The Reality of Jesus and Christianity: Skeptics Arguing for the Case of Christianity

In the 20th century, a few skeptics of Christianity took up the challenge to disprove the reliability of the Bible and its claims about Jesus of Nazareth. Some of those who attempted to do so included current Christian apologetist Josh McDowell; former major league pitcher Frank Pastore; former Chicago Tribune Journalist Lee Strobel, and former Oxford professor C.S. Lewis. This hub briefly describes the story of three of gentlemen and books they wrote about their respective discoveries.

According to his website, before he converted to Christianity, Josh McDowell was a committed agnostic who literally believed that Christiantiy was worthless. While in college, he was challenged by Christian on his campus to intellectually examine the claims of Christianity and the Bible in order to prove the claims wrong once and for all. McDowell took up that challenge and made an honest attempt to discredit the Bible and Christian beliefs. However, after thoughtful study, he realized that the claims could not be proved false. Consequently, McDowell became a dedicated follower of the Jesus and eventually a defender of the Christian faith. His story came be found in two books More Than a Carpenter and Evidence Demands a Verdict. The later is a classic defense of the claims of the Christian faith written  to answer the doubts of other skeptics.

Lee Strobel graduated from Yale Law School and was a former journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Like Josh McDowell, Strobel thought Christianity was a bunch of malarkey and often criticized those who believed. Before his conversion to Christianity, Strobel spent nearly two years investigating the claims of Christ and from his point of view decided that the claims could not be denied.From his thoughtful inquiry Strobel wrote three books includingThe Case for Christ, The Case for Creator, and The Case for Faith. All three are intellectual pursuits that uncover the mysteries of the Bible and present reasons to believe in the Living God and his son Jesus Christ.

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898. In 1913, Lewis entered Malvern College where at 15 years old he abandoned his Christian faith and became an atheist, interested only in the Greek mythology and the occult. Through discussions with colleagues at Oxford University, Lewis converted to Chrisitanity in 1931 at age 33. He went on to write many books about the Christian faith including Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Screwtape Letters.