The Case For a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God

The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God is a 2004 book by Lee Strobel, a former investigative journalist turned Christian apologist. Before his conversion to Christianity, Strobel, an atheist, worked as a journalist and legal affairs editor for the Chicago Tribune. The Case for a Creator is the third installment in Strobel’s bestselling “Case for…” series, following his books The Case for Christ (1998) and The Case for Faith (2000). Each book follows Strobel on a series of interviews with academic experts as he assesses the evidence for Christianity. While ostensibly written for a general audience, including skeptics and atheists, the book’s success has largely come from the evangelical Christian community, for whom it serves as an accessible text on the topic of scientific apologetics (works that use science to build a case for a particular religion). The Case for a Creator won an ECPA Gold Medallion Christian Book Award in 2005. 

This study guide uses the 2004 edition from Zondervan.

Summary

Strobel’s The Case for a Creator represents a journalistic investigation into the longstanding questions surrounding the origins of humanity. The book follows Strobel’s characteristic interview-based approach, documenting his conversations with scientists and scholars as he examines evidence for intelligent design in the universe.

The book opens with Strobel’s personal story. Once an atheist and legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, he describes how his wife’s conversion to Christianity prompted him to investigate religious claims with a skeptic’s eye. This investigative framework shapes the entire work: Rather than presenting a theological argument, Strobel approaches the subject as a journalist would any major story, interviewing experts and weighing evidence. Strobel structures the book around a series of interviews with scientists holding doctoral degrees from prestigious institutions. Each chapter tackles a different aspect of origins, from cosmology to biochemistry to philosophy. These interviewees—including biochemist Michael Behe and philosophers Robin Collins, William Lane Craig, and Stephen Meyer—argue that scientific discoveries point toward deliberate design rather than random chance.

The cosmological evidence forms the book’s foundation. Strobel examines the Big Bang theory and the fine-tuning of universal constants. He explores how the universe’s fundamental forces—gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear forces—fall within incredibly narrow parameters that allow life to exist. If any of these values were changed even slightly, then stars could not form, chemistry could not develop, and life would be impossible. This apparent fine-tuning stands either as an enormously lucky coincidence for humanity or as evidence that the universe is the product of a designer, and Strobel’s interviewees argue strongly for the latter.

From the cosmic scale, the book narrows its focus to biological complexity. Strobel dedicates substantial attention to biochemistry, particularly the information encoded in DNA. He presents arguments about irreducible complexity—the idea that certain biological systems require all their parts to function and could not have evolved gradually. The bacterial flagellum, a microscopic motor that propels bacteria, serves as a prime example. His interview subjects (particularly Behe, who is widely known for this argument) contend that such intricate machinery suggests intentional design rather than Darwinian evolution. Strobel does not reject all evolutionary mechanisms outright. Instead, his sources question whether natural selection and random mutation adequately explain the origin of complex biological information and structures. They distinguish between microevolution—small changes within species—and macroevolution, the development of entirely new body plans and systems.

Philosophical considerations weave throughout the scientific discussions. Strobel explores the anthropic principle (the idea that the universe’s constants seem geared to support life) and questions about consciousness, addressing the questions of how matter could become self-aware and whether materialism can explain human consciousness. His interview subjects argue that mind cannot emerge from mindless processes alone. He also draws on purely philosophical arguments for the existence of God, such as the kalam cosmological argument, which concerns the universe’s causation. Strobel interviews Craig, the chief modern exponent of the kalam argument, to see whether its conclusions actually hold.

The book’s methodology mirrors a legal case, fitting Strobel’s background as a legal affairs journalist. He presents evidence, calls expert witnesses, and invites readers to reach their own verdict. Each chapter builds on previous ones, accumulating what Strobel frames as a cumulative case for a creator. In each interview, Strobel himself attempts to present countervailing theories and refutations, permitting the alternative scientific hypotheses at least to get a hearing. Strobel concludes by connecting the scientific evidence to its potential theological implications. If the universe shows signs of design, he asserts, then a “Designer” exists—a Designer whose outline appears to match the God of traditional Christian doctrine.