Post by Rob W. Case on Mar 28, 2018 22:59:14 GMT -6
The Story:
The film begins in 1980 at the Chicago Tribune where journalist Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel) is promoted to legal editor of the paper. To celebrate, Lee, his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen), and his daughter Alison (Haley Rosenwasser) go out for pizza. When his daughter begins choking on a gumball, nobody comes to her aid except a woman by the name of Alfie Davis (L. Scott Caldwell). Shocked and stunned by what just happened, and how close she was to losing her daughter, Leslie thinks of how Alfie was the only person around in the crowded restaurant with the knowledge and the training to save Alison’s life. Deeply appreciative of what she did, she accepts an invitation from Alfie to attend her church. In this, Alison hears Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Community Church and decides to receive Christ as her savior.
When Lee, an atheist, hears about this, he is deeply devastated at the news. As Leslie begins growing in her faith, his heart and his behavior becomes hardened and resistant to the joy she has found in Jesus. And so, in hopes to “break her out of her spell” and “save his marriage,” he starts traveling abroad, and puts his investigative journalism skills to full use (in the office, and out of the office). Lee begins researching; asking skeptical questions, questioning top experts in the fields of science, history, the medical profession, religion, archaeology, philosophy, and psychology all without Leslie’s knowledge, and his disappearance from home is beginning to raise many concerns. And so, as he writes his findings with the intent of disproving the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ, and His resurrection from the dead (the most critical and vital element that faith in him hinges on), He finds that everything he thought that science would disprove is working against him. And so, the facts put him in a position to make a hard decision, one that his marriage, his eternal destination, and the state of his heart hinges on.
My Take:
I have been familiar with Lee Strobel’s testimony for many years, but not to the degree it was depicted in this film. What I didn’t know (that I found fascinating) when I first went to see this movie is that there is an intriguing subplot involving a “gang banger” and a shooting that is attributed to him because, on the surface, it makes sense. What was intriguing is how the truth leading to Jesus Christ is also leading to the truth that sheds light on the situation regarding the gang banger. I will not go any further, but it raised a curiosity that made me want to look into it a little bit further. I really enjoyed this movie because it chronicles how the human heart responds to Jesus Christ and how the facts and the evidence proclaim the truth despite what our hearts are set on believing. It is what makes this film fascinating, and what makes faith in Jesus Christ so revolutionary.
Out of 4 stars, I give “The Case for Christ” 3 and a half.
The movie is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 52 minutes.
To view a trailer for the film, please click on the “Play” button below.
The Case for Christ is currently available to rent or buy on Blu-ray and DVD, and is available on the Netflix streaming service as well as the Pureflix streaming service.
The film begins in 1980 at the Chicago Tribune where journalist Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel) is promoted to legal editor of the paper. To celebrate, Lee, his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen), and his daughter Alison (Haley Rosenwasser) go out for pizza. When his daughter begins choking on a gumball, nobody comes to her aid except a woman by the name of Alfie Davis (L. Scott Caldwell). Shocked and stunned by what just happened, and how close she was to losing her daughter, Leslie thinks of how Alfie was the only person around in the crowded restaurant with the knowledge and the training to save Alison’s life. Deeply appreciative of what she did, she accepts an invitation from Alfie to attend her church. In this, Alison hears Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Community Church and decides to receive Christ as her savior.
When Lee, an atheist, hears about this, he is deeply devastated at the news. As Leslie begins growing in her faith, his heart and his behavior becomes hardened and resistant to the joy she has found in Jesus. And so, in hopes to “break her out of her spell” and “save his marriage,” he starts traveling abroad, and puts his investigative journalism skills to full use (in the office, and out of the office). Lee begins researching; asking skeptical questions, questioning top experts in the fields of science, history, the medical profession, religion, archaeology, philosophy, and psychology all without Leslie’s knowledge, and his disappearance from home is beginning to raise many concerns. And so, as he writes his findings with the intent of disproving the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ, and His resurrection from the dead (the most critical and vital element that faith in him hinges on), He finds that everything he thought that science would disprove is working against him. And so, the facts put him in a position to make a hard decision, one that his marriage, his eternal destination, and the state of his heart hinges on.
My Take:
I have been familiar with Lee Strobel’s testimony for many years, but not to the degree it was depicted in this film. What I didn’t know (that I found fascinating) when I first went to see this movie is that there is an intriguing subplot involving a “gang banger” and a shooting that is attributed to him because, on the surface, it makes sense. What was intriguing is how the truth leading to Jesus Christ is also leading to the truth that sheds light on the situation regarding the gang banger. I will not go any further, but it raised a curiosity that made me want to look into it a little bit further. I really enjoyed this movie because it chronicles how the human heart responds to Jesus Christ and how the facts and the evidence proclaim the truth despite what our hearts are set on believing. It is what makes this film fascinating, and what makes faith in Jesus Christ so revolutionary.
Out of 4 stars, I give “The Case for Christ” 3 and a half.
The movie is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 52 minutes.
To view a trailer for the film, please click on the “Play” button below.
The Case for Christ is currently available to rent or buy on Blu-ray and DVD, and is available on the Netflix streaming service as well as the Pureflix streaming service.
