On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision

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On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision

4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 · rating details · 235 ratings · 37 reviews

Renowned scholar William Lane Craig offers a readable, rich training manual for defending the Christian faith.

This concise guide is filled with illustrations, sidebars, and memorizable steps to help Christians stand their ground and defend their faith with reason and precision. In his engaging style, Dr. Craig offers four arguments for God’s existence, defends the historic...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published March 1st 2010 by David C. Cook (first published 2010)

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Sep 13, 2012 Jonathan B rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: apologetics

The material is good, save for those parts where his Arminianism and Molinism shine through (chapters 7 and 10). Here you’ll find the usual statements (note: I have the vyrso version of the book, which doesn’t have page numbers, but all the quotes below are from chapter 10):

“[...] in a sense, God doesn’t send anybody to hell. His Desire is that everyone be saved [...] God has no choice but to give us what we deserve. God will not send us to hell-but we shall send ourselves.”
Except the Bible does...more

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Benje You have to remember he's a philosopher not a theologian
Mar 07, 2013 06:34am

Jonathan B Actually Craig has a Ph.D in theology and teaches theology regularly at his church.

But I would consider Craig more a professional apologist than profe...more
Mar 07, 2013 07:56am

Jonathan B One last remark: notice the subtitle of the book, "Defending your *Faith* With Reason and Precision."

Doing that requires a solid knowledge of the Chr...more
Mar 07, 2013 08:05am

Nov 17, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: david-c-cook, b-b-media, review-books

More today than ever before Christians need to be prepared to give a defense of their faith – this is where Apologetics and the book, On Guard, come into play.� Most of us don’t know how to defend our faith and when the time comes and we have to we tend to look sheepishly away, get offended, or reply harshly to those questioning us.� Thankfully with William Lane Craig’s book this no longer has to be a problem – we can confidently be prepared to give the reason for our faith and our Hope.

Written...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Cathy Cooper rated it 1 of 5 stars

Dr. Craig mentions in his book that if Christians have good arguments in support of their faith, they are less apt to become quarrelsome or upset. Hmmm....this is very telling. I guess Christians did not have very good arguments during the Dark Ages, and when Christians took over the Americas from the Indians. Why didn't they use their "arguments" then too, instead of the rack, or the noose, or the rifle, and so forth?? Well...when they got to Africa, and explained Christianity to the natives, t...more Dr. Craig mentions in his book that if Christians have good arguments in support of their faith, they are less apt to become quarrelsome or upset. Hmmm....this is very telling. I guess Christians did not have very good arguments during the Dark Ages, and when Christians took over the Americas from the Indians. Why didn't they use their "arguments" then too, instead of the rack, or the noose, or the rifle, and so forth?? Well...when they got to Africa, and explained Christianity to the natives, the Africans laughed at them, so I assume when that did not work, their arguments consisted of a very sharp blade and/or a tight noose. Even today, the classic Christian arguments fail to prove god exists or that Jesus is god, but that hasn't stopped them.

Dr. Craig mentions in his book that he is afraid that secularists are "bent on eliminating religion from the public square." This is far from the truth, as I welcome public debate. This is how people learn how to become critical thinkers, which prevents them from becoming the "sitting ducks" that Craig talks about.

Dr. Craig also states that "A person who has been raised in a culture that is sympathetic to the Christian faith will be open to the gospel in a way that a person brought up in a secular culture will not. For a person who is thoroughly secularized, you may as well tell him to believe in fairies or leprechaun as in jesus Christ!"

Ahh....Dr. Craig does seem to be aware of cultural relativism, and that this does not just apply to Christianity, or to secularism, but to Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on. But, if I use Dr. Craig as an example, I can say with almost certainty that if he moved to India, I doubt he would adopt Hinduism, and the Hindus would feel the same way about him that Craig now feels towards "secularists." It goes both ways.

Dr. Craig's also states that his experience with professors who may be very knowledgeable in their area of specialization, is that they are almost clueless when it comes to the evidence for Christianity.

I highly doubt the professors were clueless to the evidence--because there is no evidence! This is why Christians have FAITH, as faith is belief WITHOUT evidence. Dr. Craig is misrepresenting his "faith" by making such a claim.

Dr. Craig explains how distraught he is at the amount of young people dropping out of religion, and goes on to explain one of the reasons why. You see, according to Dr. Craig, the churches these days are focused on "...emotional worship experiences, felt needs, and entertainment. It's no wonder they become sitting ducks for that teacher or professor who RATIONALLY takes aim at their faith. In high school and college, students are intellectually assaulted with every manner of non-Christian philosophy conjoined with an overwhelming relativism and skepticism."

Students of all ages should be taught philosophy and logic in particular in order to be critical thinkers. They should not just be taught Christian philosophy, but all of philosophy, including the philosophy of religion, and world religion courses. In college, students do not learn the "Sunday School" version of religion believers are familiar with--they learn it academically, which is much different. Remember what I said earlier, in that the arguments for the existence of any gods or goddesses have been refuted, so when someone is exposed to RATIONAL thought and ideas, the fallacies in the arguments are more likely to become clearer, which is one reason why people loose their faith. Furthermore, when they are provided with all the information they would get if they were going to seminary to become priests or preachers,and so on, this too would lead to skepticism. This is exactly what happens to many students when the study at seminary--they become disillusioned, and many "loose their Jesus"

Also remember,there is NO evidence--just faith--even if Dr. Craig attempts to say otherwise. Dr. Craig believes that skepticism is not a good thing, as it leads to loss of faith--but if skepticism were not a good thing, we would still be in the Dark Ages. It is when one questions everything they do not understand, and they are taught to think logically and critically, that things become more clearly understood--which is something Christians want to avoid. Their bible does not meet the standards for historicity, and is not "evidence" of anything. It is, in fact, a book of myths--largely plagiarized myths--with a bit of historical reference thrown in. Just imagine if you will the Jews, who were nomads and slaves, and never had an empire of their own. They adopted gods and traditions of their slave masters, and other groups, and created their own god, based on other gods. The Jews have also admitted to embellishing the text, so it cannot be deemed reliable.

As a side note, Yahweh did say that he would "destroy the wisdom of the wise" (1Cor1:19) So far though, I would say Yahweh is rather impotent in this regard (and many others), as the number of "wise" people keeps growing.

I recommend not wasting time or money on this book unless you favor indoctrination over education.

(less)

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Apr 21, 2010 Mandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-reviews, i-own, read-in-2010, mandys-reads

MY REVIEW:

If you have ever wondered what apologetics is or if God even exists, then On Guard is the book for you to read. William Lane Craig writes a fairly easy-to-understand book in a fun and easy-reading style that walks you through both of these questions and many more. Besides the good content, the sidebar definitions, quotes, pictures, facts, and the Talk About It boxes make this a wonderfully interactive book.

While this book would be for older teens and adults, and take time to read and p...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Title: ON GUARD
Author: William Lane Craig
Publisher: David C. Cook
March 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6488-1
Genre: Inspirational/apologetics

Most people will probably never defend their faith to an atheist, but the Bible says that we should always be prepared. And in this day and age, there are many attacks from the “new atheists,” internet infidels, and all manner of Biblical bashers. With this in mind, there is an increased need for evangelical Christians to be trained to defend their faith.

William Lane...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Jared Totten rated it 4 of 5 stars

William Lane Craig is considered to be one of the top Christian apologists alive today. So when he writes a book on apologetics, I expect it to be well-argued and -reasoned. However, I did not expect it to be so accessible to the average reader.

Yet On Guard, released this week by David C. Cook Publishers, is just that and a whole lot more. This book is ready-made for undergraduate classes, church small groups or any Christian looking for an introduction to the key arguments for Christianity.

Whil...more William Lane Craig is considered to be one of the top Christian apologists alive today. So when he writes a book on apologetics, I expect it to be well-argued and -reasoned. However, I did not expect it to be so accessible to the average reader.

Yet On Guard, released this week by David C. Cook Publishers, is just that and a whole lot more. This book is ready-made for undergraduate classes, church small groups or any Christian looking for an introduction to the key arguments for Christianity.

While much of the content may not be new to the discussion, the format by which it is presented is one of the most appealing aspects of the book. There are wide margins on the pages perfect for note-taking. That is, when that space is not being used for definitions of key words and logical fallacies. There are also profiles of a number of the key thinkers along the way.

The chapters are presented in ascending logical order of the arguments, from "What difference does it make if God exists?" to "Is Jesus the only way to God?" Along the way he hits some of the most popular arguments today for God's existence: the moral argument, the design argument and the kalam cosmological argument, which Craig is especially well-known for modifying in his doctorate thesis.

If there is one weakness in the book, it is that it tries to be all things to all men. While the book is meant to be introductory, there are points when the content will simply be heavy lifting due to the subject matter at hand—despite the occasional single-panel cartoon thrown in. And the "Talk About It" questions seemingly geared for the small group are, in my humble opinion, more distracting than beneficial.

With only these few exceptions, William Lane Craig has written the perfect book as an introduction to Christian apologetics. I know it will be at the top of my list when asked to recommend a book to get someone's feet wet in the defense of the Christian faith. Even to those familiar with the arguments, this book will be a perfect tool to add to anyone's belt.(less)

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Aug 06, 2011 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think that this is a really good introductory book on Christian apologetics for the layman. Dr. Craig did a great job of explaining some of the highlights of the apologetic without getting too deep. If you're a Christian looking for an overview of a defense of the faith, I think this would be a good source. If you're needing a really deep dive into Christian apologetics, then this isn't the right book for you. That isn't a bad thing, as that was not its intent. For a deeper dive, Dr. Craig's "...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Alan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: apologetics, philosophy, science

I would venture to say that this is one of the best handbooks for the Christian apologist who is beginning to become familiarized with the arguments for the existence of God. This is a lay-verson of the book, "Reasonable Faith". It was an enlightening read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Very substantive yet simplistic enough to grasp the concepts. However, some of the concepts that are being referred to are challenging in nature so it may still be confusing to anyone who has never read about these...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Ryan Manns rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion

I actually struggled with whether or not I should give this book 4 or 5 stars but I decided to go with 5. I thought perhaps 4 stars because William Lane Craig presents many arguments that have already been discussed in his (and many others) previous works. So perhaps half the book isn't necessarily new and probably not as in depth as some of us would like. However, I opted to go with 5 stars because I felt he did an excellent job of introducing the main arguments for God and explaining why they...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Rob rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a good book, but its not for everyone. It does a good job of walking you through some of the basic arguments for the existence of God, but I've read books that (I felt) did it more clearly. The main thing against this book, though, is that its intended audience is narrower than that of some others. It was clearly written to an audience of Christians. Certain beliefs are taken as a given, then he shows you a variety of ways to articulate them, and he does it well. But, I would not send a...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Court Ellyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: inspirational, non-fiction

I'm giving this 3 stars merely for the fact that I don't think it's accessible to just everyone. Our small group had a tough time with much of the material. In the beginning, it became clear that one would have to understand the laws of physics, astronomy, etc. along with some philosophical and mathematical scenarios to be able to argue these points effectively -- and that your "opponent" would have to understand them just as well to be able to grasp your point and concede the argument. We had a...more

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Oct 21, 2010 Aaron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion-theology, favorites

An excellent, though basic, primer on Christian apologetics, particularly for those without a background in rhetoric, logic or argumentation. The first half of the book is useful for any believer, Christian or not. The second half of the book deals specifically with evidentiary arguments for Christianity specifically. Craig's explanations of the kalam and fine-tuning logical proofs are particularly enlightening and his discussion of his own conversion are quite interesting.

Anyone who has seen C...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Luke Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

Philosophical, scientific, mathematic, logical arguments for the creation of the universe, earth, and life by God, and the existence and resurrection of Jesus. These can not only strengthen the faith of believers, but help them defend their faith and point out the errors and inconsistencies of the arguments of non-believers and skeptics. I love arguments like this and it is important for Christians to engage the world and culture to create a climate that continues to consider Christianity as a v...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Mark A Powell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Formatted in a workbook style, On Guard is a pared-down version of Craig’s renowned Reasonable Faith. As it stands, this abridgment is a solid introduction to apologetics, developing logical arguments for the existence of God, the nature of the universe, and the identity of Christ. Though it does delve into more academic concepts and vocabulary at times, this book is an excellent primer for those desiring an ability to defend the Christian faith with logical clarity.

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Jul 01, 2010 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a lightweight version of Reasonable Faith. It is suitable for those who are interested in apologetics but don't have much background in philosophy and logic. Don't get me wrong, the book isn't completely lacking in either of these areas, but the rigor isn't to be compared with a more thorough treatment of the subject.

Overall, I would think this is a good book for a small group or individual study. I recommend the study guide as well.

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May 19, 2011 drake rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy, religion-spirituality

some issues: fails to cite other authors' work; uses straw man arguments and other logical fallacies; particularly weak (as well as insensitive and appropriative) in the chapter on suffering; inappropriate use of the Holocaust and Nazi comparisons to advance points; overall tone is defensive and lacking love, humility, or compassion; misrepresents or oversimplifies others' theories and opposing points of view.

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May 01, 2013 Bob Gooch rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology-philosophy, apologetics

Dr. Craig is a philosopher with Arminian theological leanings. I thought the book was good for the most part, but I admit had some problem with his Arminian explanations. I also had problems with the way he presented a few of his arguments, maybe because he was trying to summarize a little too much. It seems to me that his book Reasonable Faith (at least the part I've read) is better written. Craig’s philosophical credentials are without question, so my problems with this book may be more from m...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian, references

I highly recommend this book (and the companion DVD) for a small group study. The science chapters are challenging, especially if you aren't mathematically & scientifically inclined, but the results are well worth the effort. I've already used a handful of his points speaking with friends to great effect and my group isn't done with the book yet!

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Feb 03, 2013 Clinton Wilcox rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent introduction to several good arguments for God's existence. This book is great for high school and college age kids who don't have the philosophical training behind them. For college graduates and the philosophically-minded, Reasonable Faith would probably be a better choice. But this is a great book to start with.

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Apr 28, 2012 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book, or a similar one on the same subject, should be required reading for every Christian.

I really enjoyed this book and was able to learn how to put into words the reason for my faith. I also learned how to defend my faith against common "attacks" from non-believers.

Great read.

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Jul 20, 2012 Vincent rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love to listen to this guy in debates or in his myriad of teachings (find him on apologetics 315 on the internet). This book is a layman's guide to standing for the truth in ways that might actually be helpful to people.

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Nov 30, 2010 Andy Young rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: apologetics, christianity

This was a fantastic break down of the most powerful and clear presentation of the defense of Christianity I've read in a long time. Easy to understand, great for Bible studies, and beautifully written.

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Jul 13, 2012 Prayson Daniel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Simple read but not simplistic. Reasonable Faith rewritten for popular level. Written in a way a reader will remember and be able to
present 7 wonderful argument for Existence of God.

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May 10, 2011 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christianity, apologetics, evangelism, philosophy, craig

A must read for any Christian looking to expand their Apologetic knowledge and strengthen their faith. This book presented very strong arguments for Christianity in an easily accessible format that was both engaging and easy-to-memorize.

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May 05, 2011 Sal added it

Covers the essential arguments in Christian Apologetics:
Cosmological
Teleological
Ontological
Moral

The problem of suffering.
Jesus' deity

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May 06, 2013 Allison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic break downs for discussing God with others. Sometimes over my head and had to re-read, but good info and glad I did.

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May 05, 2011 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biblical-studies

A good summary of a lot of the common arguments against Christianity with thorough, well-researched information useful for defending the truth.

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Jul 31, 2012 Steven Dunn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very simply introduction to William Lane Craig. Im only 70 pages in, but its great.

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Apr 10, 2013 Dr. David Steele rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: apologetics-worldview

Many helpful features here but Craig's Arminian presuppositions (libertarian freewill in particular) are troubling.

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Oct 09, 2012 Shawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biblical-studies, apologetics, philosophy-and-ethics

Okay. Good discussion on the classical arguments for the existence of God.

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