On Guard: Defending Your Faith With Reason and Precision

1 Peter 3:15\\r\\n""""Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect""""\\r\\nAre you well equipped in presenting a defence for your faith in the existence of God and imperative of accepting Jesus? Christians often try to prove the bible is true by using the bible as our only evidence; and in the process use colloquial Christian language. This defence is not only circular but lost on a Post Modern relativistic world who see the Gospel as intolerant, and who don't speak our language. \\r\\n2 Corinthians 10:4\\r\\n""""We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. """"\\r\\nThis book is a foundational exposition of arguments for the rationality of belief in our God and of Jesus as the only way. \\r\\nCraig weaves a little of his own story into his writings and I enjoyed the realness of a person with a heart after God alongside philosophical, historical and scientific considerations. \\r\\nWhile accessible and foundational in many respects there is a philosophical mindset that undergirds the book; as with many apologetic literature, that takes a while to learn. \\r\\nEnjoy!

On Guard is an excellent presentation of the arguments for the Christian faith from a largely philosophical approach. He traces out several lines of argument, which taken together in order, build up to make his case. He begins by exploring the possibility of meaning in life without God, followed by several arguments for the existence of God, finally leading to arguments for the person, resurrection and exclusivity of Jesus. \\r\\n\\r\\nThis book is a more user-friendly version of Craig's larger work Reasonable Faith. One feature which makes On Guard extremely useful is a diagram charting the flow the arguments and counterarguments of each chapter. This book clearly explains complicated concepts for those wanting a logical defence of the Christian faith.

William Lane Craig has written an excellent resource for Christians wanting to strengthen their own position of faith. With clear arguments, intuitive charts and layouts, and memorable key points, 'On Guard' helps believers to 'always be ready to give the reason for the hope that you have'.

On Guard is an apologetics training manual by Professor William Lane Craig which is aimed at Christians who know Christianity is true, but can't quite figure out how to express the confidence they have in their faith to their unbelieving friends or colleagues. Apologetics is the study of defending the Christian faith, which Dr. Craig is an expert in. On Guard does not require any prior knowledge or reading, and yet doesn't shy away from interacting with the objections and counter-arguments unbelievers raise. However Craig doesn't just dump information on the reader, but rather systematically works through reasons to think God exists and how to deal with suffering, all the while answering the same objections you will be faced with when talking with unbelievers. Craig even uses argument maps to help us understand and remember how the arguments interact with objections to help the reader remember how to respond to objections in real time and not just with the benefit of hindsight. \\r\\nOn Guard is not just a book to aid us when talking with unbelievers however, but it is also a very useful tool in combating personal doubt about the truth of Christianity, especially in a post-Christian age where it's so easy to walk away from the faith this book gives us good intellectual reasons why we should keep fighting for the truth. Highly recommended.