| REEL FACE: | REAL FACE: |
Mike Vogel
Born: July 17, 1979 Birthplace: Abington, Pennsylvania, USA | Lee Strobel
Born: January 25, 1952 Birthplace: Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA |
Erika Christensen
Born: August 19, 1982 Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, USA | Leslie Strobel
Born: abt 1952 |
In exploring The Case for Christ true story, we learned that years before Lee Strobel began working at the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald, the Arlington Heights, Illinois native edited and published his own four-page newspaper, the Arlington Bulletin, when he was just 13. The paper was delivered to 73 customers in the Stonegate subdivision where his family lived. It covered topics like bicycle news, state politics, local sports and weekly police reports. After high school, Strobel graduated from the University of Missouri with a journalism degree and then from Yale Law School with a Master of Studies in Law degree. -DailyHerald.com
In fact-checking The Case for Christ movie, we learned that Lee and Leslie met when they were 14 and married in 1972, after Lee's sophomore year in college. -The Case for Christ Facebook Page
Yes, he drank in excess regularly. In a Lee Strobel interview, he says that as an atheist, he had concluded that the best way to live his life was as a hedonist. "Just pursue pleasure, this is all you get in this world. So, that was my number one goal in life," says Strobel, "to bring maximum pleasure into my life. And so I lived a very immoral, and drunken, and profane, and narcissistic, really self-destructive kind of a life. That was my life."
Yes. However, The Case for Christ true story reveals that the neighbor's name was Linda, not Alfie. Lee's wife Leslie met Linda after they moved into a condo outside of Chicago. Leslie and Linda became best friends and it was very natural for Linda to talk to Leslie about Jesus, since He was such a big part of Linda's life.
Yes. At times he did. In the movie, we see Lee (Mike Vogel) drinking and break a vase during an argument with his wife Leslie (Erika Christensen). The real Lee Strobel also once kicked a hole in the living room wall during an argument with his wife, a moment that his young daughter Alison witnessed. In a Lee Strobel interview, he says the ugliest detail about him is that he came home drunk and angry so often that his daughter would immediately gather her toys and go to her room when he walked in the door after work.
He said that he harbored a lot of anger and rage, but didn't know why. He later figured out that it was because he was always after maximum pleasure but nothing lived up to the hype, and he always felt let down.
"I became personally convinced that based on the historical evidence of the Resurrection, that this is actually true," Strobel said. -DailyHerald.com
Yes. After becoming an award-winning investigative journalist who was promoted to legal editor at the Chicago Tribune, Lee left journalism in 1987, taking a 60 percent pay cut to work as a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. He eventually became the host of the PAX TV program Faith Under Fire, in addition to writing numerous faith-based books and appearing as an inspirational speaker. His most notable book is his bestselling autobiography The Case for Christ, which chronicles his transformation from an atheist into a believer and provides the basis for the movie. -DailyHerald.com
"I'd say 80, 85 percent of the film comes right out of our lives," says Lee. "In fact, there are some scenes that we get emotional about because this is ripped from our lives. This is like a transcript." He cites the scene where his character freaks out when his wife tells him that she became a Christian and also the scene in the car when he tells her he can't remain married to a believer. Lee does acknowledge that the film had to be condensed in certain areas since the real investigation took a year and nine months. He also says that certain characters were composites. -Pure Talk Lee and Leslie Strobel Interview
Yes. In fact-checking The Case for Christ movie, we discovered that Lee Strobel appears as an extra in a scene in the newsroom of the paper.
Learn more about The Case for Christ true story by watching a Lee Strobel speech where he retells his story. Then watch a Lee and Leslie Strobel interview and a behind-the-scenes look at the movie.