A Case For Jesus Christ - Lee Strobel | PBD #770

**Patrick Bet-David** (0:00)
Who killed Jesus Christ?

**Lee Strobel** (0:03)
Give me a long weekend, and I can disprove the resurrection. Dead people don't come back to life, that just doesn't happen. I was an atheist, I lived a very immoral, drunken, profane, narcissistic, self-destructive, in many ways, kind of life. My wife comes up to me one day and gives me the worst news any atheist husband could get. She said, I decided to become a Christian. And honestly, first word through my mind, divorce.
And I used my journalism training, my legal training. It took me two years, unequivocally, that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof, which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.

**Patrick Bet-David** (0:44)
Who is benefiting the most from seeing this divide taking place today, both theologically, politically, specifically on social media in America? Who benefits the most?

**Lee Strobel** (0:53)
He certainly sparked something on these college campuses. He had the courage to go in. He lost his life because he did. I've been working with the FBI for the last couple of weeks because someone's trying to kill me because of the stands I take. And there was a credible threat on my life.

**Patrick Bet-David** (1:49)
All right, Lee Strobel, great to have you here.

**Lee Strobel** (1:50)
Thank you, wonderful to be here.

**Patrick Bet-David** (1:51)
I've been looking forward to having you for a long time. I have an interesting story with you. Oh yeah, I like to think about it. Before we get into it, I think it's important for the audience to know for those who don't, you've sold nearly 20 million copies of your books, 40 plus books, the big one being Case For Christ, and Case For Church. There's a bunch of them, and you have a new one that came out soon, The Supernatural, which we'll get into as well. And it's funny, because two weeks ago, I had Scott Galloway on. I don't know if you know who he is, Professor Scott Galloway.
You know, a very good voice on the liberal side who talks about fatherhood. Very successful business guy. And while we're talking, I said, so tell me about your relationship with God and faith. He said, look, I wish I had faith. I don't. I said, well, look, normally when I talk to somebody who is either a super logical thinker, and maybe their philosophy or maybe their math or maybe hardcore logic, I recommend two books to them. And I recommended those two books to them. I said, number one, you got to read Mere Christianity by CS. Lewis, which, by the way, Shadowlands, phenomenal. I don't know if you've seen it or not, great, Anthony Hopkins. I said, the second book you got to read is Case For Christ by Lee Strobel. Yes. And my story is back in 2002, 2003, when I got out of the military, I was an atheist for 25 years of my life. I lived in Iran, so it's kind of tough to be a Christian when you're in Iran, war, parents get a divorce. And then I'm doing Bible study in Pasadena every other Friday night from 6 p.m. to 2 o'clock in the morning. Wow. And your stuff would come up all the time. And then that led me to studying the topics, and we're doing these Bible studies and all this stuff. Anyways, but now we are sitting down talking to you. Such a great conversation. I got a lot of questions for you.

**Lee Strobel** (3:37)
Yeah, that's encouraging.

**Patrick Bet-David** (3:38)
Yes, I got a lot of questions for you. But I want to start off with, today a lot is going on in the world. We have the war going on. We have data that's coming out with what churches are growing, which ones are not. There are challenges when you talk to somebody about introducing them to going back to church. They'll go back to a time where there was a massive crisis at a megachurch. They were a part of it. There was a big falling out. I'll never trust the church again. I'll never trust the pastor again. I experienced that myself as well. I know you were part of one.
The pastor you were part of was one I used to study stuff very closely. He had very, very good content. We'll talk about that as well. But the opening question I want to start off with you. You read it right in the book, Case For Christ. Who killed Jesus Christ?

**Lee Strobel** (4:24)
You did. I did. We did. Ultimately, He died because He paid for the sins of humankind. He atoned for our sins. He paid the penalty we deserve for the sins that we've committed so that we could be given a free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. So when it comes right down to it, you and I are the ones who killed Jesus. Yeah.