Christian author Lee Strobel has been making his case for Christianity for years, but he never thought he would have the opportunity to make that case in front of a man who many would consider the most famous “hedonist” on the planet.
The 71-year-old recently shared his story at First Baptist Dallas in front of a congregation that gathered to hear from one of Christianity’s most well-known apologists, along with worship sessions led by Dove Award-winning and Grammy-nominated band Newsboys and Dove Award-winning artist Benjamin William Hastings. Strobel told the crowd, “I found myself in the most unlikely place for any Evangelical Christian. I was in the living room of the opulent Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, California, getting ready to interview Hugh Hefner, the notorious hedonist and founder of Playboy magazine.”
Strobel admitted that he “wasn’t a fan” of what he called Hefner’s “narcissistic” philosophy, but when their conversation veered into spiritual things, the author said he was surprised by Hefner’s views. According to Strobel, the late Playboy founder professed a “minimal” belief in a god that “is kind of the beginning of it all, the great unknown, but certainly, he said, not in the God of Christianity.
Strobel recalled Hefner saying, “He’s a little too childlike for me.” It wasn’t until Strobel asked Hefner about his thoughts on the evidence of Christ’s resurrection that, said Strobel, Hefner’s “eyes lit up.” He recalled Hefner saying, “If one had any real evidence that Jesus did indeed return from the dead, then that is the beginning of the dropping of a series of dominoes that takes us to all kinds of wonderful places.”
Hefner, whom Strobel called a “doubter,” eventually admitted that he never studied the case for the resurrection of Christ, one Strobel first famously made in his 1998 book “The Case For Christ” and most recently in his latest book, “The Case For Christianity.” Hefner told Strobel, “I don’t think He is any more than we are.” Strobel has made several public appearances in recent weeks to promote “The Case For Christianity,” but it was during a Q&A session with Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at First Baptist Dallas, where Strobel shared how he believes the Lord views the questions and doubts we all have.
Pointing to Matthew 11, where John the Baptist sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?” Strobel made the case that Jesus’ reaction to the question tells us everything about how he sees our doubts. He said, “Jesus didn’t get angry when He received the question, but rather, pointed back to the evidence of His resurrection. In other words, ‘Go back and tell him the evidence you’ve seen with your own eyes.’”
Having questions, Strobel added, did not disqualify John the Baptist from any role in the Kingdom of God, but rather his status was reaffirmed when Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist.” Likewise, Strobel said those with “authentic questions” shouldn’t be afraid to ask those questions.
He added, “I often find that when people take the time to seriously look at the evidence unless they ratchet up their skepticism to unreasonable levels, they will often acknowledge the truth of the faith.”