The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger

by Lee Strobel

Who was in the manger that first Christmas morning? And how can we know for sure? In  The Case for Christmas , award-winning legal journalist Lee Strobel tells us that somewhere beyond the traditions of the holiday lies the truth. Some say that newborn baby would become a great moral leader. Others, a social critic. Still others view Jesus as a profound philosopher, a rabbi, a feminist, a prophet, and more. Many are convinced he was the divine Son of God. But who was he really? Consulting experts on the Bible, archaeology, and messianic prophecy, Strobel searches out the true identity of the child in the manger, Join Strobel as he invites you to push past the distractions of the holiday season and come into the presence of the baby who was born to change your life and rewrite your eternal the greatest gift of all.

Genres: Christian, Christmas, Nonfiction, Religion, Christianity, Faith, Theology

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Lee Patrick Strobel is an American Christian author and a former investigative journalist. He has written several books, including four that received ECPA Christian Book Awards (1994, 1999, 2001, 2005)[2] and a series which addresses challenges to the veracity of Christianity. He also hosted a television program called Faith Under Fire on PAX TV and runs a video apologetics web site.

Reviews

[Robin Hatcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook
A lovely quick read, especially at this time of year.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is actually an abridged version of Strobel's Case for Christ, focusing more on Christ's birth, but also his resurrection, which, as the author points out, cannot be separated from each other.

Strobel set out to disprove Christianity by using his journalistic training and investigating Christ, using the same relentless search for proofs and facts that he used for his articles for the Chicago Tribune.

Included in this slim volume are his interviews with experts in archaeology, theology, and history. He throws every argument against Christ existing or being the Messiah and faithfully records each expert's response.

This book served as an excellent Advent Devotional.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loving a good theoretical discussion and analysis, I turned to this short piece by Lee Strobel. He seeks to explain Christmas and the core of Christianity, using his journalistic perspective by looking for hard proof. While perhaps not the best piece for the holiday season, I felt my mind sharpened and my analytical mind stimulated with Strobel’s piece. Using research and analysis, Strobel seeks to explain the core sentiments of Christianity and provide it to the layperson. Doing so effectively, Strobel keeps me intrigued throughout this brief analysis.

While Lee Strobel has long made it clear that he is not entirely sold on the idea of Christ and Christmas, he chose to delve deeper to better understand things for himself (and perhaps the reader of this book). He speaks with biblical scholars, archeologists, and those in the field of Christian study to understand the truths, symbols, and themes on which Christians ground their beliefs. He keeps things clear and somewhat concise, while also offering up some strong arguments and biblical quotes to provide the foundation of his arguments.

While this is not a long or thoroughly detailed book, Strobel gives a hearty try in this superficial primer. How did the Gospels come to say what they did? Should we believe the quotes attributed to Jesus throughout? Could there be more symbolic sentiments, rather than literal interpretations for the reader and believer to to digest? Strobel seeks to explore this and many other views in this piece that sums it up quite well.

While I am not sold or newly converted it was nice to see some analysis, rather than rote acceptance. Religion is a thorny issue and I will be the first to agree that it can create more arguments than coming together. Still, it was nice to see Strobel explore these topics in short chapters, packed full of great sentiments and ideas. I am happy to have taken a short time to read this and let my mind open a little more. It does not solve all Christmas solutions, but does leave me thinking, the greatest gift this holiday season!

Kudos, Mr. Strobel, for this thought-provoking book.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Lee Harmon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This little book is excerpted from an earlier 1998 book by Lee Strobel: The Case for Christ. Like others of the series, Strobel’s MO is to interview other believing scholars and present his findings as a sort of scientific approach to uncovering the truth about Jesus.

Let me start by saying that I’ve never found much inspiration in Strobel’s “The Case for …” series. It feels to me like he demeans the beauty and mystery of Christianity by trying to bring it down to earth, proving the unprovable. But when I noticed this little book attempting to prove the Christmas story, my curiosity won out. There are many valid arguments against the two conflicting birth stories in the Bible, and nothing whatsoever that I could think of as evidence for treating them literally, so I couldn’t resist.

Strobel got on my wrong side right away with a blatant misquote of the Gospel of John:

John, who begins his gospel by eloquently affirming the incarnation—that is, “the Word,” or Jesus, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” on the first Christmas.

At least Strobel knew where to drop the quotation marks! But the reference to “the first Christmas” is misleading and untrue to John’s Gospel. John wants nothing to do with the virgin birth, instead pointing out multiple times that Jesus’ father was Joseph. Conservative Christians may read the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, and then read the incarnation story in John, and naturally try to overlay the two, but this would insult John. John’s theology is one of eternal pre-existence, not of a miraculous birth, and John clearly describes the moment of incarnation at the Jordan river … not at birth.

Strobel never does provide proof of the virgin birth, but rather attempts an indirect route, disproving the debunkers. Luke tells the story of Jesus’ miraculous birth, so Strobel stokes Luke as a careful historian, pointing out many places where Luke has been proven accurate, and uses that to deflect a major problem in Luke’s report: That governor Quirinius and King Herod seem to serve simultaneously, though Herod died ten years before Quirinius arrived as governor. Strobel’s “proof” that Luke’s account is historical: a coin dated to 11 B.C., bearing Quirinius’s name. Perhaps there were two governor Quiriniuses? But the rumor is absolutely not true; there exists no such coin, and Strobel should have done his homework. Strobel also neglects to mention the obvious: we know precisely who governed Syria in the years surrounding Herod’s death. It was Quintilius.

Strobel jumps into the argument over whether Isaiah prophesied a virgin birth or whether the original Hebrew says only that a child will be born to a young woman. It’s a fun argument, but totally irrelevant, because just a few verses later, Isaiah makes it clear that he’s not predicting an event hundreds of years in the future, but in his own lifetime.

Strobel’s best attempt is to argue for an early writing of the Gospels and traditional authorship, then deduces that these authors surely would not misrepresent the story so quickly after Jesus lived, because there would be others around to correct them. He manages to uncover one reasonable scholar (Blomberg) who agrees with this dating. The vast majority of Bible scholars do not.

Strobel concludes that everything in the scripture about the Messiah has been fulfilled, and this proves Jesus’ identity. I am growing so tired of hearing this. Any knowledgeable Jew would be totally baffled by this claim, because Jesus didn’t fulfill any of the prophecies important to them! He didn’t gather the Jews back to Jerusalem, he didn’t rebuild the Temple, he didn’t reestablish the Jews as God’s favored people, he didn’t bring world peace, he didn’t unite the entire world in worship of one God, the list goes on. Perhaps we believe Jesus will come back and do all these things someday, but can we quit saying Jesus fulfilled the prophecies? He most assuredly did not … not in the political way the Old Testament expected.

I’m starting to get argumentative, so this is probably a good place to close. Can we just leave things to faith which belong in the realm of faith?

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thin, weak, and scattered. This seems to be a small, simple, introduction to historical evidence behind the Christmas account. And while it sounds good on the surface, you can poke too many holes in it. Strobel brings up questions here that he doesn't answer at all, or doesn't answer well. And he gets sidetracked by irrelevant points, like the abbreviation "Xmas" or the history of St. Nicholas.

Why is Strobel asking if the virgin birth is scientific? It's a miracle. A miracle is God supernaturally stepping into nature. We should be asking if details surrounding the virgin birth in the gospel accounts are coherent with the historical evidence we have from other sources.

From reading other reviews here, Strobel gets some historic dates/facts simply wrong. And when he does provide good specifics, he seems to cherry pick what he likes from scholars, rather than taking time to explore different evidence and evaluate varied arguments.

The Case for Christ is much more thorough and investigative, with more evidence and citations to back up his claims.

[Michelle Korting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Lee Strobel!
If you have any doubts, don’t know who Jesus is, have strayed from your Faith, THIS is the book for YOU!

I’ve been a Catholic/Christian since I was born and baptized and I struggle everyday to be a good Christian and God like. It’s not easy but my FAITH in who God/Jesus is has never wavered.

A great reminder in this book on the History of God/Jesus and the meaning behind Christmas.

Don’t forget Lee’s other books too! They will hopefully answer all your questions you may have.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally read in 2016, reading for the second time. I think I only read in 2016, I took my time and thought about what I was reading. I’m thankful I read this book a second time!
This was my first book by Lee Strobel. I found his writing to be engaging, and easy to read. He spends two years investigating the identity of the Christmas child through interviews. He searches for rational reasons and facts in his search to prove the truth and ministry of Jesus. The evidence is methodically laid out for us to make our own decision. I see there are more “Case For” books which I plan to read.

[Benjamin Razey · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Case for Christmas, Strobel presents a concise defence of the Christmas story of Jesus Christ. Through a series of engaging interviews, Strobel unpacks many of the opposing views for the Christian narrative and explores exactly how the Scriptural witness presents a convincing narrative to the contrary. It is a short book, but a highly engaging read that is great for both Christians seeking reaffirmation in the faith and unbelievers looking to explore the reliability of the foundations of the Christian Messianic story.

[Jennifer Stahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, approachable, short but intelligent, clear and convincing research into the claims of Jesus, authenticity of the Bible, and events surrounding the "Christmas story" in the New Testament Gospels. A great hand-off to someone who is looking for facts, sources, and thoughts on Christianity around the Christmas time ...or all parts of the year. :)

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Concise for the most part, avoided some of the biggest issues or glossed over them, lots of straw man arguments.

I did not like the emotionally charged stories and the framing of Christmas with this, with a single paragraph actually dealing with why dec 25 was chosen. And no irony acknowledgment that it was chosen specifically because it was a pagan holiday.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 1 out of 5]

By golly, I'm on a role this month. After recently having to tear apart (very gently, of course) a Catholic mystic book, I've now got to explain why I'm giving Lee Strobel (a respected Christian apologist) one star for his "defence of Christmas" (a Christian holiday I hold near and dear to my heart.

Whatever you believe, or don't believe, Christmas is a season nobody can ignore, no matter how hard they try. Whether it's Christian imagery and carols, the secular/pagan remnant celebrating the winter solstice (or the 40-degree F-You solstice for those in the southern hemisphere like me) with decorative trees and other splendour, or the pre-Covid commercial s***storm that I think has more than anything to do with all our modern-day grinches, it's a holiday that insists upon its presence like no other.

I can see, to a point, why certain types of people hate Christmas, but personally I've always loved it, both in its secular and Christian form - the latter always being there in my life, but not really meaning a whole lot to me until I became more religious in my mid-twenties. I have no time for the inevitable bunch that try to discredit Christmas my making arbitrary points about it requisitioning a pagan festival, thus apparently invalidating the event (whatever its actual date, which wasn't actually December 25th) being celebrated - that is, the birth of Christ.

See kids, cultures change and readapt to their times, they throw out certain customs, others are redefined by the prevailing cultural norms and values. Pointing out the Church's decision to replace an older pagan holiday with one more compatible with their religion challenges my beliefs no more than I would challenge any modern leftist by telling them their precious Mardi Gras and Halloween are re-appropriated (I would say corrupted) Catholic festivals.

So with all this in mind, my wife and I decided to read this book in lieu of the the season. You know, read a nice, affirmative counter-argument to all those naysayers who can't bear to hear 'O Holy Night' playing through the speakers of the shopping mall. Strobel wrote the famous Case for Christ, a book I have been excited about reading for ages. Apparently it's a groundbreaker. What could go wrong?

Well, it turns out everything. As a firm and practicing Christian, I couldn't stand this book. And I say that being one of the most wanting-to-love-it types you could get. I want to make that absolutely clear. That's why the first half of this review was just a half-assed attempt at addressing one of the common arguments against Christmas. I think it is the most beautiful time of the year (Australian summer notwithstanding). I'm all for Christmas. I was totally on board for what I thought this book would be. But no. I swear, this book made me feel like a pissed-off atheist who couldn't help debunking Strobel's pathetic arguments multiple times each page.

The book is honestly rubbish. It's as condescending and simplistic as you can get. Whatever Strobel's journey to faith was (I do not doubt his sincerity at all), I did not buy his whole "back when I was an atheist" act for a second. If I were one, this book would have done my head in. Firstly, in "relentlessly throwing every argument against Christianity there is" (as says another Goodreads member, who incidentally unfriended me for some reason, as I discovered after finding her review of this book), Strobel really does the very opposite.

So he doubts the Christmas story. Staunch atheist and all that. Has no time for the claims of those religious nutters. Yet he belies this Rigid Atheist character he wants to evoke by seeking only Christian scholars (one on each subject), instead of considering what non-Christians make of the matter. Even more tellingly, the questions he asks (which, going off his dramatic retelling of his interviews, he thinks are logical missiles) reveal an informed understanding and abundant curiosity regarding the concepts (the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the reliability of the Gospel accounts, etc), that seeing him ask them, you know there's no way he would not either know or have anticipated the responses before conducting his interview.

The obnoxious formula plays out thus ...

Mr Hard-nosed atheist says he's not convinced ... proceeds to ask elementary questions which are packaged for the Christian scholar or theologian to spin into an elaborate answer any smart Christian would already know, that any smart atheist would have heard and been unconvinced by before.

Our supposedly nihilistic friend is, despite himself, impressed. Yes, that makes perfect sense. He's never thought of that before. My God ... but I still have many unanswerable questions, and must fly to another state and dish out further soft-ball challenges to other people I know are Christians and will not prevent my getting this silly little book published before Christmas by saying anything that contradicts my straw-man arguments.

Sadly, it's no wonder Lee Strobel abandoned his (supposed) atheism. He sucked at being one in the first place. As someone who is on his side, spiritually speaking, I could not help wanting to step in and challenge him, simply to make him lift his game and quit with the lame-ass broad conclusions made without any elaboration or sources for verification.

As a Christian apologist who presumably wants to reach out to atheists, he makes the ever-frustrating mistake of quoting the Bible as a proof for what he says. Last time I checked, atheists didn't hold what the Gospel of John or the Book of Genesis says as being particularly authoritative. I cannot for the life of me guess why.

And then, despite being a "serious" journalist, he takes everyone he interviews at their word, and expects his readers to as well. A says B is true, and this must be the case because John Smith who wrote the popular Christian book, Yes, Jesus! says it is. I was going to speak to a Muslim professor, and a few atheists who have other ideas, but my plane leaves in less than an hour.

This review has lost even a pretence of structure, if there was any in the first place. I'm in a bit of a bind here because while this book greatly annoyed me and has made me want to rant about it, I'm tired and I also don't like to swear in a review for a Christian book. It would not be proper. And I certainly don't want to look like I'm hating on Christmas - in fact, I avoided even writing this review on Christmas Day because that felt wrong. So I'm essentially ranting after having all my teeth removed.

To conclude, I hated this book. It was lame, pretentious, lazy, condescending, and frankly an embarrassment. I hate the thought that some people who are searching for God, and are considering accepting Christ, might come across this book (or, if it's just as bad, The Case for Christ), and conclude from its abysmal content that Christianity really is as stupid and obnoxious as its detractors make it out to be.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a Christian for over 20 years. In that time, I've prepared for everything. I can give you a dozen arguments for the existence of God. We could talk at length about Jesus's resurrection from the dead. I can riff on any number of apologetic topics. The great irony is, in all my gospel conversations, I've needed this information about thrice. The reality is, most people just don't think very deeply about religious matters.

For those who would like to begin, you can do worse than Lee Strobel. His books are always informative and gentle.


Notes

Nook

"If the prophecies were so obvious to you and pointed so unquestionably toward Jesus, then why don't more Jews accept him as their Messiah?" "In my case, I took the time to read them"

[Tom Weissmuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I set this small book aside after reading the first half (over coffee) and deciding, the author is not questioning anything. I picked it up and enjoyed the balance of the book, (over another coffee), this time considering it a form of ministry. If you read it as a Christian, you will enjoy. If you are questioning Judaism and Christianity, it is less helpful because it offers very little substance when vast resources are, in fact, available. To the latter reader, I would suggest another resource.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and straightforward (with the caveat that it’ll compel you to read The Case for Easter). Merry Christmas!

[Briana Mullet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just an abridged version of The Case For Christ.

Still good information.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes the author's search into the identity of Jesus Christ. The author pointed out many of the Old Testament prophecies which were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. He also explained in depth why it was necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin. (Otherwise, He could not be a clean sacrificial lamb for us, and we would still be lost in our sins.) He also discussed some of the legends about the birth of Jesus. These were all new to me! All in all, it was a worthwhile read.

[Devon Flaherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christmas because it showed up on the best-ofs lists for the holidays, not because I am a Christian or because I am searching for answers about God or the Christmas story. Clearly, this book—more like an extended tract—is meant for the latter. The seeker seeking around the holidays. But I will come right oUT and tell you what many other people will tell you: if you are seeking either to find God, to debunk God, or to deepen your baby faith in God, skip this book and read The Case for Christ, instead. The Case for Christmas, it turns out, is just a truncated version of The Case for Christ. In this sense, it’s a holiday-time ministry tool, and not so much an amazing book. As it is, The Case for Christ is not terribly long, but, I am told, is more rigorous and engaging.

It goes like this: Lee Strobel is a journalist and he was a skeptic. Some number of years ago he set out to disprove Christianity using his journalistic tools (including lots of interviewing experts). Instead, he ended up proving it instead, at least to himself, so he wrote The Case for Christ to prove it to others, as well, and to show that a thorough study of the facts could lead even a skeptic to a qualified belief in the God of the Bible and His Son Jesus Christ. It’s been a best-seller for quite some time. I think I might have a copy on my shelf, but I have not read the whole thing. Apparently, there are now a few shorter and adapted versions of The Case for Christ, including the Christmas-themed one (and an evangelistic video). While I appreciated that these little booklets could fall in the right hands and the right time and change a life, I would recommend just reading the original.

While there are many other books like it—One Minute Answers to the Skeptics, Finding God in Science and, the one that seems fun to me, Cold-Case Christianity among them—Strobel stood out from the beginning as being both in the business of fact-finding and truth-telling and also as someone who set out to get answers that were ultimately opposite of what he found. So, ultimately, what I can say about this little book besides “read the bigger one” is that Strobel’s writing is decent. He keeps you engaged, though it moves way too fast in the Christmas version (through eyewitness evidence, archeological evidence, Jesus’ God-ness and his fulfilling of Jewish prophecy), making it appear that he wasn’t very thorough at all. I appreciate the stories that he uses at the start of each chapter, pulling the reader into an interesting journalism story that has nothing to do with Christ until it does. It’s okay. I would like to give the first version a shot.

QUOTES

“They had peace despite poverty, while I had anxiety despite plenty; they knew the joy of generosity while I knew only the loneliness of ambition…” (p9).

“Ancient Greek and Hebrew didn’t even have a symbol for quotation marks” (p20).

“I didn’t understand that God would help me make those changes; I thought I had to clean up life on my own” (p85).

***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***

[Phillip Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's some overlap between this book and the Case for Christ, but this is a short and sweet read that effectively presents a strong case that the scriptures reliably tell the story of Jesus, the incarnate savior.

[Dan Curnutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading this short little book I realized that much of the material that he discusses was also in "The Case for Christ." That doesn't mean that this little book can be effective, it just means that much of the material is covered in his longer writing.

The Case for Christmas is his document that sets out to examine and determine the truth about the Virgin Birth of Christ in a little town called Bethlehem. He proceeds to interview several people who will help him to document whether or not to trust the writings of the four Gospels or whether to dispense with them and continue to believe that Jesus is not the son of God.

He interviews several people with extensive backgrounds in their chosen fields;

1. Craig L. Blomberg, PhD is a Theologian that Strobel discusses the eyewitness accounts of the New Testament with. Strobel wanted to know if those accounts can be trusted.

2. John McRay, PhD was interviewed to discuss the Archeological / Scientific side of the debate.

3. Donald A. Carson, PhD was interviewed to discuss whether Jesus fulfilled the test of having the Attributes of God, i.e. being fully human and fully God.

4. Louis S. Lapides, MDiv, ThM was interviewed to talk about whether or not Jesus fulfilled the Prophecies of the Jewish Old Testament in relationship to the Messiah. Lapides is Jewish and found Christ through exploring the Old Testament Texts. He now pastor's a Christian Church.

Each of these men will discuss certain aspects of the Case for Christ being born in Bethlehem and coming as God incarnate to bring Salvation to the world.

The interviews are interesting, educational, thought provoking and down right uncanny in how they weave together to paint a picture of Jesus and His mission on earth.

Some people think that Strobel manufactures the answers and puts them together a bit to cleanly. Well, that doesn't mean he didn't do his job, in fact that means that he did do his job, to prove that the virgin birth of Jesus was indeed the Divine act of God to send His Son to earth so that we would have a way to restore our relationship with Him.

Read this, then read the Case for Christ and you will see how compelling the case is for the truth.

[B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strobel has a readable style and is clearly intelligent, but in my view this book is plainly an apologetical and evangelistic work rather than a sincere effort to explore doubts or seek out what is most likely to be true. The lack of interviews with skeptical scholars (Ehrman!?), Christian scholars from other denominations or perspectives (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, progressives like Marcus Borg), or scholars from other religions (Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, etc.) is rather glaring. In short, the author appears to be someone who wants to believe a certain evangelical and sectarian Christian perspective-- and is extremely uncomfortable with human fallibility and the tenuous nature of theological reasoning.

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel was a disappointment. As a fan of both literature and theology, I grieve when I read Christian books that are flat and boring. Dorothy Sayers wrote that the truths of Christianity describe the greatest drama ever staged. That’s why I’m frustrated with writers who manage to wring all the life out of them.

[Sherri Tullis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise examination of the eyewitness evidence, scientific evidence, profile evidence, and fingerprint evidence to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.

[Gale Penton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. It looks at all the evidence of Christ’s birth and what it means to us.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful overview of the evidence for Christmas and whether the gospel accounts can be trusted. Easily readable in a couple of hours and not difficult to understand.

[Trix Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deals with pressing objections to the existence and significance of Jesus and Christmas in under a hundred pages.

Despite the heavy subject matter, it reads like a series of feature articles you’d find in a publication like Time or National Geographic – interviews, accounts of court cases (being written by a law-trained journalist), and breakout boxes with titles like, “Who does Jesus think he is?”

My favorite part is Lee’s interview with Louis Lapides. It gets personal.

It’s not just about wrestling with intellectual debates and ideas (though there’s plenty of that!), but about how relevant are all these questions seemingly only of interest to PhDs to real life?

To those of us who have families, careers, challenges?

This book answers that question.

Favorite quotes:

“That’s what I did for a living…Investigate claims to see if they’re true, separate rumors from reality, and determine facts from fiction…I decided to get to the bottom of what I now consider to be the most crucial issue of history: Who was in the manger on that first Christmas morning?”

“Yes, Christmas in a holiday overlaid with all sorts of fanciful beliefs, from flying reindeer to Santa Claus sliding down chimneys. But I became convinced that if you drill down to its core, Christmas is based on a historical reality – the incarnation: God becoming man, Spirit taking on flesh, the infinite entering the finite, the eternal becoming time-bound. It’s a mystery backed up by facts that I now believed were simply too strong to ignore.”

[Tyler Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and concise exploration into the truthfulness of the main tenants of the Christian faith. Strobel, as always, presents the reader with a defense of the Christian faith that must be given serious consideration. This book is an easy read and can be read straight through in several hours. Through his story-like retelling of his interviews with experts and professionals, one is left trying to think up objections to the answers given and often can't find any. In "The Case for Christmas," he explores whether the eyewitness, scientific, profile, and prophetic evidence really support the claims that are made about Jesus in the New (and Old) Testament, concluding that they absolutely do.

With his characteristic candor, Strobel explains "while the eyewitness evidence gave me confidence in the reliability of the gospels, the scientific evidence corroborated their trustworthiness, the profile evidence showed that Jesus fulfilled the attributes of God, and the fingerprint (prophetic) evidence established that he's the Messiah, it was the evidence of Easter that really clinched the case for me" (pg. 87).

This is a great introductory book for those wishing to explore the truth of the Christian faith or for the seasoned Christian who wants to better understand the "reason for the hope that [they] have."

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good arguments, very similar to his *Case for Christ*. However, two things make this only 4 stars. First, as with his *Case for Christ* the book is written in this interview style. Maybe it wasn’t as awkward to write like this in the late 90s/early 2000s, but it’s awkward, and even disingenuous at times, to read. Second, and more important, this book sets out to analyze the Christmas story, but instead it reads more just like his *Case for Christ* book. The four chapters cover 1) the reliability of the eye witnesses, 2) the archeological reliability, 3) the fact that Jesus is God, and 4) that Jesus is the Messiah. None of those directly relates to Christmas. And while there are small snippets about things such as the star, overall it’s just an apologetic book about Jesus.

All that being said, it’s helpful of course. But if you want an apologetic book that defends the main tenets of the faith, just read his *Case for Christ*. Or if you want a book defending the Gospels, definitely read Peter Williams’s *Can We Trust the Gospels?* instead (a much deeper, compelling book, while also still being easy to read).

I’d still recommend this, but I’d look at those other two books rather than reading this one.

[Dann · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Lee Strobel comes the holiday themed book The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger. Strobel adapts segments of his previous work The Case for Christ to examine whether or not Jesus’ biographers can be trusted, if the archaeological and forensic evidence support the Gospels, and if Jesus met the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. The narrative is well-written, with Strobel introducing each topic with an anecdote from is career as a reporter demonstrating its importance, and showing a clear line of reasoning for both his questions as a skeptic and what the answers he got mean. And the tone does a good job at being objective and even handed; in that it’s not preachy or leading, and conveys the journey Stobel took as a convert to Christianity. A fascinating expose, The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger reminds the faithful of the reason for the season.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggle with how to rate this objectively as I think the personal biases of a reader, whether or not they believe in the doctrine of Christianity, play a big role in how this will be received. I wished Strobel would have interviewed more than one individual for each type of evidence he aimed to collect. After a handful of questions, he’d quickly take their word for it without much mention of other sources or his own personal investigations into the scriptures. Not saying I disagree with the content but that’s it’s just not a 5 star read.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Christian apologists! Strobel went through a journey from atheist to Christian, and he documents his interviews in the process. This book focuses on the portions of those interviews that focus on Christmas. Strobel takes a journalistic and investigative approach to seeking Jesus.