The Case for a Creator

By: Lee Strobel

Narrated by: Lee Strobel

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover the astonishing evidence for intelligent design in this New York Times best-selling book by award-winning journalist Lee Strobel.

"My road to atheism was paved by science...but, ironically, so was my later journey to God," Strobel says.

During his academic years, Lee Strobel became convinced that God was obsolete, a belief that colored his journalism career. Science had made the idea of a creator irrelevant - or so Strobel thought.

But today science points in a different direction. A diverse and impressive body of research has increasingly supported the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. At the same time, Darwinism has faltered in the face of concrete facts and hard reason. Has science discovered God? At the very least, it's giving faith an immense boost, as new findings emerge about the incredible complexity of our universe.

Join Strobel as he reexamines the theories that once led him away from God. Through his compelling and highly readable account, you'll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness that present compelling evidence in The Case for a Creator.

Also available: The Case for a Creator small group video study and study guide, Spanish edition, kids' edition, student edition, and more.

Suggested reading, study guide, and end notes are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2004 Lee Strobel (P)2004 Zondervan Publishing

Critic reviews

"This solid introduction to the most important topics in origins debates is highly accessible and packs a good argumentative punch." (Publishers Weekly)

Very good, but needs to explain Genesis better.

As a Christian, I found the scientific information in this book very fascinating. It had many things I was aware of, and a lot of more recent scientific discoveries. It is just impossible to believe in evolution. I wish the author would have gone into more detail about creation as spelled out in the book of Genesis. Primarily more information regarding the age of the earth, as there is a lot of debate surrounding that subject. The website Answers in Genesis, by Ken Ham, does a really good job of explaining a lot of this which I wish the author of this book would have addressed, or even interviewed Ken Ham.

From a Skeptic

The arguments in this book are surprisingly well supported and extremely thought-provoking. I have been very closed-minded about this topic for the past few years. Recently I came to this realization and wanted to hear some objective arguments about the case for a creator. I think I found the right book. The narrator does a great job reading with enthusiasm as well. I would highly recommend this book for anyone with an open mind toward learning more about the scientific case for something more to life.

Chapters Don't Line Up

The chapters of the audio book don't align with the chapters of the actual text. This strikes me as lazy post production work.

Great material, well read by the author.

Compelling

I am one who is in constant search of wisdom, knowledge, and truth. This book presented scientific facts and discoveries that I was unfamiliar with. I appreciate very much that the book does not demand an immediate decision but rather gives you the option to arrive at your own conclusion based on the information provided. This book is truly compelling.

This is a must read.

Great book for someone looking to clarify the intertwined relationship between faith and science. A caveat though. It is heavy on the science and philosophy so it is not for the novice in science.

Believe

After listening to this Audio book, you would need more blind faith to be an atheist then to believe in the creator. Now its time to know the creator personally. You can get a head start by listening to or reading The Case for Christ also by Lee Strobel

The First Audible Book I Actually Finished

I have bought a few audible books over the years, but this was the first one interesting enough and narrated well enough to keep me engaged and coming back.

As a science geek, I was impressed. As a person of faith, I was pleasantly surprised.

Case closed...or opened?

Don't hesitate to purchase this book. Strobel's questions & answers, interviews and overall approach is top shelf. The concepts/ideas dealt with in this book are a great index and introduction to many of the established sciences, pointing towards identifying a transcendent creator as the causal agent for humanity. What could be more applicable to your life than coming to know who God is? If you have struggled with faith issues based on evolution, cosmology, biology, chemistry, philosophy, etc...this book is worth the read. I can think of no greater crime to the "self" than to not explore the information that is available to us today in favor of a personal transcendent creator. Reading this book is a great start on a journey towards learning who we are and how God has finely crafted our universe for the benefit of humanity.

Excellent Summary of Apologetics

Here is a book by one of my favorite authors who does his customary, excellent job presenting the facts in support of the Biblical account of creation. He does not fall into the trap of "young Earth" creationism, but acknowledges that God cared enough to create a world that was perfect for human life, even though it took Him billions of years to prepare stars with just the right materials to sustain carbon-based life forms (i.e. all the living creatures including us). There are books that treat this subject in more depth, but Lee Strobel's style of presentation makes it accessible even to the open-minded agnostic. I would highly recommend it.

Alternate title: The Case for Intelligent Design

What did you love best about The Case for a Creator?

I really enjoy creation/evolution topics. I consider "science" in the noun form as one of my hobbies, and as a Christian I find great enjoyment analyzing creationist and evolutionist arguements.

What other book might you compare The Case for a Creator to and why?

I can't really think of book to compare The Case for a Creator to; however I would be willing to say that it serves as a great transcript to the Discovery Institute's "Unlocking the Mysteries of Life" and "Privileged Planet" videos.

Which scene was your favorite?

I do not have a strong background in physics, so the discussions on astronomy and cosmology was pretty fascinating. My strength is in biology and life sciences and there were minor errors which I found distracting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really - I have a great familiarity with creationist topics, so I already know what to expect.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoy apologetic reads and am quite aware of the ID movement; however I didn't know that Strobel's book was ID in disguise, which didn't disappoint or stop me from finishing the book.

Overall, I think the ID movement has been quite aggressive in trying to work their way into the classrooms, almost as 'cloaked creationism.' I have to say that my only complaint with ID is that they refuse to call it for what it is: the scientific search for God's presence within natural systems. Atheists and the like get wound up with ID for this very reason, in my opinion.

The good aspects of "Case for a Creator" was how Strobel brought in ID proponents found in various disciplines, such as astrology, biology, and cosmology. He basically interviewed the cast from the Discovery Institute's pro-ID/anti-evolution films "Unlocking the Mysteries of Life" from 2002, as well as "The Privileged Planet" released in 2004.

Before moving on to the parts of the book that I had issues with, I need to preface that I have a strong background in biology. The biological features of ID are interesting to me; however I do my best to be skeptical (not in an apologetic sense, due to the negative connotations that the word carries) and seek out information from the scientific community on my own.

Now for the weaker aspects of "Case for a Creator":
1. Michael Behe. I regard Michael Behe as probably the 'black sheep' of the ID movement. He was bold enough to promote his ideas of 'irreducibly complex' biological systems; however his ideas do not stand up in the scientific community.

The best example of illustrating the scientific community is to think of medicine. Medical doctors must complete exhaustive research before publishing to the community where the research is reviewed by peers in the community. Upon peer review, the article can be submitted for corrections or amendments and then published at large in scientific journals. Behe is a highly educated individual and knows how the peer review system works. Unfortunately (for Behe), his idea of irreducible complexity has not been able to withstand peer review or publication in any scientific journal. Matter-of-fact, in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, a judge ruled that irreducible complexity is not science (making it pseudoscience). I don't know if it's to save face or what, but Behe will not back down from his idea or even attempt to modify his idea that would withstand peer review and be recognized within the community.

2. Seeded questions. Some of Strobel's questions seemed a little too coincidental and planted. For example, one of Behe's most popular examples of irreducible complexity is the blood clotting mechanism. Strobel happened to have a band aid on his finger to conveniently allow Behe to illustrate his point of the clotting mechanism.

3. Minor, but critical errors. At one point when, I believe when Strobel is interviewing Stephen Meyer or it might have been Jonathan Wells, Strobel references 'ribosomal DNA' which is not used in the correct context. The point that Strobel was trying to make was the structure of phylogentic trees. Carl Woese has recognized a means to construct phylogentic trees among species using rRNA, not rDNA. This seems to be only a minor typo; however there is a big difference in functionality between rDNA and rRNA and have different definitions to a biologist.

Another error was when Behe referred to the tail of a sperm cell as 'cilia' when in-fact it is more commonly recognized as flagellum. Again, not major but enough to make a biologist cringe.

4. Case for Consciousness. In the final section, Strobel interviewed a specialist to discuss consciousness and self awareness. Part of me felt like this section wasn't really needed and as far as I can tell has never been a big part of ID. The person interviewed for consciousness went on to say that because we experience feelings and such, then it must be tied to a soul. That train of thought went on to discuss how animals have souls as well, but since they were not made in the image of God then their soul is not eternal. Once the animal dies, then their soul ends as well; however humans made in the image of God will have an eternal soul that lives on. Strobel quickly moves on, but that point did not sit well with me.

5. Geologic Time. The ID platform tends to stretch across Young to Old Earth Creationist, so for I guess for this reason Strobel chose not to address geologic time. I think this is an interesting debate, even among creationists, so I was a little disappointed he did not go into geology. He did reference millions/billions of years when discussing fossils and cosmology & astrology, but he steered away from the issue of time itself.

6. Archaeopteryx. In his interview with Jonathan Wells, Strobel has him go into details regarding the Acrchaeopteryx. My primary issue with Wells is that he described the ancient transitional fossil as a "bird with modern feathers." It is widely accepted by people who dedicate their lives to understanding birds and reptiles that if anything Archaeopteryx is more reptile than bird. I think it's dangerous for Wells to call Archaeopteryx a reptile because of the features shared between both classes. The heavy/solid bone structure, body plan, teeth, etc all point to it being more reptile in nature than birds. Even today these fossils are hotly debated; however I'm not convinced that Archaeopteryx is a bird with modern feathers.

Altogether, "Case for a Creator" was a good summary for ID and as the title suggests it was "for" a Creator and not "against." I think it's important for people to know both sides of any story, so I would be careful before using ID arguments to go and pick a fight with an atheist.

Pros: great summary of the ID movement capturing everything from the tiniest atoms within a cell to the most distant stars of the universe.
Cons: did not need the chapter on consciousness and I wish ID would drop the irreducible complexity argument.
Bottom line: good read for anyone interested in Creationism/Evolution topics. Maybe one day we'll all be friends and realize that in most cases perspective and understanding can be governed by personal belief.