In Defense of Jesus: Investigating Attacks on the Identity of Christ

by Lee Strobel

Overview

An enlightening follow-up to the bestselling book The Case for Christ, In Defense of Jesus follows award-winning journalist Lee Strobel as he explores the most explosive arguments against the identity of Christ as the Messiah.

Has modern scholarship debunked the traditional Christ? Has the church suppressed the truth about Jesus to advance its own agenda? What if the real Jesus is far different from the atoning Savior worshiped through the centuries?

In Defense of Jesus explores such hot-button questions as:

• Did the church suppress ancient non-biblical documents that paint a more accurate picture of Jesus than the four Gospels?
• Did the church distort the truth about Jesus by tampering with early New Testament texts?
• Do new insights and explanations disprove the resurrection?
• Have fresh arguments disqualified Jesus from being the Messiah?
• Did Christianity steal its core ideas from earlier mythology?

Evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others. Sift through expert testimony. Then reach your own verdict with In Defense of Jesus.

This title is also available in Spanish, En defense de Jesús.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310344681
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Case for ... Series
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	237,651
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Lee Strobel, former award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Lee earned a journalism degree at the University of Missouri and was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship to study at Yale Law School, where he received a Master of Studies in Law degree. He was a journalist for fourteen years at the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois’ top honors for investigative reporting (which he shared with a team he led) and public service journalism from United Press International. Lee also taught First Amendment Law at Roosevelt University. A former atheist, he served as a teaching pastor at three of America’s largest churches. Lee and his wife, Leslie, have been married for more than fifty years and live in Texas. Their daughter, Alison, and son, Kyle, are also authors. Website: www.leestrobel.com

Table of Contents

Introduction: Searching for the Real Jesus 9

Challenge #1 "Scholars Are Uncovering a Radically Different Jesus in Ancient Documents Just as Credible as the Four Gospels" 23

Challenge #2 "The Bible's Portrait of Jesus Can't Be Trusted Because the Church Tampered with the Text" 68

Challenge #3 Part 1 "New Explanations Have Refuted Jesus' Resurrection" 106

Challenge #3 Part 2 The Cross-Examination 134

Challenge #4 "Christianity's Belief about Jesus Were Copied from Pagan Religions" 165

Challenge #5 "Jesus Was an Imposter Who Failed to Fulfill the Messianic Prophecies" 199

Challenge #6 "People Should Be Free to Pick and Choose What to Believe about Jesus" 240

Conclusion: Discovering the Real Jesus 277

Appendix A A Summary of Evidence from The Case for Christ 287

Appendix B Helpful Websites to Investigate the Real Jesus 294

Notes 295

Acknowledgments 317

Index 318

Meet Lee Strobe! 328