Christianity is a crutch. Never has a truer statement been made. Christianity is a belief for the weak, helpless, and hopeless individual. What more could one expect from a religion where a "Great Physician" is the centerpiece? I have heard such a claim levied at Christianity fairly frequently. Good, American, self-made individuals take issue with such a religion because casts don't have bootstraps by which one can pull themselves up, and are rather cumbersome features. They impede self and produce dependence. Who needs a crutch when one has proven with their life that they are self-sufficient - they are hindered by nothing? Many Westerners are therefore functional atheists, denying their need for a God who is just a crutch.

I am moving on to Craig's sixth chapter and skipping the fifth. I am doing this because the fifth chapter is on the "fine tuning" argument, which focuses on an accumulation of evidence rather than if/then proofs. While I think the fine tuning argument is important, and it is good for Craig's flow as he steps us closer and closer to the Christian God, I want to save this argument for later. With that being said, I am moving on to Craig's sixth chapter, which zooms us in to the moral argument. 

So far, "On Guard" has laid the important groundwork for understanding the pitfalls atheism faces right out of the gate. Not only does atheism fail to produce meaning, purpose, and values (see post "Absurdity of Life Without God"), but it also falls short in the areas of philosophy and reason, as atheism fails to produce an explanation of the universe - unless "inexplicability" is considered a good explanation (see post "Why Does Anything At All Exist?"). At the same time, Craig spent the previous chapter showing how God is a viable explanation for the universe, God maintains the explanatory property of necessity, and is the only explanation with explanatory power apart from entities like abstract objects, which are not viable options for reasons addressed elsewhere.  

Our last apologetic's topic focused on the first chapter of William Lane Craig's book, "On Guard," where he laid out how absurd and unlivable life would be if an atheist were to be logically consistent and live out the implications of their worldview. While that doesn't disprove atheism, it should at least produce an interest in individuals to seek out and weigh the merits of believing in a god/gods/God. In the next chapter, "Why Does Anything At All Exist?," Craig is going to move into positive arguments for God. Here, Craig assesses the very origins of the universe.

We are beginning our apologetics series by following the format of William Lane Craig’s book, “On Guard.” We like this format because it follows a set structure, but also because we believe it logically builds the case for the Christian God. Craig begins his cumulative case by attempting to show individuals their need for God. If people don’t see their need for something, they are generally not receptive of a solution. 

While everyone needs to see their need in order to accept a solution, all of us are on different place on the theological continuum. Some recognize their need for God, but don’t see themselves as sinners in need of a savior through grace.