The Case for Christ - Essay Example

and Number The Case for Christ Christianity is considered to be the biggest religion in today’s world. According to the article “Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents,” in 2005, it was estimated that over 2 billion people identified themselves as Christians (“Major Religions Ranked by Size”). The central figure within this particular religion is Jesus Christ who most Christians believe is the Son of God, was crucified, and resurrected three days later. As the world become more and more secular and scientific, many people have come to question Christianity and subsequently the mystery surrounding Jesus Christ. From this movement has come the Christian apologetics who, according to The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, are a group of people that “use logic and evidence to defend Christianity and promote the truth of the Bible”(Slick, 2011). Perhaps one of the most influential books from the Christian Apologetics movement is The Case for Christ which proposes a myriad of evidence that supports the existence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Lee Stobel and Jane Vogel, authors of the Student Version of The Case for Christ, provide a summary of who Jesus Christ was. At the very core of the argument is that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God (Strobel and Vogel, 23). His role on Earth was to save the sinners which was accomplished by sacrificing himself and dying on the cross for everyone’s sins. One of the important aspects of this that the authors take on is the fact that Jesus did not explicitly state that he was God: “Some of Jesus’ statements as they are recorded in the Bible don’t seem to be clear claims that Jesus is God”(Strobel and Vogel, 23). However, Strobel provides several scriptures that support the claim that Jesus believed he was God and through conversations with disciples, followers, and others stated as much. Some of the evidence included Matthew 16: 15-17 where Jesus asks Peter who he (Peter) thinks Jesus is and Peter replies “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God”(Strobel and Vogel, 23). Strobel present very convincing evidence that Jesus was in fact the Messiah by way of presenting Isaiah 53 which is in essence a prophecy of who the Messiah would be. Strobel claims that Jesus matched the prophecy and that many of these aspects could not be manipulated by Jesus in order to make them match such as birthplace, family, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and the guards that gambled over Jesus’ clothes when he was dying on the cross(Strobel and Vogel, 44-46). Since Isaiah 53 was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the argument that Jesus was indeed the Messiah is extremely convincing. The next step in presenting the case for Christ is to delve into the reliability of the Gospels which are the books of the Bible that detail Jesus Christ and his life. Strobel presents evidence that indicates that these books are quite reliable. The biggest piece of evidence is the differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Although many people would say these contradictions make the books less reliable, Strobel disagrees stating that “the idea is that if the writers were lying, they’d make sure to get their stories straight—and they’d agree in every detail. What seems to be a contradiction is often the same event viewed from different perspectives”(Strobel and Vogel, 54). Additionally, Strobel brings up an interesting point about the timeline of Christ’s death and the teachings of Paul. According to Strobel, the timeline suggests that Paul came to learn about Christ dying on the cross for the world’s sins and his resurrection within 2-5 years of it occurring. Strobel makes the argument that the fact Christianity was already teaching this aspect about Christ suggests that “that’s far too fast for legend to have developed and wiped out a core of historical truth”(Strobel and Vogel, 60). This is compelling evidence since it is widely thought that the time between Christ’s life and Paul’s was at least a hundred years when it seems to have been less than 5, according to the evidence. This helps to support the reliability of the Gospels because they were likely written within 2 to 5 years as well and thus the story would not have changed all that much within that time period and therefore would not have deviated very little from the truth. Perhaps the most compelling piece of evidence that Strobel presents is the fact that there are 24,000 New Testament manuscripts that have been recovered all over the world and the overall story of Christ is the same throughout (Strobel and Vogel, 62). If the story weren’t true or changed drastically over time, the manuscripts would likely reflect the differences which they do not. Strobel further supports his case for Christ by providing evidence to support the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Strobel discusses how some people believe Jesus did not die on the cross, but passed out or was drugged instead and placed in the tomb where he later awoke (Strobel and Vogel, 83). However, Strobel presents the evidence of Jesus sweating blood, the brutal flogging he received, the crucifixion itself, and the piercing of Jesus’ side which all support the belief that Jesus actually died on the cross(Strobel and Vogel, 84-88). In regards to the resurrection, Strobel discusses how some people believe grave robbers took the body of Jesus or perhaps the disciples did in order to help support their claims that he had risen (Strobel and Vogel, 91-93). Strobel presents evidence to refute these claims such as the guards placed in front of the tomb, the fact that the tomb was sealed, and the fact that 500 people claimed to see Jesus after he had risen (Strobel and Vogel, 96-101). He also discusses the fact that the disciples and others who saw him were so adamant and vocal about it even though doing so would inevitably cause them to be put to death, which many were(Strobel and Vogel, 99). Overall, it is the more scientific and logical evidence that truly supports Strobel’s argument. The fact that there were guards in front of Jesus’ tomb, the stone was very heavy, and the tomb was sealed all support the fact that neither grave robbers nor the disciples could have been able to steal the body. Therefore, something supernatural must have occurred in order for Jesus’ body to be gone. Also, the fact that so many people saw Jesus afterwards makes it much less likely to be a story concocted by the disciples and much more likely to be the truth. The most compelling argument from Strobel that solidifies the truth of Christ is also a relatively simple one. At one point Strobel proposes a compelling question: “Would Jesus be willing to die for a lie? Or was he willing to die because he believed he was telling the truth?”(Strobel and Vogel, 28). The fact that Jesus died a very brutal death and had plenty of opportunities to stop performing miracles and stop teaching, it would seem that he really believed what he was doing and was not lying about it. Therefore, it is fair to say that Jesus was who he said he was and was willing to be tortured and brutally killed because he knew he had to do so in order to save the world. If Jesus were lying, it would seem that he would stop what he was doing as soon as his life was threatened, but he did not and this strengthens the case for Christ tenfold. There will always be those that chose to doubt who Jesus Christ was/is and no matter what evidence is presented to them, they will continue to disbelieve. There will also be those people that dislike what the Christian Apologetics are doing because they feel that faith does not need proof or evidence to back it up. However, for those people who want to believe and who perhaps already do, having this information is truly helpful in strengthening their faith. Its hard sometimes to believe in something in today’s disenchanted and secular world. Books such as The Case for Christ are especially helpful in solidifying and establishing the truth in Christianity, overall. References "Major Religions Ranked by Size." World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics. Web. 28 July 2011. . Slick, Matt. " Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry." CARM . Web. 28 July 2011. . Strobel, Lee, and Jane Vogel. The case for Christ a journalist's personal investigation of the evidence for Jesus. Student ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001. Print. Read More