Reasonable Faith
25 December 2005
William Lane Craig (in my opinion, the best living Christian apologist), offers a great addition to any Christian’s library in Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics.
Craig offers an interesting layout for his book. He begins each chapter with a discussion of the history of the topic in question, followed by his own take on the issue. Personally, I felt the historical analysis was unnecessary and fairly boring, but some are sure to find the historical aspects interesting. At the end of each chapter, Craig offers a section discussing “practical application” of the information covered in the chapter. The practical application discussion is a very useful addition to the book, and it is highly needed in today’s society where Christians often stumble in the intellectual department.
Craig covers a great variety of topics important to Christianity. In the first chapter, Craig uses Biblical evidence to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is what truly brings people to Christ, and that arguments and evidence are useful only in that the Holy Spirit uses these evidences to convince nonbelievers of the truth and confirm believers in the truth. Additionally, Craig distinguishes between knowing Christianity is true and showing it is true. For, it is the Holy Spirit’s authenticating witness that convinces us of the undeniable truth of Christianity, so that one is rationally justified in being a Christian even in lack or in spite of physical evidence.
Other topics include a discussion of the meaning of life, the problem of miracles, the problem of historical knowledge, and the self-understanding of Jesus. In a chapter on the existence of God, Craig (as usual) offers an extremely impressive defense of the Cosmological Argument, in which he deals with almost every single objection thrown against it. Craig Blomberg adds a chapter in the historical reliability of the New Testament. To complete the package, Craig finishes Reasonable Faith with a discussion of the various evidences for Christ’s resurrection.
Reasonable Faith was a great read with much valuable information, although I must admit that I found Moreland’s Scaling the Secular City to be slightly better. Reasonable Faith does not offer an organized list of recommended further reads, and the historical sections tended to be boring and somewhat useless. However, this book is a great addition to the Christian library, particularly those that are seeking to become better evangelists. Craig, like always, offers an invaluable addition to Christian apologetics.
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