A Reasonable Response: Answers to Tough Questions on God, Christianity, and the Bible

by William Lane Craig, Joseph E., Gorra

Followers of Jesus need not fear hard questions or objections against Christian belief. In A Reasonable Response, renowned Christian philosopher and apologist William Lane Craig offers dozens of examples of how some of the most common challenges to Christian thought can be addressed,

Why does God allow evil?How can I be sure God exists?Why should I believe that the Bible is trustworthy?How does modern science relate to the Christian worldview?What evidence do we have that Jesus rose from the dead?Utilizing real questions submitted to his popular website ReasonableFaith.org, Dr. Craig models well-reasoned, skillful, and biblically informed interaction with his inquirers. A Reasonable Response goes beyond merely talking about apologetics; it shows it in action. With cowriter Joseph E. Gorra, this book also offers advice about envisioning and practicing the ministry of answering people’s questions through the local church, workplace, and in online environments.

Whether you're struggling to respond to tough objections or looking for answers to your own intellectual questions, A Reasonable Response will equip you with sound reasoning and biblical truth.

Genres: Christianity, Philosophy, Theology, Nonfiction, Religion, History, Spirituality

551 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. He and his wife Jan have two grown children.

At the age of sixteen as a junior in high school, he first heard the message of the Christian gospel and yielded his life to Christ. Dr. Craig pursued his undergraduate studies at Wheaton College (B.A. 1971) and graduate studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A. 1974; M.A. 1975), the University of Birmingham (England) (Ph.D. 1977), and the University of Munich (Germany) (D.Theol. 1984). From 1980-86 he taught Philosophy of Religion at Trinity, during which time he and Jan started their family. In 1987 they moved to Brussels, Belgium, where Dr. Craig pursued research at the University of Louvain until assuming his position at Talbot in 1994.

He has authored or edited over thirty books, including The Kalam Cosmological Argument; Assessing the New Testament Evidence for the Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus; Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom; Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology; and God, Time and Eternity, as well as over a hundred articles in professional journals of philosophy and theology, including The Journal of Philosophy, New Testament Studies, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy, and British Journal for Philosophy of Science.

Reviews

[Garrett Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a volume of Dr. Craig's answers to question from his "Question of the Week" series on his Reasonable Faith website. It is not simply a compilation, however, the questions are carefully chosen to almost be a sequel to his Reasonable Faith or more closely On Guard, since many of these questions concern the topics covered in those books. There is also much writing int he book by Dr. Criag's co author who analyzes Dr. Craig's answering techniques throughout the book, which could be useful to hone your discussions.
Since these are answers given to questions sent in, this is a more popular level book akin to On Guard, being such I would recommend this to refine readers of On Guard who wish to dig deeper. New readers to this kind of Christian analytic philosophy will probably be often confused since there is frequently an assumption that one understands the concepts being debated (eg. God's temporality or lack thereof, the finer points of ontological arguments for God's existence, etc.). I strongly recommend this to Christians who already have some background in this field but want to further train themselves to answer questions in the real world, make an impact for apologetics work in your church, etc. This is also an excellent book for skeptics to read some of Dr. Craig's answers to tougher and more esoteric objections than he answers in On Guard. Overall, I highly recommend this book as a good resource for those who already have a philosophy background and want to improve your ability to reach out to others or better understand Dr. Craig's arguments.

[Jeffrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Craig is frequently insulting to his interlocutors, be they Christian, atheist or Muslim. He also touts long debunked and unconvincing arguments for a deist God. He also loves his statement, which he sets up and knocks down with impunity. That being said he earned something of a grudging respect from me over the course of the first half of the book.

Sadly in the second half he throws all this respect into the garbage. In his section on whether to or not a person can chose to believe he, very disappointingly, fell back on the bible instead of examining the philosophical underpinnings of belief. At one point he implies that homosexuality is a problem that needs to be fixed, and in another that any problems in a marriage stem from the wife withholding sex.

Worst of all, in a candid moment he admits that no matter how convincing an argument or how strong the evidence he will never change his mind. This is a level of intellectual dishonesty that makes his editor's call for an open mind sound all the more hollow.

[GiGi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Craig is clearly capable, but somehow he still thinks its acceptable to answer many questions in the book by doing this: without God/Christianity, life would be meaningless, therefore God/Christianity are true/you should believe in them. Or, he refutes the statement that "God is not evident to all of those that earnestly seek him" by saying that those that don't find God self-evident are in denial or just need more time. This is supposed to be a book based on reasonable responses, implying reason is employed in the answers to the "tough questions." Instead of reason, WLC touts faith.

The whole thing is just baffling. I hope his other books are better.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads Book Giveaway. I wasn't expecting a pseudo-intellectual book. I don't know what I expected but this just wasn't for me. I gave it a shot and I'm sure it's good for those who are looking for a more intellectual argument, but I'm good

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a resource that recounts questions and letters Craig received from his book "A Reasonable Faith", and a sampling of others from his published website and debates. Many of the questions I found quite dense and involved very specific points of theology, divine will, God and time, etc., that are pretty hard to follow for a layman. Others I enjoyed more: the questions and Craig's answer on biblical inerrancy and evidence for the resurrection of Jesus (p. 112), Craig's response to the assertion by Hawking and Modinow that "because of gravity" and "spontaneous creation", invoking God is not necessary (p. 191), and Craig's response to scientism and naturalism (p. 235).

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for anyone who is learning how to do apologetics. It's like reading a field manual by one of the best apologists of our time. I found the appendices of the book most helpful for creating a civil environment to ask and answer questions. Every Christian should read this book and be aware of how to evangelize and do apologetics.

[Kingsley Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book, yet a really hard read. Don't use this as an introduction to apologetics, use 'Reasonable Faith' with this as a follow-on to get real-life questions answered. Superb.

[Brittany]

Cited in case for the creator

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

At its core, the practice of Christian apologetics is the practice of answering questions about our faith as best we can. No one is better at this today than Dr. William Lane Craig. Not only does he write and speak frequently about deep philosophical issues and Christian doctrine, he also takes the time weekly on his website, reasonablefaith.org, and on his podcast to answer people's questions about philosophy and the Christian faith. This book is a collection of some of Dr. Craig's answers to those questions. But thanks to the work of this books co-author, Mr. Gorra, this book also tries to teach by example and the co-author's own annotations in the margin. Unfortunately, while Dr. Craig's answers are always erudite and informative (if a little too heady for me and, I suspect, some readers at times), Mr. Gorra's annotations are too weak and infrequent to live up to his prologue's lofty goals. There is still much to get out of this. The appendices in the back can help small groups, parents at home, and churches use this book foster an open apologetics ministry. And while Dr. Craig's answers can certainly be used to foment discussions in a small group setting, don't look to Mr. Gorra's annotations to be of much assistance in pointing out Dr. Craig's process in answering the question. This book can also be used by those who have read Dr. Craig's On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision and are not sure if they want to tackle his intermediate book Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics. It can also be used by those who have read Reasonable Faith and are looking for shorter answers to some of the topics covered in there or are looking for a quick reference to Dr. Craig's answers to certain topics. On the whole, this book doesn't quite live up to the co-author's promises, but it is still a good book on the ministry of apologetics in general.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is essentially a Q&A book, but unlike any I've encountered. For one, it's actually a pleasure to read. Most books in this genre seem like dry, unending Frequently Asked Questions slapped between two covers. This is like listening to the teacher answer a question your braver friend dared to ask.

Much of this experience is probably due to Craig's co-writer, Joseph Gorra, who contributes an intriguing introduction on "The Practice and Ministry of Answering Questions," along with chapter introductions and "Insights" regarding how Craig actually goes about giving an answer. The content of Craig's responses can be found elsewhere, but Gorra's insights add color commentary that helps the reader better understand the actual craft of giving a reasonable response.

The book is divided into six parts:
1: Questions on knowing and believing what is real.
2: Questions about God.
3: Questions about origins and the meaning of life.
4: Questions about the afterlife and evil.
5: Questions about Jesus Christ and being his disciple.
6: Questions about Issues on Christian practice.

Although far from comprehensive, the book sufficiently presents a Christian worldview through its answers of big questions. One might not agree or be satisfied with Craig's given responses, but the invitation to explore other sources is offered with a bibliography before each major section. Here are recommended resources and references to Craig's other works, sectioned by Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced categories.

I highly recommend this book as an entry point for those seeking to better understand the Christian faith, as well as for those who want to learn the craft itself of answering questions. Craig and Gorra together accomplish both.

This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.

[Roger Leonhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Craig. I have heard some of his debates but never read him. Most of the information I had on him was his view of middle knowledge and Molinism.

This was a great book. It is not your average Christian book. It is very deep. It is always good to read things that are a little over your head. If every book we read was in our comfort zone, we would never learn.

Craig's book consists of questions from around the world. These are not easy questions. Craig respectfully answers each in detail. He is both logical and Biblical in most responses (we differ on Calvinism).

Some answers will send you into farther reading. Each section has a list of resources that will take you deeper. The list is split into Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Craig answers anything from – “Does God exist?” to “If God is good, why is there evil in the world”. There is also an examination by Joseph E. Gorra of Craig’s answers and gives us insight into the details of answering questions. Here he shows us how Craig came to his conclusion and how to answer similar questions on our own.

I don't always agree with every answer, but he is very knowledgeable and a lot smarter than I. This will be a book that I will likely go back to after farther study.

The book is not only about answering questions; Gorra’s additions are actually “how to” lessons in apologetics.

I highly recommend it and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

I received this book, free of charge, from Moody Publishers and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Gary Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very information rich book. I would recommend it to those who are looking for deep and serious discussion on issues of Christian philosophy and apologetics. However, to someone who is still relatively new to this field (like myself), I would first direct to Craig's earlier book "On Guard." It outlines Craig's main arguments for the Christian faith as well as introduces related topics and issues. This is path I took, stopping about a third of the way through "Reasonable Response" after picking up a copy of "On Guard."

There is a very wide range of topics, covering: the existence of God, the problem of evil, God's relation to time, the afterlife, even down to practical advice on how to live the Christian life.

This certainly isn't a book for people totally new to topics at hand, but it won't hurt to have it on hand to look up different issues as they come up in one's life.

[Evan Minton · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how sometimes, when someone gives a lecture, there will be a Q and A period afterwards? That's what this book felt like to me. It felt like a sequel to William Lane Craig's other books, Reasonable Faith and On Guard: because it dealt with questions and objections to a lot of the material contained in those books. Of course, not all of it was. The book itself is an organized compilation of Q&A articles from William Lane Craig's website ReasonableFaith.org. So, not all of the questions and answers had to do with material Craig had written in the past.

I do recommend this book. It will be a great edition to your apologetics collection.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was not what I expected. Most of the questions were from Christians and dealt with nuances of apologetics. Many questions dealt with a misunderstanding of something Craig had previously written or had been on a video, etc. Many were from Bible students. One question was about a technique of Plantinga. There are a few questions that might be of interest to a layman, but this is not the kind of book for the Christian who wants to know how to talk to his unsaved next door neighbor. See my complete review at http://bit.ly/1a0D0ZE.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite a bit smarter before reading this book.  By that I mean, as the questions for Craig were set up, I would anticipate his answer.  I'd see how I might answer.  Invariably his answers were so much better that I was left with the distinct realization that I have a long way to go.  It's why I admire William Craig so much.  His is one of the finest minds of our generation, and his rhetorical skills are unmatched.  Reasonable Response is a fine book, and I'm sure I'll be referencing it plenty.  

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I bought this book, you can read all of these articles on his website for free. I think the most appealing thing about this work is the organization brought to the multitude of questions that Craig comments on.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As normal, Craig is extraordinary at providing insights into difficult subject matters. The discussed topics are pretty wide. I would recommend this book as a good intermediate reference for Christian apologetics.

[Nathan Schwartz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book. It’s easy to admire WLC and I think he really believes that he is being reasonable and logical with his arguments. Even in cases where his logic is clearly poor (e.g. without God there is obviously no point to the universe), his rhetoric is outstanding.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting books. I like how he specifically answered each question very thoroughly.

[Antonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Q n A book, some questions didn't interesting me, but some which got answered are super good. Handy.

[Tom Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

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