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Systematic Philosophical Theology, Volume 1: Prolegomena, On Scripture, On Faith
"[...] the culmination of an impressive career in philosophy and theology. ... Craig's work will be highly valued and a great achievement, meriting significant attention."
—Charles Taliaferro, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, St. Olaf College
"William Lane Craig's landmark treatise on systematic philosophical theology is a major contribution to our understanding of the relation of philosophy and Christian doctrine and will be an essential reference point for future discussions."
—Alister McGrath, Emeritus Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, Oxford University
A transformative journey through Christian doctrine, Volume On Scripture, On Faith
William Lane Craig's Systematic Philosophical Theology is a multi-volume explication of Christian doctrine in the classic Protestant tradition of the loci communes as seen through the lens of contemporary analytic philosophy. Uniquely blending the disciplines of biblical theology, historical theology, and analytic theology, these volumes aim to provide readers with a biblical and philosophically coherent articulation of a wide range of Christian doctrines.
In the first volume of the series, Prolegomena, On Scripture, On Faith, Craig begins by introducing his conception of systematic philosophical theology, describing how it relates to biblical theology, dogmatics, fundamental theology, apologetics, and especially philosophy of religion. The chapters that follow defend the divine authority of Scripture, address the nature of faith, and discuss the rational justification for Christian faith. Throughout the text, Craig tackles cutting edge philosophical questions that arise naturally from Christian doctrine, such as the compatibility of biblical inspiration and human freedom and whether faith implies belief.
—Charles Taliaferro, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, St. Olaf College
"William Lane Craig's landmark treatise on systematic philosophical theology is a major contribution to our understanding of the relation of philosophy and Christian doctrine and will be an essential reference point for future discussions."
—Alister McGrath, Emeritus Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, Oxford University
A transformative journey through Christian doctrine, Volume On Scripture, On Faith
William Lane Craig's Systematic Philosophical Theology is a multi-volume explication of Christian doctrine in the classic Protestant tradition of the loci communes as seen through the lens of contemporary analytic philosophy. Uniquely blending the disciplines of biblical theology, historical theology, and analytic theology, these volumes aim to provide readers with a biblical and philosophically coherent articulation of a wide range of Christian doctrines.
In the first volume of the series, Prolegomena, On Scripture, On Faith, Craig begins by introducing his conception of systematic philosophical theology, describing how it relates to biblical theology, dogmatics, fundamental theology, apologetics, and especially philosophy of religion. The chapters that follow defend the divine authority of Scripture, address the nature of faith, and discuss the rational justification for Christian faith. Throughout the text, Craig tackles cutting edge philosophical questions that arise naturally from Christian doctrine, such as the compatibility of biblical inspiration and human freedom and whether faith implies belief.
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2024
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About the author
William Lane Craig
136 books848 followersWilliam 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 25, 2025
One would be hard-pressed to overstate the importance of this contribution to the body of Christian scholarship. Craig, with doctorates in both theology and philosophy, is at the height of his powers here, bringing out the full extent of his expertise in both fields to present the most precise, coherent, and scripturally-faithful analysis of Christian doctrine that’s ever been put in print.
The following are what I take to be the reasons you should immediately purchase this book:
1. The modern historical background and defense of analytic theology
Postmodernism has ravaged the Church like a cancer, eating away at its bones until we’re left with nothing but relativistic gobbledygook. Even the most well-intentioned of churches can be found succumbing to its malignant influence. Needless to say, a theology of gobbledygook does not lend itself to loving God with all one’s mind. The cure for this cancer is analytic theology, with its characteristic emphasis on clearly defined terms, logical coherence, avoidance of premature appeals to mystery, and synthesis of the best-available data. And who better to write on this than one who has spent his entire career employing the instruments of the most exacting philosophical approach in the service of explicating and defending the truths of the Christian faith?
2. The clarification of truth and language
“The weather in Las Vegas will be hot today.” If anything is true, this is. Yet, no one thinks that “weather” is an object, even though the word is used as a noun in the sentence. But how can the sentence be true when the thing referred to in the sentence doesn’t actually exist? This is precisely where Dr. Craig’s discussion of truth and language is helpful. The payoff for theology should be immediately obvious. We want to know what Scripture commits us to, as well as what it doesn’t. And we can’t get to that effectively unless we know how language relates to truth. Again, who better to write on this than one who spent over a decade studying and publishing on this particular subject? (See also his powerhouse of a book, “God Over All”)
3. Making sense of the inspiration of Scripture
The Bible is the written Word of God. It is also a collection of texts written by humans. At first blush, these seem like embarrassingly contradictory statements. For centuries, theologians have labored over how to bring these statements together in a satisfactory, non-contradictory way. Where most have failed, Dr. Craig has succeeded, aided by a centuries-forgotten concept called “middle knowledge” developed by the medieval Jesuit priest, Luis de Molina. This concept not only unlocks the answer to the inspiration of Scripture, but also to a host of other perennial theological knots, such as divine providence, the fate of the unevangelized, the problem of evil, divine foreknowledge and human freedom, etc.
4. Making sense of “faith”
Faith. Through it, we are saved by grace. Thus, it is of central importance to the Judeo-Christian tradition. But millennia of colloquial usage has diluted or even distorted our perception of what exactly biblical, saving faith is. Dr. Craig leaves no scriptural stone unturned in gathering the biblical data on the concept. Then (as should be expected at this point), he meticulously and neatly lays out each aspect for inspection like a master engineer disassembling a machine. The result? Biblical, saving faith is not a mystery. Nor is it a-rational. The Bible makes clear what it is. And we can thank Dr. Craig for tilting the spotlight toward it for all our sakes.
5. It will make you more interesting
If you haven’t gone over to Amazon and clicked “Buy Now” yet, then here’s one last reason: by reading this book, you will be a much more interesting person. Imagine you’re at a dead party, everyone awkwardly talking about vapid celebrity garbage, or there’s some crypto-bro trying to sell a meme coin. You want to spice things up. You’ve read this book, so you say, “Hey, what do you guys think about this idea that ‘A sentence in order to be meaningful must be capable in principle of being empirically verified’?” Or, “Did you know that the Bible teaches that demons have faith?” Life’s too short for low-quality party conversations. Get the book.
The following are what I take to be the reasons you should immediately purchase this book:
1. The modern historical background and defense of analytic theology
Postmodernism has ravaged the Church like a cancer, eating away at its bones until we’re left with nothing but relativistic gobbledygook. Even the most well-intentioned of churches can be found succumbing to its malignant influence. Needless to say, a theology of gobbledygook does not lend itself to loving God with all one’s mind. The cure for this cancer is analytic theology, with its characteristic emphasis on clearly defined terms, logical coherence, avoidance of premature appeals to mystery, and synthesis of the best-available data. And who better to write on this than one who has spent his entire career employing the instruments of the most exacting philosophical approach in the service of explicating and defending the truths of the Christian faith?
2. The clarification of truth and language
“The weather in Las Vegas will be hot today.” If anything is true, this is. Yet, no one thinks that “weather” is an object, even though the word is used as a noun in the sentence. But how can the sentence be true when the thing referred to in the sentence doesn’t actually exist? This is precisely where Dr. Craig’s discussion of truth and language is helpful. The payoff for theology should be immediately obvious. We want to know what Scripture commits us to, as well as what it doesn’t. And we can’t get to that effectively unless we know how language relates to truth. Again, who better to write on this than one who spent over a decade studying and publishing on this particular subject? (See also his powerhouse of a book, “God Over All”)
3. Making sense of the inspiration of Scripture
The Bible is the written Word of God. It is also a collection of texts written by humans. At first blush, these seem like embarrassingly contradictory statements. For centuries, theologians have labored over how to bring these statements together in a satisfactory, non-contradictory way. Where most have failed, Dr. Craig has succeeded, aided by a centuries-forgotten concept called “middle knowledge” developed by the medieval Jesuit priest, Luis de Molina. This concept not only unlocks the answer to the inspiration of Scripture, but also to a host of other perennial theological knots, such as divine providence, the fate of the unevangelized, the problem of evil, divine foreknowledge and human freedom, etc.
4. Making sense of “faith”
Faith. Through it, we are saved by grace. Thus, it is of central importance to the Judeo-Christian tradition. But millennia of colloquial usage has diluted or even distorted our perception of what exactly biblical, saving faith is. Dr. Craig leaves no scriptural stone unturned in gathering the biblical data on the concept. Then (as should be expected at this point), he meticulously and neatly lays out each aspect for inspection like a master engineer disassembling a machine. The result? Biblical, saving faith is not a mystery. Nor is it a-rational. The Bible makes clear what it is. And we can thank Dr. Craig for tilting the spotlight toward it for all our sakes.
5. It will make you more interesting
If you haven’t gone over to Amazon and clicked “Buy Now” yet, then here’s one last reason: by reading this book, you will be a much more interesting person. Imagine you’re at a dead party, everyone awkwardly talking about vapid celebrity garbage, or there’s some crypto-bro trying to sell a meme coin. You want to spice things up. You’ve read this book, so you say, “Hey, what do you guys think about this idea that ‘A sentence in order to be meaningful must be capable in principle of being empirically verified’?” Or, “Did you know that the Bible teaches that demons have faith?” Life’s too short for low-quality party conversations. Get the book.
February 28, 2025
William Lane Craig, an acclaimed Christian philosopher of religion, has produced a work that remains essential reading for anyone—Christian or otherwise—interested in analytic philosophy of religion. That said, I found his occasional allusions to Islam outdated and mistaken. For instance, on page 23, he asserts, “Indeed, it was Islamic theology that finally vanquished philosophy from Muslim intellectual culture.” While throughout the book Craig is generous in providing meticulous and careful citations for his claims, here he fails to provide any references to substantiate his bold assertion. It is as though he is treating an established fact that requires no substantiation. More importantly, this claim is deeply misleading. Far from being “vanquished,” philosophy not only persisted but flourished within Muslim intellectual traditions, particularly in later developments such as the vibrant Safavid schools in Iran. Prominent examples of the flourishing of Islamic philosophy after its so-called "decline" include the influential schools led by Mīr Dāmād, Mullā Ṣadrā, and his creative expositor Sabzawārī. See: Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy (State University of New York Press, 2006), Sajjad Rizvi, Mulla Sadra and Metaphysics: Modulation of Being (Routledge, 2009), Henry Corbin (with Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Osman Yahya), History of Islamic Philosophy (Kegan Paul International, 1993). Also see: The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Entry: "Islamic Philosophy, Later") and The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Entry: "Mulla Sadra").
Craig’s assertion reflects a dated Orientalist narrative prevalent in early 20th-century scholarship—one that has long been discredited in contemporary English-language Islamic studies. Recent scholarship increasingly recognizes the vital, dynamic interplay between theology, philosophy, and mysticism within Islamic intellectual traditions, spanning the late medieval period through to the modern and contemporary era. Unfortunately, Craig appears unfamiliar with this evolving body of work, which undermines the otherwise valuable contributions of his book. (A caveat for the sake of full disclosure: My very short analysis involved a meticulous, line-by-line examination of the introduction, followed by a skimming of the remainder of the volume.)
Craig’s assertion reflects a dated Orientalist narrative prevalent in early 20th-century scholarship—one that has long been discredited in contemporary English-language Islamic studies. Recent scholarship increasingly recognizes the vital, dynamic interplay between theology, philosophy, and mysticism within Islamic intellectual traditions, spanning the late medieval period through to the modern and contemporary era. Unfortunately, Craig appears unfamiliar with this evolving body of work, which undermines the otherwise valuable contributions of his book. (A caveat for the sake of full disclosure: My very short analysis involved a meticulous, line-by-line examination of the introduction, followed by a skimming of the remainder of the volume.)
April 14, 2025
This book covers some introductory concerns such as the history of the genre and closely related genres, biblical inspiration, inerrancy, and faith. As the title states- this book has a great balance between the use of scripture, theological discussion, and philosophical analysis. Dr. Craig favors biblical authority over traditional theology or philosophical theories but the latter are taken serious as corroboration or as support for biblical teaching.
The brief history of the genre was very interesting and it created a greater understanding as to why this particular approach was chosen and how the church can benefit from it. As I read through the book, the use of philosophy integrated with theology made more and more sense and I ended up really appreciating this approach.
Biblical inspiration, inerrancy, and faith aren’t topics that I usually have much interest in but Dr. Craig presented these topics in a very captivating way that highlighted their importance. The section on faith was particularly interesting and contained ideas I had never heard in my bible college education.
Lastly I’ll state that Dr. Craig , in my opinion, is an excellent writer as his balance between efficiency and explanation is masterful. He treats the other thinkers he interacts with fairly and submits their ideas and his own inclinations to the authority of scripture. The next volume in this series is going to include the attributes of God and I am very excited to read that asap as possible.
The brief history of the genre was very interesting and it created a greater understanding as to why this particular approach was chosen and how the church can benefit from it. As I read through the book, the use of philosophy integrated with theology made more and more sense and I ended up really appreciating this approach.
Biblical inspiration, inerrancy, and faith aren’t topics that I usually have much interest in but Dr. Craig presented these topics in a very captivating way that highlighted their importance. The section on faith was particularly interesting and contained ideas I had never heard in my bible college education.
Lastly I’ll state that Dr. Craig , in my opinion, is an excellent writer as his balance between efficiency and explanation is masterful. He treats the other thinkers he interacts with fairly and submits their ideas and his own inclinations to the authority of scripture. The next volume in this series is going to include the attributes of God and I am very excited to read that asap as possible.
May 28, 2025
This is one of the best Systematic Theologies I have ever read. The classics like Calvin's Institutes, Hodge's Systematic, and more recently Grudem's work have been outdone by a well-argued philosophical approach. Not only has Craig argued his own positions well, but he has surveyed alternate positions and presented the relevant arguments and concepts. The reader may well end up disagreeing with Craig, but at least they will find that the points of contention are clear and well stated. This systematic will be ranked among the best.
June 25, 2025
Highly recommended for those interested in Christian philosophy and/or theology. Craig discusses the aims of philosophy and theology and how each discipline needs the other; the nature of truth; the revelation of Scripture and our justification in believing Scripture; the nature of faith; whether faith involves belief; and finally, Alvin Plantinga's epistemology.
A good but heavy read. Looking forward to the next volumes.
A good but heavy read. Looking forward to the next volumes.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews