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a case for christ


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In this section it seems we often end up having religious debates about this or that. So on that note, I'd love to share with you all the book that changed my life forever. A Case for Christ was written by an atheist who decided to put the life of Jesus "on trial". It's full of excellent information. I was never one to leap blindly into a faith "just because" so this book was extremely influencial in my life. The book provides some amazing facts and viewpoints, and asks all of the tough questions. It just blew me away and I'd like to invite any of you to read this book for yourself. If you would like a FREE copy just send me an e-mail at daniel@fullcontactpoker.com and I'll have one sent to your house totally free of charge. I'd especially like to offer this invitation to any atheists that post here. Not to shove it down their throat by any means, but just to give them an educated perspective on why there are so many believers in this country.

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Daniel, I respect you as a poker player (for obvious reasons) . . . but I respect you even more as a person. As a fellow Christian I admire that you are willing to take the time, effort and money to do this.

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Daniel,Out of curiousity, what were your beliefs before reading this book? Have you gone from one extreme to the other? Are you more middle of the road? Just wondering if you will share. Thanks!

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Daniel,Out of curiousity, what were your beliefs before reading this book? Have you gone from one extreme to the other? Are you more middle of the road? Just wondering if you will share. Thanks!
i second that request.thanks for your time.
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I'd especially like to offer this invitation to any atheists that post here. Not to shove it down their throat by any means, but just to give them an educated perspective on why there are so many believers in this country.
Take a look at http://home.earthlink.net/~douglasofcalifo...RIST/0INDEX.HTM. I don't expect it to change your opinion, but it does bring up some good points if you wade through the nitpicking.But anyway, my point here is that there's bigger issues than whether a historical man Jesus can be reasonably proved or not. I think that's for the most part irrelevant. We know Muhammad and Buddha lived but you don't believe their religions were correct... why not? Have you looked into the evidence to their beliefs and found it less credible than Christian beliefs? Do you think they're just as convinced of their religion as you are of yours?If you step back and look at all religions throughout history collectively, how they came to be and for what reasons, you will get a much better picture of what's actually going on.
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If you're talking about Lee Strobel's book, it's really not very well written, nor is it particularly compelling, as it's basically a collection of interviews of Christian eveangellical and apologetics.I don't think anyone's confused why there are so many Christians in this country, it's the easy way out of having to deal with the difficult parts of existance.

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I don't think anyone's confused why there are so many Christians in this country, it's the easy way out of having to deal with the difficult parts of existance.
Wow! That's a very superficial explanation of Christianity... Didn't really expect that from such an intellectual, but hey.... to each their own!I think it's great that Daniel decided to share this and I think, no matter what your beliefs, the world would be a much better place if more lived by the precepts of the Christian faith.
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Wow! That's a very superficial explanation of Christianity... Didn't really expect that from such an intellectual, but hey.... to each their own! I don't think it's superficial at all.I think it's completely accurate and probably fairly frustrating to people who'd prefer that it was so transparent./shrug.

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I'm what most people would call an agnostic. I don't know what to believe. I guess when your parents are two different religions, it makes you question religion more.That being said, I took Daniel up on his offer for this book as I am in information freak. I won't exclude anything. I've read the Bible and its a great book. Arguably the greatest book ever. But thats all it is to me, a great book containing the best story ever imagined.I look forward to reading this book as soon as it arrives. I will let everyone know if I'm a Christian after I'm done. I highly doubt it. I give myself 10 to 1 on that.

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I'm what most people would call an agnostic.  I don't know what to believe.  I guess when your parents are two different religions, it makes you question religion more.That being said, I took Daniel up on his offer for this book as I am in information freak.  I won't exclude anything.  I've read the Bible and its a great book.  Arguably the greatest book ever.  But thats all it is to me, a great book containing the best story ever imagined.I look forward to reading this book as soon as it arrives.  I will let everyone know if I'm a Christian after I'm done.  I highly doubt it.  I give myself 10 to 1 on that.
I look forward to hearing what you think.
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Ok, I received the book from Daniel today. Immediately I noticed on the cover of the book an imprinted gold seal that are usually associated with some type of award the book received. Looking closer at it, I see that it is 'The Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Evangelical Christian Literature'. This immediately sent off warning signs in my head that this may not be what people say it is; an objective look at the history of Jesus Christ. This could be just another piece of progaganda put out by the neo-conservative christian movement. However, I am still going to read it and with an open mind. I will give a report of my take on the book as soon as I am finished.Oh, and thanks for the book Daniel!

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Ok, I received the book from Daniel today. Immediately I noticed on the cover of the book an imprinted gold seal that are usually associated with some type of award the book received. Looking closer at it, I see that it is 'The Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Evangelical Christian Literature'. This immediately sent off warning signs in my head that this may not be what people say it is; an objective look at the history of Jesus Christ. This could be just another piece of progaganda put out by the neo-conservative christian movement. However, I am still going to read it and with an open mind. I will give a report of my take on the book as soon as I am finished.Oh, and thanks for the book Daniel!
ditto
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i bought the book at powells this weekend (used @ 3.99) and have started into it. just for the sake of balanced discussion; i did find this:http://www.bidstrup.com/apologetics.htmbut i won't put stock into it until i've completed the book. my still biggest question is there is nothing that verifies that mr strobel was an atheist at the beginning of his journey.anyway; kudos to daniel for taking his personal time and money to distribute something that he found to be very important.

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I received mine from Amazon today. It did not have the "gold seal" on it. I've read the first few pages and my interest is piqued.Nikki

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Ok, so I'm thru the first two chapters. I'm being careful and reading very slowly and carefully and making notes as I go along.Without going into detail just yet, after reading the first two chapters, I get a sense that this book wasn't at all written by a skeptic or an athiest. This comes across more as someone who has already made his decision and it is clearly biased towards that decision. It even says at one point that he is retracing his steps. So, however bipartisan he is trying to be, it is clearly in the tone of a theist.So far, he seems to be focusing on eyewitness testimony in order to make proofs of his assumptions. This is highly flawed as eyewitness testimony is notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. In a court case, if all they have is eyewitness testimony for a crime, it usually won't even get past the grand jury because of a lack of evidence.Needless to say, after two chapters, I'm not at all impressed.

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How much does this cost?
Email Daniel and he'll send you one for free. I mean, how can you pass up FREE?Well, I guess it's actually Travis thats sending them. But whatever. It still says Daniel on the return address.
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I want to start by saying (as this subject is touchy), that I am a baptized and confirmed Lutheran. However, I choose not to follow or practice any religion. In fact I just stay away from them all, especially in conversation.I did however want to say that I once recieved a couple books from a teacher I had in high school (him and I were involved in many fairly friendly discussions of christianity, as he went to a Wesleyan university, and I had been disillusioned after the b.s. that went on at my church). Now, I have heard from many people that both books are great (one is I believe a double book by some famous fiction author, and I guess they have christian overtones), but I couldn't get through what I believe was A Case for Christ. I still have it at my dad's house somewhere, as I couldn't bring myself to get rid of something that was truly thoughtful and meant to help me. It just seemed like another piece of propoganda. Someone who has studied Socrates should write a similar book. Especially if they can write in the same style as Plato. Plato's stories about Socrates were easy to read, and the Socratic method is by far the best way to bring someone else to the conclusion you think they should come to. By the way, if anyone is interested in those books -- or at least in what they are, let me know. I'll make a trip up to my dad's at some point.

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I think it's great that Daniel decided to share this and I think' date=' no matter what your beliefs' date=' the world would be a much better place if more lived by the precepts of the Christian faith.[/quote'']I find the Christian faith is fundementally different from my believes (and my religion though I am non practising). The idea that good is rewarded and bad is punished seems very simplistic and somewhat contrived. One should good for the sake of good without want of reward or fear of punishment. Also the idea of sending evil doers to hell for all eternity seems a little less than compassionate to me (yes I am a sap who believes in rehabilitation).I do believe Jesus existed and I do believe he taught many correct and profound things. I also believe a lot of what he though was derived from Judaism which was derived from Zoroastriansim much of which (and here there is no real literature) was derived from ancient Egyptian religions with a varying degree of Sumerian influence. I also know that from the moment of Jesus's death his teachings have been twisted and bastardized. Oh well, I guess the important thing is that in the end people do help one another and act charitably, even if some religions reduce it to just an "act" for the benefit of the one doing it.
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Wow! That's a very superficial explanation of Christianity... Didn't really expect that from such an intellectual, but hey.... to each their own! I don't think it's superficial at all.I think it's completely accurate and probably fairly frustrating to people who'd prefer that it was so transparent./shrug.
I think you should respect the fact that he/she is offering an honest opinion, even if it is contradictory to DN's opinion. After all, religion is the EPITOME of opinion. Very little of any religion is concretely based. However, one's personal beliefs in religion are such a central part of one's being, that it is impossible to overlook or insult ANYONE's opinion credibly... no matter how far-fetched they may seem to someone else. Also, just as your beliefs are strongly ingrained, it is just and rightful to respect another's belief that is just as strongly ingrained.I am glad you shared your opinion.
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I think you should respect the fact that he/she is offering an honest opinion, even if it is contradictory to DN's opinion. After all, religion is the EPITOME of opinion. Very little of any religion is concretely based. However, one's personal beliefs in religion are such a central part of one's being, that it is impossible to overlook or insult ANYONE's opinion credibly... no matter how far-fetched they may seem to someone else. Also, just as your beliefs are strongly ingrained, it is just and rightful to respect another's belief that is just as strongly ingrained.I am glad you shared your opinion.
While I appreciate the sentiment drocpdp the statement is wrong. Offcourse some religions and deeply held, ingrained even, personal beliefs are wrong. The Nazi's had a state sponsored religion. There are religions that practise human sacrifice. Indeed some (extremely intelligent) people sincerely believe that it is their duty to God to strap bombs to themselves and blow themselves up in publc places or crash planes into buildings.As much as one should respect other beliefs one also has a duty to be critical of their own and other beliefs and put them on a sound scientific/philospohical footing. If someone cannot justify am opinion, position or argument to a suitable standard they shouldn't waste other peoples time by putting it forward in the first place.
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I think you should respect the fact that he/she is offering an honest opinion, even if it is contradictory to DN's opinion. After all, religion is the EPITOME of opinion. Very little of any religion is concretely based. However, one's personal beliefs in religion are such a central part of one's being, that it is impossible to overlook or insult ANYONE's opinion credibly... no matter how far-fetched they may seem to someone else. Also, just as your beliefs are strongly ingrained, it is just and rightful to respect another's belief that is just as strongly ingrained.I am glad you shared your opinion.
While I appreciate the sentiment drocpdp the statement is wrong. Offcourse some religions and deeply held, ingrained even, personal beliefs are wrong. The censored's had a state sponsored religion. There are religions that practise human sacrifice. Indeed some (extremely intelligent) people sincerely believe that it is their duty to God to strap bombs to themselves and blow themselves up in publc places or crash planes into buildings.As much as one should respect other beliefs one also has a duty to be critical of their own and other beliefs and put them on a sound scientific/philospohical footing. If someone cannot justify am opinion, position or argument to a suitable standard they shouldn't waste other peoples time by putting it forward in the first place.
Of course some methods of expressing an opinion are more extreme than others. However you are using extreme cases as evidence that are not even close in similarity to the methodology Mr. Negreanu utilizes in spreading his "message." I would hardly call a forum post as dangerous and harmful to other humans. And the free book he mails out does not have a bomb attached to it for those who forsake its contents. I believe Mr. Negreanu believes his religion is only beneficial to man, and expresses and shares these beliefs out of sheer good will.I think you are confusing those who abuse their freedoms with those who express it within the confines of common sense and societal norms. Also, regarding your needs for justification, I will assume this is an opinion. Christianity, one of the most widely followed religions, preaches the ressurrection of a man-God. A human being part man and part God. This belief can hardly be scientifically proven. But then again, science is a part of our world. If one is to truly believe in a world higher than this, science would have no bearing. THe universal "heaven" requires no need for this sort of thing, and is instead composed of happiness, joy, etc.Universally, religion is probably the one thing that is accepted without question and without concrete scientific evidence. However, the acceptability is evident in our world, as we swear on the bible, use "God" in our pledge of allegiance, etc. Unfortunately, our society requires a higher being or entity to temper our animalistic nature. However, if you were to ask any religious person about the roots, origins, or reason for their beliefs, they could provide you with a well composed answer. I assume when you state "personal beliefs are wrong," you speak for the extremist methods of expressing beliefs. Otherwise, this statement is completely ignorant and contradictory, as your belief to not believe in a higher being until you have evidence, is nonetheless, in itself, a belief.
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