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Movie:		4.0
Picture:		5.0
Sound:		5.0
Extras:		5.0
Score:		5.0

Director(s):	Lad Allen • Michael Eaton • Timothy Eaton
Writer(s):	W. Peter Allen, Timothy Eaton
Starring:	Lee Strobel
Genre:	Documentary
Website:	http://www.leestrobel.com
Release Date:	August 25, 2009
Rated:	NR

List Price:	DVD - $24.98
Amazon:

The world of modern evangelical media is a diverse one, with many subtle nuances and differences of opinion providing surprisingly strong distinctions between the major figures of the movement. Lee Strobel (a former editor for the Chicago Tribune) is a Christian apologetic, a term applied to those who seek to prove God’s existence through rational thought, science, and other forms of verifiable evidence. Strobel initially sought to determine Christ’s divinity in the early 1980s, a process that led to his ultimate conversion from atheism; over twenty years later, he has written over twenty books and produced numerous DVDs on the subject of Christ’s divinity, many of them bestsellers. This particular set collects three of his DVDs: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator. Though there are subtle differences between all of the programs, they each contain a great deal of the same information, and contain the same basic flaws: they provide more emotional appeals for Christianity than rational ones, serving more to reinforce already existing beliefs than to bring wayward sheep into the fold.

At the center of each film is Strobel himself, going over in minute detail the circumstances that led him to convert to Christianity, in a story that is repeated in all three DVDs. Strobel’s wife, apparently, was the one who convinced him to reconsider the claims of Christ, which prompted him to (as a journalist, he repeatedly intones) research the first-hand evidence involving the life of Christ. This conversion from atheism to Christianity forms the basis of Strobel’s media identity (just look at his ‘about me’ page on his website), as well as the narrative crux of each of these programs. Each of them open up with some nagging questions that any rational person could be expected to ask, accompanied by ominous music, black and white photography, and stories that make doubt seem like the only sane response to the world that we live in (the story of Charles Templeton, an evangelist who might have been the most important Christian figure of the twentieth century only to turn away when he wasn’t certain he believed anymore, is particularly compelling). Although all three are marred by certain directorial choices (there is a great deal of unnecessary b-roll footage here), these sequences do provide an inviting context for discussing Christianity. The focus here is squarely on the positive aspects of belief and what they have done for people’s lives, with nary a glimpse of the ‘hellfire and brimstone’ talk that so many have come to associate with Christianity. If that focus is too narrowly placed on Strobel’s own experiences, it is perhaps forgivable.

Less compelling, however, are the ways that Strobel chooses to answer those questions that he so boldly asks. There is a nearly endless series of talking heads in each of these programs, and while they are respectable sources (most of them are professors from Biola and Liberty universities), they really provide only more of the same: talking. One gets the feeling that most of these theologians and scholars could talk their way out of nearly any theological quandary, but at the end of the day, their answers are about as persuasive as those of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Strobel recognizes this, and counterbalances these answers with moving stories of people who have undergone tragedies that would cause most to renounce their belief in any sort of a benevolent creator, but have somehow managed to retain their faith (this is especially true in The Case for Faith for DVD). The Case for a Creator is not much more compelling, as the scientific reasoning for divine involvement doesn’t go much further than poking holes in Darwin’s theories, and providing that scientific evidence would allow for a creator. While these stories and theories may provide engagement for those already faithful, they would not be very satisfying for those in the position that Strobel himself was once apparently in. Indeed, it’s entirely possible that they would feel more out of the fold than ever before.

DVD Bonus Features

The Case for Christ contains “Prophecies of the Passion” and “The Uniqueness of Jesus” featurette faith stories of scholars interviewed for the film, and additional study resources from Lee Strobel. The Case For Faith contains a “Dealing with Doubt” featurette, “The Least of These”, original music, and additional study resources. The Case for a Creator contains “The Machinery of Life”, “How Did Life Begin?”, and “Questions and Answers About Science and God”.