On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision

If you've ever desired philosophers to say things in easy to understand, yet not dumbed down language, then you will be pleased with this book. On Guard seems to take all the great things William Lane Craig says during his debates, podcasts, and interviews, and puts them in one accessible read. For some reason, apologists speak so clearly during their debates, and yet when you buy their book, you get bogged down in technical jargon that keeps you busy either reading the same page 4 times, or rifling your fingers through a copy of Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion. Before I got this book, I believed it would be one of those books that would be great for using in a young adults (or not so young adults) Sunday School class, or perhaps giving to someone who knows nothing of apologetics. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that that On Guard is not only that, but also much more! On Guard reminds me of a book that would be the result of an individual's gleanings of the best notes of his studies. (Now I don't have to spend the next year writing all my notes down, because WLC has done it for us! ha ha) Ok, so now that I've given my impression of the book, allow me to go into greater detail: On Guard begins with an impressive list of endorsements, ending with the finest by J.P. Moreland, who refers to Craig as, "the finest Christian apologist of the last half century." I wholeheartedly agree, and also place Moreland there too. We move on to an excellent introduction by Lee Strobel. Lee reminds us of the great debate between Craig and Zindler (a debate I actually paid money to buy on cassette from Moody), and then closes with the claim that, "you'll learn the most compelling arguments in favor of Christianity." Chapter 1 opens with a description of what exactly apologetics is, points out that it is biblical by giving references to Jesus (Luke 24:25-27; John 14:11), and Paul (Romans 1:20; 1 Cor. 15:3-8), and more. He continues by giving reasons why apologetics is important, such as: shaping culture, strengthening believers, and winning unbelievers. Craig closes by explaining how to get the most out of his book. Chapter 2 is about "What difference does it make if God exists?" Starting with the absurdities of life without God, Craig discusses how there would be no ultimate meaning without God (illustrated by his excellent story of the astronaut marooned in outer space), no ultimate value, and no ultimate purpose. He moves on to talk about how people are living in denial, and then to the practical impossibility of atheism. Chapter 3 discusses "Why does anything at all exist?" Craig begins with Leibniz's Argument in easy to memorize form. 1. Everything that exists has an explanation of its existence. 2. If the universe has an explanation of its existence, that explanation is God. 3. The universe exists. 4. The universe has an explanation of its existence. 5. Therefore, the explanation of the universe's existence is God. The book goes on to raise objections to the premises, and also sufficiently addresses those objections. Chapter 4 moves into "Why did the universe begin?" Here, Craig takes us to Al-Ghazali's Argument. 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause. Craig then discusses premise 1, explaining that "something cannot come from nothing," and, "if something can come into being from nothing, then it becomes inexplicable why just anything or everything doesn't come into being from nothing." He ends the discussion of premise one by pointing out that "common experience and scientific evidence confirm the truth of premise 1." WLC moves on to premise two by discussing actual infinites, Hilbert's Hotel, Big Bang, beginning of time, Oscillating Universes etc. (again, I will remind the reader, if you are not familiar with these subjects, he makes these points in understandable language). Chapter 5 asks, "Why is the universe fine-tuned for life?" I find this chapter especially interesting, since it addresses the impossible odds of life existing in this universe, such as, if the nuclear weak force was altered by only one part out of 10 to the 100th, life would not exist. Craig then discusses arguments against fine-tuning, such as "if they were different, different life forms might have evolved," and, "what if there were different laws?" Taking time to body slam Richard Dawkins' objection presented in his best seller, "The God Delusion," Craig tidily shows the errors of Dawkins' conclusion, "Therefore, God almost certainly does not exist," and then moves on to the next chapter. Chapter 6, "Can we be good without God?" Craig gives the moral argument for God's existence, explains the distinction between values and duties, addresses Euthyphro's Dilemma, answers notions such as, "moral values simply exist," "Whatever contributes to human flourishing is good," "we evolved morals," and then gives a clear description of the Genetic Fallacy, followed by a nice example. By now, hopefully you have a decent picture of what this book is like, so I shall forgo summarizing the rest of the chapters, choosing rather to merely list them. Chapter 7, "What about suffering?" Chapter 8, "Who was Jesus?" Chapter 9, "Did Jesus rise from the dead?" Chapter 10, "Is Jesus the only way to God?" I'll close this review with a mention of two additional features I find appealing. One is the regular "Talk About It" boxes that are on many pages. These are great for reviewing with a class, or testing yourself to see what you remember. e.g. "How has this chapter shown that God: Is unembodied Mind? Transcends the universe? Created the universe?" And, "Think of a movie you've seen recently. If you asked the main character, 'Why does your life matter?' what do you think he or she would say?" The second feature is the wide margins on the side of the pages. There is plenty of room for taking notes. Good luck and enjoy On Guard!

I bought this book on the Kindle and by the end of the week I had devoured it and wanted to reread it as soon as possible. Dr. Craig presents his arguments in a step-by-step process that is easy to follow and well-thought-out. The book not only contains some of Dr. Craig's most convincing arguments for the existence of God and Christian belief, but is also peppered with definitions of new or difficult words, and questions addressed directly to the reader(s) so that they can also think about what he is arguing about. The book has ten chapters and follows this general layout: Chapter 1 deals with the definition of apologetics, and why Dr. Craig thinks that it is essential for all Christians to be trained in it. Chapter 2 explores the question of "Why does it matter?" that God exists. Dr. Craig demonstrates that morality, value, and purpose are all objectively meaningless in a world without God. Chaptes 3-6 contain four (very convincing) arguments for the existence of God, in an easy-to-memorize format. Chapter 7 deals with the common objection that God and evil cannot coexist. (This was a particular favorite of mine). Finally, Chapters 8-10 defend the existence of Jesus, the truth of the Bible (particularly the New Testament), and the belief that Jesus is the only way to God. (And for those who do not like books with a lot of scripture references all over the place, this book contains very few, especially in the first few chapters. Mostly the scripture appears in the later chapters, when Dr. Craig defends the Bible and the existence of Jesus, using scripture and comparing it to historical fact and logic. Most of the book is pure logic and reason, with little Biblical reference). The book also contains interludes during which Dr. Craig describes his personal experiences (becoming a Christian, learning about apologetics, etc.) in a way which is just as good as any of his arguments. Each chapter concludes with an outline or flow chart detailing what that chapter covered in a concise format, further helping the reader sort through all the data covered in each chapter. So, in conclusion, I'd have to say that this is easily an amazing apologetics book. And I won't lie: after reading it the first time I quickly added several other books by Dr. Craig to my wish list. This is definitely worth buying. If you are a Christian then you do not want to miss out on this one!

As far as I can tell, Craig gives an even handed evaluation for many historical and philosophical questions related to god in general and the Judeo-Christian God in particular. All the issues seem to be dealt with "reason and precision", with opposing views presented. At the end of each chapter there is a summary and a map of the different points and counter-points. Never the less, the book doesn't have an arrogant feel, as Craig presents the opposing views in "as far as I can tell"-way. This is shown in phrases such as "current research", "modern scholarship" and "I have never heard", leaving a possibility that there might be something missing or in the future some new idea might come up. Even so we should make our decisions based on the best current knowledge and not in some unknown future argument, and that makes Craigs arguments very compelling. Almost all issues could be dealt with more deeply, but as Craig himself notes a couple of times, space would not allow it. Apparently the book was not meant to require it's own wheelbarrow for transport, and so it doesn't. For someone completely new to philosophy the book may be a bit hard to read as precision requires precise terms of art. This problem is greatly mitigated by the book itself by presenting rarely used terms when they come up for the first time. Different philosophical tools are also presented and explained as they are used. The book is mind-twisting in a good way. As he mentions in the book, it is not meant to be read but studied, and this is evident by frequent "Talk about it"-sections presenting study questions. Thus the book is well suited for a small group study. I'll have to re-read it after a while. Maybe when I find a group to study it with. All-in-all the book is excellent for Christian (would be) apologists as a shortish handbook for different arguments. It is also great for Christians not specializing in apologetics, because it will give them answers to challenges they might face. Even for a non-Christian who is interested in philosophy the book is worth a read as it touches many philosophical issues. For someone opposing Christianity the book is great because it presents some of the most usual attacks against non-Christian arguments and defenses for Christian or theistic arguments, thus in a way giving a non-Christian "the opponent's playbook".

On Guard is Craig's simple, accessible, relatively short volume on the basic arguments for God's existence and a brief case for the Christian God in particular. Craig has written many other treatises of a more scholarly nature discussing these and other similar topics at the intersect of theology and philosophy. I got this book because the Kindle version was (at the time) available for free, and nothing piques my interest quite like the combination of free, philosophy, and authors of whom I already know I approve. My biggest criticism of this book is that there are some cases where, despite agreeing with his conclusions, I find Craig's arguments unconvincing as a means of arriving at those conclusions. He does, however, offer many strong and worthwhile arguments for both God in general and the Christian God in particular, as well as responses to many popular atheistic arguments. If I have a second complaint, it's that once or twice the arguments are complex enough that it takes some effort to follow along, but I believe that is due to the complexity of the actual issue; Craig strips the arguments for God down almost to their most basic elements, making them easier to digest for those who have not had training in philosophy and formal logic. This book is worth reading, particularly for any Christian who is stumped by arguments from atheists, agnostics, or pluralists. It may also be helpful for anyone who is familiar with the arguments Craig provides, but either has trouble presenting them in a simple, straightforward way, or would just like a refresher on the basic logic involved. Lastly, while I cannot guarantee it will answer your doubts, if you are a truth seeker who has yet to believe in God, but are open to the possibility, I recommend this book to you.

I just wanted to start my review by saying that this book quite possibly saved my faith. Right now I'm a senior at Princeton and I've recently been going through the period where I had to stop believing things because that was what I had always been taught and start believing them for my own reasons and an objective appraisal of the truth, no matter where it led me. I'm still working out the kinks, but I'm on the right track now. To me, the strongest parts of this book are the beginning and the end: the parts that deal with the philosophical arguments for God's existence and the responses to the two problems of sin and the fates of the unevangelized. Those were very strong and, after having read several atheist authors (Quentin Smith, John Loftus, Richard Dawkins, etc.), I believe that Craig offers much stronger arguments than they do. He also represents their views pretty accurately, and doesn't resort to setting up straw men. The weaker part of this book has to do with the peculiarly Christian aspects of God: Jesus' teachings and his resurrection. I found his attempts in such a small amount of space to be overly ambitious and a bit too unnuanced. I personally preferred Michael Licona's excellent work The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach. While Licona makes strong arguments for his personal beliefs, he confines his main analysis to the facts that are agreed upon by almost all biblical scholars, both Christian and atheist: the historical "bedrock." I've listed them here for those who are interested: 1. Jesus existed. 2. Jesus was a man regarded as a prophet and moral teacher who performed what many interpreted as miracles, magic, or exorcisms. 3. Jesus believed himself to have a special role with God as a prophet or son. 4. Jesus died on the cross. 5. After Jesus died, many of his apostles, in different times and places, had experiences that led them to believe and proclaim that Jesus had been resurrected and had appeared to them. 6. A few years after Jesus died, Paul, a devout Jew with a history of persecuting Christians, had what he interpreted as a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to him. Licona then examines the various atheist explanations for these known facts and finds them seriously lacking in merit (as did I--the cases against Jesus' resurrection are very tenuous). Ultimately, I found Licona's case more persuasive than Craig's, although a large part of that simply has to do with the fact that Licona's work has much more room to make a serious case, since it is much longer and devoted entirely to one subject. I simply mention it here as an avenue of further study for people who are interested. In short, I have a newfound admiration for Craig. His thoughts are clear, logical, and insightful. I currently still disagree with him on some matters (primarily on the issue of biblical inerrancy), but I will engage in further research before coming to any firm conclusions.

Apologetics is, in my estimation, one of the most underappreciated and least engaged fields of study among the general Christian populace. Resultantly, there is an unfortunate abundance of Christians who possess unaddressed doubts about their faith and are ineffective (or hesitant) in sharing their beliefs. To remedy this issue, I have been in search of a text to recommend that is introductory and practical – one that sufficiently educates while also inducing a desire to learn more. The Cold-Case Christianity series by J. Warner Wallace is easy-to-read with an engaging motif; however, it takes 2-3 books to cover the basics. While I recommend the books, I understand that this is can easily be seen as too time-consuming for the occasional book reader. As such, although using slightly more technical language, the more ideal suggestion may very well be On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision by William Lane Craig. By masterfully combining philosophy and theology with a sound understanding of the most accepted scientific theories and historical textual criticism, Dr. Craig succinctly explains the value of apologetics and offers powerful reasons to believe in the existence of God and the central truths of the Christian faith while addressing common objections. In keeping with its design as a concise training manual, I strongly recommend this book principally for Christians who have difficulty articulating an intelligent rationale for their faith but also for those who seek reasonable yet simple answers to existential questions.

I read this book about 2 weeks ago, and it is nothing short of what I expected: that is, a book that would practically yet powerfully make arguments for the existence of God and - more importantly - gateway into the person of Jesus Christ. Theism is the richest worldview not because it adds the greatest quantity of explanations (indeed, gods like Zeus or Thor or Allah fail to add any explanation) - but because it offers one explanation: the person of Jesus Christ; by Him, the personable attachment of theism is enabled. This book therefore brings us first into the logical possibility of theism by grounding arguments, simply put, in God. The reader will essentially learn why the theistic worldview is most coherent in general. Afterwards, the final chapters will speak on the person of Jesus Christ to make a "fully" coherent view. Without a personal deity, theism simply becomes empty, like a well that cannot supply water: Deism. However, holding to Deism after reading this book will almost certainly make little sense. The arguments alone from the cosmological argument provide us with erudite reason to believe the cause before us was, as well, personal. Indeed, the entire argument before the Christian chapters in this book point towards a personal deity in general. Consequently, we are left with the choice of picking up 4 different sponges to clear up the black sludge on the window of reality after reading this book. 1) We may choose to pick up the water-less sponge of atheism and find ourselves with no success in our attempt. 2) Or we may pick up the agnostic sponge and find ourselves able to clear up only half of the window. 3) We may even boldly pick up the deistic sponge and clear 3 quarters of the window. 4) But only will we have enough soapy water in the theistic sponge to clear up the entire window of reality. And once we do that, we will undoubtedly find not only God's image in the window but, as well, Jesus Christ's. This is arguably the greatest friend-sharing friendly and user-reading friendly book I've read on Christian apologetics. You'll remember many things to apply in real-world discussion. It helped me with many of my own doubts.

Literally my favorite book after the Bible! WLC is the man and more people should learn from him

In einer säkularen Welt, in der der christliche Glaube vielfach als «Gefühlsdusselei» oder als irrational abgetan wird, ist es sehr wertvoll, dass William Lane Craig Christen mit diesem Buch zeigt, dass man durchaus plausibel und rational den eigenen Glauben begründen kann. Das Buch dient nicht dazu, Nicht-Christen von der Existenz Gottes oder dem Evangelium zu überzeugen. Es dient dazu, Christen zu ermöglichen, auch in schwierigen Diskussionen Fürsprecher für den Christlichen Glauben zu sein und auf Augenhöhe auf die am weitesten verbreiteten Gegenargumente reagieren und sie widerlegen zu können. Wer Craig kennt, weiß, dass dies auf sachliche, rationale und respektvolle Art möglich ist. Das ist es, was den Wert diese Buches ausmacht.

I found On Guard Defending Your Faith to be a great read. It’s packed with practical advice that you can actually use in real conversations. The way it’s written makes it easy to follow, even if you’re new to the topic. I feel confident recommending this book to family and friends who want to learn how to defend their beliefs without getting overwhelmed or confused. It covers important points without being too heavy or complicated. The price was reasonable and it arrived quickly, so all around a great experience.

Excellent livre, très clair et relativement facile à suivre. Je ne peux que le recommander. Dommage qu'il n'existe pas en français.

This is a book for everyone who wants to understand the presentation of the Faith in a logical, peaceful manner.

Desde siempre he sido alguien que tiene como pasión (y ministerio) la apologética. Tengo en mi biblioteca varios libros sobre este tema y de varios autores. Sin embargo, si tuviera que elegir uno que fuera fácil de leer, fácil de entender y que ofreciera herramientas útiles para presentar una defensa de la fe les recomiendo ampliamente este libro. Es útil, efectivo y una vez que haces de los argumentos tuyos, se vuelve en LA herramienta principal de uso y problablemente la piedra angular de tu defensa. Por supuesto que lo recomiendo al libro y al autor!.