Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ

In the face of modern critical scholarship, which is steadily eroding the historical reliability of the Gospels and their presentation of Jesus, conservative writers have been making valiant attempts to reestablish confidence in the Christian record and doctrine. The most prominent of these, in popular exposure and commercial success, has been Lee Strobel, in his 1998 book The Case for Christ.

In that book, Lee Strobel, an ex-court journalist, conducts a series of 14 interviews with well-known conservative and evangelical scholars of the New Testament, such as Craig Blomberg, William Lane Craig and Gary Habermas, in an attempt to establish the reliability of the Gospel account and the truth of the Resurrection. Within the context of a scholarly critique, Earl Doherty, author of The Jesus Puzzle (also available on Amazon) takes quotations from those interviews and sets up his own dialogue with them, as though cross-examining Strobel and his witnesses in a courtroom before judge and jury.

This makes for gripping reading, a strong atmosphere and an effective way to present the case in favor of a more rational and coherent view of the Christian record and the origins of Christianity. Challenging the Verdict exposes the deficiencies, the fallacies, the selective and misleading use of evidence inherent in The Case for Christ, and offers more reasonable alternatives.

Challenging the Verdict is written in simple, clear, conversational language, with elements of humor and insight into logic and history. The book addresses all aspects of the Christian record: Gospels, epistles, non-canonical documents. Occasionally, it steps beyond the scope of New Testament interpretation and discusses religion and rationality in general.

Challenging the Verdict provides an ideal response for those who have had Lee Strobel's book urged upon them by friends, family members and their local clergy. Now you can offer something in return that will show why there is good reason to question the Gospels and reject their claims.

Earl Doherty is an historian and classical scholar living in Canada. He has been published in "Humanist in Canada" magazine and the "Journal of Higher Criticism" at Drew University in New Jersey. Since 1996, he has gained world-wide attention with his groundbreaking website "The Jesus Puzzle". His first book, The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity begin with a mythical Christ?, published in 1999 by Canadian Humanist Publications, has received enthusiastic reviews and is also available on Amazon.com.