explanation Best Fits the Totality of the Evidence?
Strobel claims “[Strobel:] …my legend thesis, to which I had doggedly clung for so many years, had been thoroughly dismantled.” (Strobel, CFC, P. 288). Funny that I should read this book and come to the complete opposite conclusion. Too much of the evidence that Strobel presented was straight from the bible no matter how much he tried to mask that with the weight of authority. Say it with me this time: The bible is not a reliable source.
Strobel goes on to lend great credence to how Jesus is his morality and many other things about Jesus that I can’t let stand uncontested. As a counterpoint to what he says, here are my thoughts.
- There is no absolute measure of morality.
- We have no evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. The bible is not a reliable source.
- We have no evidence that Jesus “conquered death”. The bible is not a reliable source.
- Evidence for the divine power of Jesus is still lacking. The bible is not a reliable source.
- Jesus does not know the pain of loss and suffering. The verses quoted from Luke are an interpolation. The bible is not a reliable source.
- There is not enough evidence to say who Jesus might be. The bible is not a reliable source.
Because I know some people are going to complain about point number one, here are few questions for you.
- Why do you think there is an absolute measure of morality?
- If there is an absolute measure or morality, is there any need for god to tell us what is moral? Couldn’t humans discover that themselves?
- Is something moral because of an absolute morality measure, or is something moral because god has commanded it? (Note: This question makes a false-dichotomy fallacy. I am aware of this, but presenting it this way to provoke thought).
- If something is moral because god has commanded it, and there does exist an absolute measure of morality, what happens in the case when god commands someone to rape or kill? Does raping or killing become moral?
- If you answered yes to the end of 4, does that mean god commanding something to be done changes the absolute value of morality? Or is the absolute value or morality unchanged?
- Is god constrained by this absolute value of morality? That is to say, are the things god commands people to do only in accordance with this absolute measure?
- Can god rewrite this measure of absolute morality? And if so, would he?
There are many other questions I could ask, but I’m wanting to move on.
The Formula of Faith
Strobel talks about how his formula for faith works. In short: Believe in Jesus, Receive forgiveness, become a Christian. Note that evidence need not apply.
The changes in Strobel’s character, while noble, only show that Christianity is right for Strobel. Discounting the spiritual experiences and changes that occur to those of other religions and only pushing Christianity is a bit of a dick move. I’d argue that I had a similar change when I stopped believing in Christianity and supernatural beings. There’s no reason to assume that your god, or even any god, is required to live a good and noble life.
Reaching Your Own Verdict
Strobel talks at length about how he hopes [Strobel:] …the amount of information reported in these pages will at least have convinced you that it’s reasonable-in fact, imperative-to continue your investigation.” (Strobel, CFC, P. 292). With how badly this book presented the very little evidence it did present, and how often it argued from biblical authority, continuing the investigation is the only approach. This book has very minimal information of any practical value for any seeker after Christianity.
My verdict on this book? Don’t read it. It’s not worth anyone’s time.
Citations