Letters From Grandpa #235

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA # 235 Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will deal with Lee Strobel, and his book “The Case For Miracles”. Lee is a converted skeptic. He received a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, and a Masters of Study in Law degree from Yale. Then he became the award winning legal editor for the Chicago Tribune. As an atheist he dared to do investigative reporting on Christ and became a Christian. He is now a best selling author with a series of books presenting evidence for his faith. His books are titled: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator, etc.

In his latest book, The Case for Miracles, Strobel cites many examples. This letter will feature only one, the miraculous healing of Barbara Snyder. Even though her healing took place many years ago it is well documented and undeniable. When she first became ill, The Mayo Clinic diagnosed her as having multiple sclerosis. Despite several operations and continual treatment, she continued to deteriorate. Finally she was put into a hospice program with doctor’s orders not to resuscitate. One lung didn’t function at all, and the other only 50%. She was on oxygen to help her breathe and was fed by a stomach tube. At this point, she was legally blind, her hands and feet were hopelessly curled and useless, and her legs had atrophied and were like sticks. She had been sick for 15 years. She hadn’t walked in 7 years. Death was imminent. Dr. Harold P. Adolf is a board certified surgeon who has performed 25,000 operations. He described Barbara as one of the most hopelessly ill patients he had ever seen.

Then one day one of Snyder’s friends phoned WMBI, a Christian radio station in Chicago operated by Moody Bible Institute. She explained Barbara’s condition and asked the listeners to pray for her. We don’t know how many people actually prayed for her, but at least 450 people were, because they wrote letters to her saying so.

Then on Pentecost Sunday afternoon, June 7, 1981, as Snyder’s friends were reading the prayer letters to her, they witnessed an incredible miracle. According to Barbara, she heard a male voice calling from a corner of the room saying “Get up, My child and walk.” Since there was no man in the room, she assumed it was Jesus. After hearing the voice, Barbara ripped off the tubing and jumped out of bed. Her atrophied legs suddenly filled out, her feet were flat on the floor and her hands were normal. Then it dawned on her that she could also see. She had been instantly healed. Her mother fell at her feet in prayer. Her father took her in his arms and began waltzing around the room. The next day she walked forward at her church and gave her testimony. Her internist, with 30 years experience, was Dr. Thomas Marshall. He said: “This is medically impossible”. Strobel states that two of her doctors have written books about her amazing story.

For those who are anti-Christian, this story should be like a piece of low hanging fruit. If the story is a fraud it would be easy to prove it. Too many details are available. Any investigative reporter could go to the Mayo Clinic, the doctors, the family, the witnesses, etc. and find out the truth. Imagine how famous someone would be if they could prove that Lee Strobel was a liar? The fact that no one has done so speaks volumes.

Today Barbara is married to a pastor and lives in Fredericksburg, Va. After all these years she remains in excellent health and continues to give God the credit for making her well. Her personal testimony is available on the internet. Not all sick people are healed like Barbara was. Paul had a

thorn in his flesh but God didn’t heal him (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Timothy had chronic stomach problems (1 Tim. 5:23) and Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20). We live in a fallen world and a lot of people are sick. At some point we will all die. The wicked Herod was glad to have Jesus as a prisoner for he wanted to see Him to perform some miracle (Lk. 23:8). Jesus didn’t do it! He never has performed miracles to entertain anyone, but Jesus did perform miracles, and He still does!

Sadly, there have always been wolves in sheep’s clothing who pretend to heal for the sake of profit. As always, it is wise to examine the evidence. Like Lee Strobel, there is a long list of atheists who have examined the evidence and become believers. I have mentioned before the case of Antony Flew. In 2007 he published a book titled “There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.” He said he was driven to this conclusion by the evidence. J. Warner Wallace was an atheist and a homicide detective in Los Angeles. When he examined the evidence he not only became a Christian, but like Lee Strobel, is writing books, giving lectures, and answering questions about his faith. In 2009, Germany was celebrating the 150" anniversary of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. The project was headed by Dr. Giinter Bechly, a world-renowned paleontologist with an incredibly impressive list of original research published in the peer-reviewed literature. Like so many unbelievers, he had never seriously examined the evidence for God. When he did so he too changed his mind. James Bishop lists quotations from 44 atheists who changed their minds because of evidence. This list, of course, can easily be expanded. THERE IS A GOD AND HE STILL WORKS MIRACLES!

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce