The Case for a Creator Student Edition: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God

Cases for Christianity for Students

by Lee Strobel, Jane Vogel

Has Science Discovered God?

When Lee Strobel was a high school freshman, science convinced him that God didn t exist. Since then, however, incredible scientific discoveries have not only helped restore Lee s faith, but have strengthened it.

Lee is not alone. More and more scientists, confronted with startling, cutting-edge evidence from many areas of research, no longer believe the universe just happened or that life arose by mere chance. Behind a universe of staggering complexity, they are seeing signs of a Master Designer.

Are your science textbooks still telling you the same facts that Lee s did years ago? Prepare to be astonished by what some of today s most respected experts have to say about:


The birth of the universe Darwinism and the origin of life The astounding fine-tuning of the cosmos Amazing molecular machines and DNA research
Weigh the evidence for yourself. Then consider this question: Could it be that the universe looks designed because it is?"

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, School, Science, Christianity, Faith

112 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2004

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

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introductory book that highlights some of the gaping holes in the theory of evolution. It is written on a level that can be understood by students without dumbing down the science. The book goes step by step to show how it's not scientifically possible that the life we see around us happened by chance, and makes the convincing argument that there has to have been a creator.

[Doug Hibbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll start off with this word of warning: I’m not a big fan of “student editions” of books. Typically, I find that a “student edition” cuts out details and background in an effort to hold onto a shortened attention span. This results in a book that falls short in covering the necessary material, but is a bit more fun to read.

And when you are dealing with as important of a matter as the origins debate, there is necessary material. I could make up a statistic to substantiate this, but I’ll go anecdotal: most of the people I know who have a deep-seated objection to religion, especially including people who grew up in churches, place the conflict between a creationist view and a non-creationist view among their top reasons for leaving faith. Of course, it’s typically worded as “mythology vs. science” by those who leave, and “faith vs. humanism” by those who stay. Either way, it’s an important debate.

Given its importance, I see why a student edition of Lee Strobel’s The Case for a Creator was published. The question before us is whether or not it’s worth bothering with.

First a few of the major objections to Strobel’s work: he’s not objective but pretends to be; he only interacts with people who agree with him; he’s just another Christian nut. The latter is certainly true, one nut to another, if that is your response to people of faith. The other two are part of his writing. He first wrote a book when he was skeptical of Christianity, and did so from his position of being a non-Christian. He interviewed and examined the “other side” and came to faith. I find the attempt to reproduce that concept here a little unnecessary. Strobel could have presented the information a little differently, and it would not have been harmful to the work.

Second, the science questions. The problem is not a science problem, but an assumptions problem. Most of the objections to the science presented by Strobel are from those who assume God as an impossibility. Most of the support for his view come from those who assume God as absolute. Because of these assumptions, the discussions go right past each other. Further, there is a running difficulty with the question of “What is proven in science?” For the average student, that one person with a doctorate asserts a claim is typically enough to count it as proven, but this is not the way science is done. So, there are some problems here. The subject matter makes it difficult.

It is here that the “student edition” treatment harms the work. There are too few details, too little interaction with the ideas. “Student” should not mean “dumbed-down,” but should interact with more sources, provide more direction on where to look for explanations.

I really wanted to like this better, but it’s more of an appetizer than a meal for a book. And when you have hard questions, you need a hearty meal to answer them.

Book received from publisher in exchange for review.

[Grayson]

I hated it don't read it unless you want to die #nostars

[Brenam Oostenbrink · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads more as a testimony of the author’s personal journey with religion than a in-depth scientific explanation. It did go through scientific evidence for a creator, but it didn’t spend much time on or go in-depth into each topic. The science is very high-level and mostly uses analogies. I think this is due to it being the Student Edition, but I haven’t read the regular edition to know how different it is. The book doesn’t aim to support arguments for both sides, but instead to lead the reader through the author’s own rationale of why he didn’t previously believe in a creator and what changed his own mind (which I think is okay, as long as that’s what the reader is expecting from it). This book also felt a bit dated to me, and I expect there are new theories and discoveries that would lead to more topics needing to be addressed.

I think this book could be reasonable as an introduction to scientific evidence for faith, but it’s not necessarily in-depth enough to satisfy students who want to have a deeper understanding of these topics. I don’t think it did a convincing job of weighing both sides, but again, maybe the Student Edition leaves a lot out.

I personally was not a fan of the random textboxes with extra information, as they interrupted the flow of reading and made the experience feel very choppy. I think these should have been placed in more logical breaks in the text instead of in the middle of a thought/sentence.

The book was reasonably interesting, quite short, and easy to understand. However, it isn’t the most convincing or helpful one I’ve read on this topic. It just felt much too condensed to be convincing, and this is coming from someone who already believes in a creator.

[Jennifer Clausen-greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great condensed version of Case for the Creator, that focused on questions that teens and young adults might have. I used this book as part of our bible study with our homeschool to get my kids to ask questions and look for the tough answers in the Word. The book did a wonderful job of helping to get my kid to think and generated alot of great conversations in our family.

The Case for a Creator is a quick read that is set up as an interview type of book that is providing us with information that refutes evolution. It has some great reference material for use. I have mixed feelings on how the book is presented. Two of my kids loved the interview type set up, my daughter thought it made it boring and unexciting, while my youngest was happy he knew some of the answers. Some of the sections include Science vs God, Exploring Evolution: A Look at Old Ideas, and Decision Time: Is There a Case for a Creator? The author also gives some terms to know that may not be known to help the student along with understanding the discussion as well as a lot of drawings, timelines and graphs for the visual learner. My eldest son, 18, really liked the For Further Evidence sections that listed other resources available (books, websites) that talk about the same topic in each chapter.

The book is a real quick read, but filled with a lot of information that I think can be used to dive into the full version of The Case of a Creator. This book is easy to recommend for anyone wanting to dig into the Word, but needs some tough questions answered as they go along.


I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The BookLook Review Crew.

[Bob Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough book. I'm out of my league trying to understand some of the scientific trends and terminology and I am not an unbiased reader since I am a committed supporter and believer in creation. Like Strobel's other "The Case for…" books, this is formulaic. Strobel does come across a little insincere by presenting himself as a neutral investigator. I'm not sure that he was quite as neutral as he either thinks or presents himself. Some critics of the book have argued that the majority of experts that he interviewed are not scientists or practicing scientists, but are philosophers and theologians who don't fully grasp the nuances of the science behind the theory of evolution and experiments or models that have been put forward to support evolution. Even with those caveats, though, this is a simple presentation of some of the arguments against both macro-evolution and the related theories about the beginning of the universe and life. Distinct from the content of the book, there are some fairy serious issues with the formatting of the Kindle edition that I read (a review copy): sidebars are inserted into the main text in ways that are somewhat confusing, in at least one case, a sidebar is inserted in the middle of a sentence. Also, some typical navigation features are missing — direct access to individual chapters via the "Go To" menu and the "swipe up" navigation feature of the Paperwhite.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE CASE FOR A CREATOR, Student Edition by Lee Strobel is a little book disputing evolution and recommending further study. Each section gives more reference material. It is researched and presented well, though at times, a bit staged as others have pointed out. Still, I recommend this to anyone honestly searching for truth, regardless of your theology, if for nothing else, as a starting point. And, it’s a very quick read!

[Scott Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a Year 9 teacher, and got my children to read through a chapter of this every week. We met for discussion at the end of the week to ask questions and talk about what we had read. The children (about 13 years) were able to understand most of the key evidences presented, but struggled with some of the detail. As it is designed for a younger audience than the original Case for the Creator, it is not as powerful or convincing, but I think it works well with teenagers.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this boom, and it was nice that he pointed out some facts but I wish it would have included more facts and examples. Also I personally found it hard to read as parts are written like an interview but that was to be expected.

[Lily Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has great points but gets very scientific. It is a bit of a snoozer. Had to read for school twice.

[Ewald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book through Betterworldbooks, and thougt it was The Case for a Creator- the normal edition. Still an interesting read, but I would love to read the bigger edition.

[Chandler Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this for my son who had a lot of questions. It was a great way to generate some really good conversation!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a condensed book of the case for a creator. I understood the mouse trap that Michael behe did a essay on in another book.

[Tyler Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great for anyone looking for an intro into apologetics. Lee uses easy to understand examples and descriptions. I highly recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians alike!

[William Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finished reading The Case for a Creator: A journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Towards God by Lee Strobel.

It's bad. Most apologetics is.

They generally fail in one (or more) of three main places.

The first is language. As a living langauge, English is pretty maleable; it changes, and words can also change with context. Many apologists will use the same word in multiple contexts and pretend that they all have the same weight and meaning. Andy Stanley uses a light switch as an example of faith: You have faith that the lights will come on when you flip that switch. Only if "faith" is a synonym for confidence. And this can be the use of the word when speaking of God-faith, but "faith" usually means so much more than that--you can tell because of what you do when the light doesn't come on. Do you drop to your knees and pray to the switch? Or do you go investigate your lightbulb? You might have "faith" in the light coming on, but this "faith" is different in nature than the "faith" you have that God exists. And yet this book is full of instances of this kind of confused vocabulary.

The second problem most apologists have is a lack of scientific understanding mixed with a dogma that requires not understanding. When they defer to experts, the experts they choose either do not have a doctorate in the field discussed, or the expert works for an organization that requires a dogmatic statement of faith. These statements usually consist of the employee being required to declare (paraphrased): "I will believe the doctrinal interpretation of this organization is true in spite of any knowledge that I have or any evidence I may learn to the contrary." Being wrong is part of doing scince-it's integral to the scientific method. If you have any piece of information that you will never admit is wrong, regardless of any new information, you can't be a scientist. Being wrong is part of the process. That's how we learn new things.

The third problem most apologists have is when they actually consult experts in the field; usually through quoting their work. They always seem to quote it so out of context that they make it say the opposite of what the original context stated. When material is quoted in context, it is always between 40 and 200 years old! As if new research or new information hasn't been discovered, or new papers written on the topic. Science has progressed, and new thiings have been learned, but Strobel still spends a few pages blathering about old things that have been shown to be wrong (by newer scientists...because that's how science works) while ignoring or misunderstanding newer results and conclusions.

Please stop trying to use science to prove the existence of God. Science is based on methodological naturalism--the natural, approached with a method. Stop trying to find the supernatural in it.

So how do you find God? Could your favorite book have an explanation? Sure. Faith isn't just confidence, although the two are rightly synonomous. Faith (in this context) is a belief in that which cannot be proven. If you could prove your belief, you wouldn't need faith to hold it. You could show the evidence and prove it to be true. Faith-beliefs have no such evidence, and even the Bible supports this idea:

Faith is the assurance of what you've hoped for, the knowledge of that which is not seen. (Heb 11:1); We live as Christians by faith, not by knowledge (2 Cor 5:7); We do not look to that which is known, but to that which is unknown (2 Cor 4:18); We were saved in the hope that is the resurrection of the body. What faith does it take to hope to have what you already have? But we hope for what we don't yet have, and we wait patiently (Romans 8 23-25).

[Keith Pruitt]

Back in the fall, during an intensive at church, the subject was creationism versus evolution. During one of the sessions, I recalled that Lee Strobel had written a book The Case for a Creator. I had not previously read or purchased the book. I decided to get the Kindle version and commenced to read the book. This is one of those books that you have to digest. It is a difficult read in that it is replete with scientific information that calls for an intense analysis. So I decided to take it a bite at a time. And I'm thankful, as I have reached the end, that I took the journey. I hear people all the time denouncing faith as anti-science, when the reality is that the more one looks at science, the more one will be moved to believe there is intelligent design as the starting point of our existence. And Lee Strobel, in his very real search for truth, confronts some of the great scientists of our time, to ask the forceful questions, how does your area of science support Darwinism and materism? The conclusion of each scientist, and many others that he quotes from, led him to a rejection of Darwinism as an explanation of first cause, and toward faith in an intelligent creator. The book is a must read for those who really want to look into the origins of the universe using current scientific understanding as a basis for arrival at a conclusion. But may I warn you strongly, as you enter into a reading of this book, be prepared to be in awe.

[Kiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may be familiar with the Lee Strobel “Case for Christ” franchise, especially since the theatrical release of a docudrama about his story recently. I read his original trilogy in college, Case for Christ, Faith, and a Creator, respectively, and I found them to be helpful introductions to the vast field of evidential apologetics. They have their limitations, but they also serve a purpose I think is valuable. There are now kids editions and student, or teen level, editions. I read this student edition because I am looking for ESL friendly apologetical resources and I have to say this adaptation was very well done. I also believe it will be ripe for integrations with our science classes as well. The best aspect of Strobel’s approach is that he demonstrates simply how to move from a question about a controversial topic to a well researched and thought-out position by seeking out expertise and analyzing relevant information. His background in journalism always shines through his work with clear communication and personability. I had the opportunity to meet Strobel once and found him to be pastoral, practical and genuine. The recommended resources at the end of each chapter will take the reader deeper down the well if they are interested. I read the paperback, only 95 pages. I recommend with the understanding that it is just an introduction, even if a helpful one.

[Cameron W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! Had to read this for school this year and I'm very glad that I did.

I implore fellow Christians to read this book who have either been taking other theories under their wing, are being distracted by popular theories today, or are just plain curious about what the information of our world says about God.

About the book....

This book deals with a young Journalist who turned his back on God in favor of the science of evaluation and slowly in his adult years began a scientific investigation of the Bible and to see if Science did infact support God.

His questioning pointed him to different people for answers and with each answered solved it became more clear. The conclusion that science indeed does support God.

Again I highly recommend reading this book! It was awesome seeing how the author began to change his ideas on the world and how God does indeed show Himself in nature.

[Stacy Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Strobel does a wonderful job bringing his Case For a Creator story down to the reading level needed for upper middle school and high school age readers. The book is split into chapters based on scientific content and is clear enough for the curious reader. It takes scientific concepts focused on through the field of evolutionary studies and counters them with facts showing the faults. Lee does not force his faith decision on the reader. He provides facts and allows the reader to decide.

[Stacy Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good overview of the key components of the science vs. evolution argument. Written by a journalist who went searching for the answers. This book has been modified to a upper middle school/high school reading level.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read out loud and discussed with my 8 and 10 year olds. The details of the science was beyond their understanding but explaining what i could in layman's terms or through his comparisons in the book helped them figure it out.

[Cassidy]

Brain=blown

[Jazz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty boring and half of the time I couldn’t understand it

[sadie]

read for biology class!

[JournalsTLY]

A lively book - the author writes from his own experiences and readings about evolution - and how this jives with the story of creation as told in the Bible.

[Josiah Stiffler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lee Strobel's "The Case for a Creator" zoom's in on his high school days when he is in a science class that really challenges him if Science has disproved or discovered God. Down the road, he challenges his thought that God was real and that He was the "Creator of the universe". In typical journalist fashion, he takes a look into science to see if science and God can both be true.


He looks at 4 main scientific areas: Cosmology, Physics, Biochemistry, and Biology. While a lot of the information in this book is really good, he really has talked about Intelligent Design rather than Creation by God. He has taken from evolution (millions of years and Big Bang) and used that as the basis for his study, which is really cool because the theory of evolution can be turned into a theory of creationism.


Because of this, I have a hard time recommending this book to a student who is still trying to figure things out for him/herself. Such as I, it would be okay for a student that has more knowledge of evolution vs creation as it has a good deal of information about science and God.

[Sydney Sarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was very insightful

[Rachel Frazee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just started reading...