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 enlarge | Author: William Lane Craig
Publisher: Crossway Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
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Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 14178
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 1433501155
Dewey Decimal Number: 239
EAN: 9781433501159
ASIN: 1433501155
Publication Date: June 30, 2008
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 Good but missing the work of Moser, Boyd, and Eddy July 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A review of Bill Craig's third edition of Reasonable Faith by Michael Haney
Since every picture is taken from a specific angle, here is `my' picture of Philosopher William Lane Craig's new third edition of his most distinguished book Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. Since Craig's new ministry website (www.reasonable faith.org) offers what is new in the third edition of this book compared to the second edition, this review will just proceed forth as if this is the first edition of this book to be released to the public.
Introduction:
Craig offers a working definition of the term `apologetics' and states why there is a need specifically for it within the Christian context. He argues that Christian apologetics play three vital roles. First, they have the ability to shape our post-Christian culture. Second, they have the ability to strengthen those who are already convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. Third, they have the ability to help in the process of sharing the good news with non-followers of Jesus. Ending this section, Craig explains the two different types of apologetics: offensive and defensive. Offensive apologetics seeks to present a positive case for Christian truth claims. Defensive apologetics seeks to nullify objections to those claims. Craig claims that his book Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics falls under the category of `offensive' apologetics but he states that he hopes to write a book in the near future defending the claims of this work and objections brought against it.
How Do I Know Christianity Is True?
Craig deals with the question of Christian epistemology. More specifically, he asks the question: how does one `know' that Christianity is true against other truth claims found within other religious contexts? After discussing a couple of key thinkers of the past and how they worked through the issues of faith and reason and how they interact, he distinguishes between `knowing' Christianity to be true and `showing' Christianity to be true. Ultimately, Craig argues that we know Christianity to be true by the self-authenticating witness of the Holy Spirit. In other words, our knowing Christianity to be true is not based upon arguments and evidence but by the work of the Holy Spirit. To thoughtful readers, this might appear to be `too subjective' at first glance but Craig addresses several objections to this type of epistemology. Regarding showing Christianity to be true, Craig argues it is here where arguments and evidence come into play when considering the truth-hood or false-hood of various religious truth claims.
The Absurdity of Life Without God
Craig simply offers what the title of the chapter seems to imply: a universe with no God behind it is a universe with ultimately no meaning. In other words, if there is no God, human life becomes directly and indirectly unlivable. But, if the Jewish/Christian worldview is true, it provides "the two conditions necessary for a meaningful, valuable, and purposeful life for man: God and immorality...If God does not exist, then life is futile. If the God of the Bible does exist, then life is meaningful. Only the second of these two alternatives enables us to live happily and consistently." (p.86)
The Existence of God: Part One and Part Two
Craig simply offers various sophisticated and well-argued arguments for the existence of the Jewish/Christian God. All these arguments are updated in light of new philosophical and scientific knowledge. Craig is right when he says that "the conventional wisdom is that it's impossible to "prove" the existence of God and that, therefore, if we are going to believe in God, we must "take it by faith" that God exists. But the last half century has witnessed a remarkable resurgence of interest in natural theology, that branch of theology that seeks to provide warrant for belief in God's existence apart from the resources of authoritative, propositional revelation. Today, in contrast to just a generation ago, natural theology is a vibrant field of study." (p.93) Craig works through various arguments in this chapter: ontological, cosmological, teleological, moral, etc. The catch is that he puts new philosophical and scientific knowledge into these arguments and even deals with a ton of objections against them. Again, two chapters are devoted to this particular section in the book so Craig obviously thinks it is an important issue to discuss.
The Problem of Historical Knowledge
Craig deals with the question regarding past events: how can we really `know' what happened in the past? It is often assumed that human beings cannot really know with any real certainty what happened in the past because of the belief that all history is written from a particular perspective. In other words, it is believed that there is no such thing as an objective recording of past, historical events. The charge is that everyone is too bias to record real, actual events without any spin. Craig directly deals with these charges and offers the hope that even though we cannot have 100 percent accuracy in this area we can still know with a good deal of certainty what actually probably happened in the past. More specifically, Craig argues that the biblical narratives, once tested, are overall a good telling of what actually happened in the biblical past. In the end, historical relativism gets smashed to pieces under the hammer of Craig's argumentation.
The Problem of Miracles
Craig specifically deals with the concept of the miraculous intervention of the Jewish/Christian God within history. He states that "before we can examine the evidence to see whether the Creator God of the universe has revealed himself in some special way in the world in order to offer us the promise of immorality so necessary for meaningful existence now, we must deal with the problem of whether such divine action is possible in the first place. And if it is, how can it be identified? That is to say, we are confronted with the problem of miracles." (p.247) Craig ends this section by arguing that the deistic presupposition "against miracles survives in theology only as a hangover from an earlier Deistic age and ought now to be once for all abandoned." (p.278)
The Self-Understanding of Jesus
Craig argues that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, God in the flesh. He asks the specific question: who exactly to Jesus of Nazareth claim to be? According to Craig, this question is very important for "the Christian religion stands or falls with the person of Jesus Christ. Judaism could survive without Moses, Buddhism without Buddha, Islam without Mohammed but Christianity could not survive without Christ. This is because unlike most other world religions, Christianity is belief in a person, a genuine historical individual-but at the same time a special individual, whom the church regards as not only human, but divine." (p.287) In the end, Craig argues that "explicit use of Christological titles like Messiah, the Son of God, and especially the Son of Man, combined with implicit Christological claims made through his teaching and behavior indicates a radical self-understanding on the part of Jesus of Nazareth." (p.327)
The Resurrection of Jesus
Craig asks the question: was Jesus of Nazareth really raised from the dead by God and if so, what exactly does it mean? More specifically, he states that "God and immorality: those were the two conditions we saw to be necessary if man is to have a meaningful existence. I have argued that God exists, and now we have come at length to the second consideration, immorality. Against the dark background of modern man's despair, the Christian proclamation of the resurrection is a bright light of hope. The earliest Christians saw Jesus' resurrection as both the vindication of his personal claims and the harbinger of our own resurrection to eternal life. If Jesus rose from the dead, then his claims are vindicated and our Christian hope is sure; if Jesus did not rise, our faith is futile and we fall back into despair. How credible, then, is the New Testament witness to the resurrection of Jesus?" (p.333) After working through a lot of historical and textual evidence, Craig ends by stating that "in conclusion, therefore, three great, independently established facts-the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, and the origin of the Christian faith-all point to the same marvelous conclusion: that God raised Jesus from the dead...Given the religio-historical context in which this event occurred, the significance of Jesus' resurrection is clear: it is the divine vindication of Jesus' radical personal claims." (p.399)
Conclusion: The Ultimate Apologetic
Craig ends his book by offering what he believes to be the most effective apologetic for the Christian faith: a life lived out by aggressively loving God and loving others. He ends by stating that "more often than not, it is who you are rather than what you say that will bring an unbeliever to Christ. This, then, is the ultimate apologetic. For the ultimate apologetic is-your life." (p.407)
My personal take:
Craig's book is by far the best Christian apologetic book one could possibly find on the market today for it covers a bunch of the core questions relevant to examining the truthfulness of Christianity all in one book. And now, this wonderful book is updated for a third time by Craig offering new philosophical, historical, and scientific knowledge where needed and even dealing with a host of old objections from new faces and from new places. The only two beefs I have with Craig is that he did not mention or even appear to consult Philosopher Paul Moser's new book The Elusive God: Reorienting Religious Epistemology nor Greg Boyd's and Paul Eddy's fairly new book The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition. Moser's book, I believe, would have really strengthened his case for the Holy Spirit epistemology found in chapter one. Also, the book by Boyd and Eddy would have really strengthened chapters five, six, seven, and eight. These two books, in my opinion, are way too good to leave not consulted. In light of desiring to leave out of the book arguments for the historical reliability of the NT, he could have at least consulted Moser's book. In a post-post-modern culture becoming increasingly post-Christian, I think the epistemological questions regarding knowing spiritual truths (or knowing anything for that matter) are very important since a lot of college and graduate students (and even lay-people) are becoming more and more exposed to post-modern philosophy without being also exposed to adequate criticisms of those philosophies where needed. Overall, I would definitely add this `third edition' to my personal library, especially if you are the type of person who likes to work through arguments and their objections. I believe Craig has done us a favor by addressing some of these objections instead of ignoring them even though he originally claimed he was not going to do so in the introduction.
 Wishful Thinking July 11, 2008
4 out of 53 found this review helpful
The arguments presented really offer nothing new in the way of apologetics, whether by Cardinal Newman, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, or St. Thomas Aquinas; the fact remains that in order to believe one must suspend disbelief, and wanting something to be true-- no matter how strongly-- does not make it so. There is absolutely no evidence for faith in the supernatural, and all efforts to provide rational arguments for doing so are either incomplete, misguided, or outright sophistic-- (theodicy, anyone??? [...])... Just because science does not have all the answers does not necessitate the automatic default to religion. Religious mythology has many recurring motifs, across many cultures and many eras (even pre-Mosaic and pre-Christian), whether exoduses, virgin births, or resurrections; and while these narratives can evoke wonder and emotion through sheer literary value, these qualities do not make them true. Any claims to the contrary are unsupported and unprovable. The inability to disprove something does not make it true-- if that were the case, then no one could prove that Santa Claus or even the Easter Bunny, do not, in fact exist; and there have been far more sightings of them recently-- especially at shopping malls during the holidays-- than of any other saint or deity.
Probably the best defense of Christianity ever written in modern times July 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Dr. William Lane Craig has taken a masterpiece and somehow made it even better. "Reasonable Faith" is a tour de force in Christian apologetics. Craig's newest version of "Reasonable Faith" includes updated material regarding the existence of God and other topics. If you have the second edition, the new material is so powerful that it is well worth the price to buy a copy of the third edition. As a Christian, if I could recommend any book ever written on the defense of Christianity, this would be the one. Craig also includes new material refuting the "New Atheists" such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. A must read for believers and those who have read one side of the story, say, a book by Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens or Daniel Dennett, and who want to be honest with themselves and read the other side of the story... this is your book.
Well-Researched Positive Case for Christianity July 1, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
An extraordinary work of contemporary Christian apologetics by a premier model of Christian scholarship and thought!
The book's web companion, [...], is helpful for individual and group study and interaction.
If you own the 2nd edition, this 3rd edition is superior, without a doubt.
Thanks you William Lane Craig and Crossway Books!
Required Reading! June 17, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is one of the best apologetic primers out there. However, I would highly recommend you seek out the audio version of the book as a companion to or instead of the book. The audio version is fabulously arranged and is not merely a reading of the book, but rather a course in and of itself.
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