From Booklist
In this extended tract, Strobel effectively cites instances of tragedy and depravity from the years he was a hard-bitten, atheistic Chicago Tribune reporter. He is now a Christian and a teaching pastor at that paragon of contemporary congregation-building success, Willow Creek Community Church, and he doesn't let the anecdotes distract from his main thrust: presenting Christian principles programmatically, in the manner of self-improvement how-to's on health, psychology, and business development. Besides the "discoveries" announced by the chapter titles ("There's Freedom in Forgiving Your Enemies," "A Dose of Doubt May Strengthen Your Faith," "Jesus Is the Only Path to God," and other propositions that arise out of basic Christian doctrine), in several chapters, Strobel suggests smaller programs for integrating the discoveries into personal behavior and belief. He is best when he sticks to matters of the spirit and interpersonal relations and to the Bible, Willow Creek's ministry, and other evangelical writers for authority. When he goes afield in the chapter on sexual morality to matters of criminology and psychology, he fails to adequately bolster his assertions with citations from those disciplines. Most winningly, however, he completely avoids the political advocacy that turns so many away from similar proselytizing books. Ray Olson


Book Description
Lee Strobel presents thirteen phenomenal claims by God that can change the entire trajectory of your life and revolutionize your attitudes, your character, and your relationships.


From the Publisher
A former spiritual skeptic explores 13 of Gods phenomenal claims that can transform any life.


From the Author
Lee Strobel, with a Master of Studies in Law degree from Yale, was an award-winning journalist for 13 years at the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers. He was a spiritual skeptic until 1981. Today he serves as teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago. He is the best-selling author of Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary, What Jesus Would Say, and The Case for Christ


From the Back Cover
Take the Bible seriously and you'll discover that God makes some pretty amazing claims about you -- and about what he wants to do in your life. God's Outrageous Claims examines important assertions that can transform your life into an adventure of faith, growth, and lasting fulfillment. Discover how to grow in virtue, relate to others with authenticity, and make a real difference in the midst of a culture that's unraveling at the seams. God's Outrageous Claims is your guide to an exciting and challenging spiritual journey that can change you and your world profoundly.


About the Author
Lee Strobel, educated at Yale Law School, was the award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and a spiritual skeptic until 1981. He wrote the Gold Medallion-winning books The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith. A former teaching pastor at two of America’s largest churches, he and his wife live in California.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One
Outrageous Claim #1
Theres Freedom in Forgiving Your Enemies
Associated Press reporter Terry Anderson was held hostage in Lebanon for nearly seven years. He was chained to a wall in a filthy, spider-infested cell. He suffered through sickness. He endured mental torture. He longed for his family. He was ground down by the dull ache of incessant boredom.
Through it all, he was given one book the Bible and as he devoured it in a search for words of hope, he came across what appeared to be outrageous words of hopeless navet: You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy, Jesus told a crowd. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.1
Can you imagine how outlandish that command must have seemed to Anderson after spending 2,455 mind-numbing days in cruel captivity? Love whom? Pray for whom? Show kindness toward those who brutalized me? Exhibit compassion toward those who callously extended none to me? Is Jesus a cosmic comedian or merely a starry-eyed idealist?
Finally Anderson was released on December 4, 1991. Journalists clustered around and peppered him with questions. They wanted to know what his ordeal had been like. They wanted to know his plans for the future. But then one reporter called out the question that stopped Anderson in his tracks: Can you forgive your captors? What an easy question to pose in the abstract; what a profound issue to ponder honestly amid the grim reality of harsh injustice.
Anderson paused. Before the words of his response could come out of his mouth, the Lords Prayer coursed through his mind: Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.2
Then this victim of undeserved suffering spoke. Yes, he replied, as a Christian, I am required to forgive no matter how hard it may be.3
Often it is hard. So hard, in fact, that Jesus decree to love and pray for our opponents is regarded as one of the most breathtaking and gut-wrenching challenges of his entire Sermon on the Mount, a speech renowned for its outrageous claims. There was no record of any other spiritual leader ever having articulated such a clear-cut, unambiguous command for people to express compassion to those who are actively working against their best interests.
Jesus has done it again!
But wait. Hold on a moment. Maybe this command isnt so outlandish after all. Perhaps its actually a prescription that benefits both those who forgive and those who are forgiven. Maybe there are a host of benefits that come with fostering an atmosphere of grace rather than an environment of maliciousness.
The truth is, Gods wisdom works. Choosing to forgive instead of hate can turn out to be one of our greatest blessings in disguise if we understand how this extraordinary principle works.
The Rivals around Us
Love my enemies? I dont have any enemies do you? Nobody has ever shoved a machine gun under my chin and herded me into a dank cell for seven years. Nobody has ever brutalized me the way Terry Anderson was abused.
But even in the civilized United States, we do have enemies. They may not be armed terrorists, but to one degree or another we all have adversaries or opponents toward whom we feel animosity.
He may be the owner of a competing business whos stealing your best customers, and if youre honest, youll admit that you hate him for putting your livelihood in jeopardy. She may be a colleague whos fighting against you all too successfully for bonuses and advancement. He may be the midlevel executive whos firmly entrenched above you in the corporate structure, and you resent him because hes blocking your way to the top.
If youre management, your adversary may be the union, or vice versa. Your enemy might be the people who hold opposing views on abortion or homosexuality, and youve gone beyond disagreeing with their opinions to despising them as people. It might be a teacher who refuses to cut you any slack. Or the girlfriend who broke your heart. Or the father who stunted your self-esteem. Or a former friend who broke your confidence and spilled your secrets to the world. Or the ex-spouse who trashed your marriage. Or the recalcitrant employee who just wont get on board with your policies. Or the classmate whose popularity eclipses yours. Or the colleague who is reaping all the recognition that you deserve.
When I was a journalist at the Chicago Tribune, I had plenty of enemies. They were reporters at the Sun-Times, the Daily News, and the various broadcast stations who would strive to beat me to stories. I felt intense malice toward them because in order for them to succeed, they had to cause me to fail. Even now that Im a pastor although Im terribly embarrassed to admit this I sometimes jealously view others as opponents if they are better received as speakers, writers, or leaders. Such can be the depth of my own sinful pettiness.
We all have rivals. In fact, let me press the issue further by asking you to get specific: Who are the adversaries in your life? What are their names? Actually bring one of their faces into your mind, because I dont want us to stay merely in the realm of the hypothetical. Lets talk about real people, real relationships, real conflict and the road toward real healing.
Whats Love Got to Do with It?
Exactly what do you need to do about that person youve brought into your mind? Its too general just to say that youre supposed to love him or her. Should you stop competing with this individual? Should you become best buddies or golfing partners? Should you go on Caribbean cruises together? Should you treat him or her like a son or daughter?
Jesus was very precise in choosing a word for love that doesnt imply emotion as much as it suggests attitude and action. As difficult as it sounds, hes urging us to have a humble, servant demeanor toward people who are our adversaries. To look for the best in them and offer help as they need it. To have a sense of goodwill and benevolence toward them in spite of their lack of the same toward us. To pray for their welfare and the well-being of their families. Even though we may continue to compete with them, we are to do so fairly and respectfully, not maliciously as if were trying to destroy them.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Take the Bible seriously and you'll discover that God makes some pretty amazing claims about you -- and about what he wants to do in your life. God's Outrageous Claims examines important assertions that can transform your life into an adventure of faith, growth, and lasting fulfillment. Discover how to grow in virtue, relate to others with authenticity, and make a real difference in the midst of a culture that's unraveling at the seams. God's Outrageous Claims is your guide to an exciting and challenging spiritual journey that can change you and your world profoundly.

Author Biography: Lee Strobel, educated at Yale Law School, was the award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and a spiritual skeptic until 1981. He wrote the Gold Medallion-winning books The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith, as well as the new The Case for a Creator. A former teaching pastor at two of America's largest churches, he and his wife live in California.

SYNOPSIS