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!

When a world class philosopher writes a book, you would think the approach to the book would involve sound logic. Right? Well, that is the case with "On Guard" by William Lane Craig. "On Guard" is a well reasoned approach to apologetics. The material is presented in such a way that each subject lays the foundation for the next subject, moving from the existence of God to a more specific case for Christianity, and concluding with a relevant question in our culture: "Is Jesus the Only Way to God?" And, of course, in each subject the position which Dr. Craig defends is supported with sound, convincing, helpful, logical arguments. William Lane Craig is a terrific communicator and he is able to write about deep subject matter in an understandable and, even, interesting manner. This is an outstanding skill and it is not one that all Christian apologetic writers possess. (Believe me, I've fallen into comatose states while reading many of these types of books. In fact, I got a little sleepy just writing that sentence.) "On Guard" is written with a lay audience in mind, but don't take that to mean that it is unchallenging. There is helpful material in this book even for those who've done a good bit of reading in the field of apologetics. "On Guard" is more personal than most of Dr. Craig's works that are intended for a more scholarly audience and he includes what he calls a "Personal Interlude" a couple of times in the course of the book. I found the personal interludes to be interesting. (But then again, I'm one of Dr. Craig's close personal friends...on Facebook, so perhaps that's my just my bias showing.) One of the endorsements for the book comes from J.P. Moreland (who's a pretty sharp thinker, himself) and he writes that Dr. Craig, "is simply the finest Christian apologist of the last half century, and his academic work justifies ranking him among the top 1 percent of practicing philosophers in the Western world." Pretty good. The Bible says: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1Peter3:15. If you take that challenge seriously, then this book would be well worth your time. Dan Marler Oak Lawn, IL

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!.