Book Review: The Case For Miracles by Lee Strobel

Lee Strobel, a former award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty books. Formerly a teacher of law at Roosevelt University and currently a professor of Christian Thought at Houston Baptist University, this former atheist is now well-known for his award-winning books arguing the case for various aspects of Christianity. Strobel brings his normal investigative journalistic background to this project as well. His winsome prose style is an enjoyable vehicle by which the reader can consider a topic (Miracles) that can otherwise tend toward the overly philosophical and technical.

The book begins with some intriguing and almost overwhelming case studies of potential miracle claims. The reader will no doubt be made to think and consider anew why such claims should at least be evaluated first before being dismissed out of hand. Considering such claims is exactly what Lee Strobel then begins to do through the rest of his book. He introduces his work with some helpful definitions and clarifications as well as with helpful anecdotes on the topic. He also cites an interesting study of medical doctors in the Western world who are open or positive toward the existence of miracles and the suprernatural because of things they have witnessed in the medical field.

The book is then split into several sections, each entailing an interview with a scholar or noted person who has something to offer in this discussion. The first stop was at Skeptic magazine with Michael Shermer the editor. Well known for his skepticism, Shermer and Strobel consider the objections to the miraculous as well as what would be considered valid evidence for the miraculous. Any reader familiar with the work of Shermer will not be surprised at his candor and bluntness in this chapter. They may, however, be surprised at where the conversation goes from time to time and some interesting statements made by Shermer in the discussion. Shermer seems to accomplish the task that Strobel asks of him: presenting the best arguments against the miraculous and supernatural.

After setting up the case against the miraculous, Strobel then seeks to investigate the arguments against the supernatural one by one. His first stop is to interview Craig Keener, the theologian and academic who wrote a two volume work on Miracles; and to give dozens of examples that meet stringent criteria put forth by many skeptics. No doubt, the reader will be intrigued by the background and conversation of this scholar. He has a truly interesting story of turning from Atheism to Christianity and has devoted several decades to investigating the evidence for various Christian claims. During the course of their conversation, Keener gives several critiques of Hume’s argument against miracles that Shermer and others have found so persuasive. He also gives several examples of healings that have excellent medical attestation and are inexplicable by nature. These examples are just a handful of the hundreds he has meticulously documented. It may be of interest to the reader to know that Keener’s work on miracles has yet to be refuted, interacted with on a deep level by skeptics or substantively argued against. This makes his arguments doubly intriguing.

Strobel’s next interview is with Dr. Candy Gunther Brown at Indiana University. These chapters deal specifically with the case studies that have tried to scientifically document if prayer for physical healing has any empirical support. Particularly at issue is a massive study that Shermer had referenced as proving that there was no noticeable difference in those patients that were prayed for versus those who were not. However, as Dr. Brown helpfully explains, the study in question did not have any prayer by Christians. So the study is not only skewed, but it certainly has nothing to say about Christian prayer and whether God chooses to miraculously heal through that means. Additionally, several other studies are cited by Dr. Brown that will give the reader considerable pause. It seems there is empirical evidence from scientifically run studies about the efficacy of Christian prayer for healing.

The next interview, with missionary Tom Doyle, deals with the modern day claims of dreams and visions in many parts of the world. Of course, anyone who has read a Bible will be familiar with the fact that at times God chose to communicate to people through dreams and visions in Biblical times. But is this happening today? It seems from the work of Tom Doyle and others that the answer is yes. Or at least that there are thousands of significant experiences of this sort which are difficult to explain by any natural means.

Dr. Michael Strauss is the next expert whose arguments are considered. This conversation ranges from the nature of belief to the limitation of natural laws to explain certain things in the universe. There are also philosophical arguments considered such as the cosmological argument. The skeptical objections are dealt with and Hume’s arguments once again come to the surface but are shown to be severely lacking.

For the Christian, the resurrection is central. Of course, that means that there is a miracle claim right at the very heart of Christianity. J. Warner Wallace the former cold-case homicide investigator turned Christian apologist is then interviewed about this central claim of Christianity. With both a fascinating personal story as well as some interesting arguments for consideration, the reader will be intrigued by the content of these chapters.

The final two individuals interviewed speak of two important elements when considering the miraculous. The theologian Roger E. Olson speaks to the reality that many Christians in the Western world seem to be reluctant to believe that God can still perform miracles today even if they believe He has done so in past history. For any Christian reader, this chapter gives significant food for thought. But the final interview is perhaps the most personal. Dr. Douglas Groothuis is interviewed about his personal journey with the sickness of his wife. As a Christian apologist who believes that God can and still does heal today, Groothuis considers the very real objection as to why God does not heal some individuals if He is still in the miracle working business today. One will find this deeply open interview to reveal a difficult but honest evaluation of the horrible pain some people deal with in this world.

The book then considers the arguments that have been presented and draws some conclusions based on the evidence. Readers will appreciate the overall feel of this book as it reads more like a story-telling investigation than an academic consideration of a difficult topic. The reader is easily born along through the story and the many pieces of evidence along the way. This book seems to be the new standard for an accessible and popular-level consideration of miracles (as opposed to the more academic and more technical consideration of Craig Keener mentioned above). Regardless of the starting assumptions readers bring to this book, all are guaranteed to be given food for thought and compelling reasons to consider what is a new thought for many – that the evidence suggests miracles are still very much a possibility today.