Dear Dr. Craig,
With the utmost sincerity I must first say thank you. But, before I go any further, my story must be told:
Eight years ago, I put on Christ in baptism in a church of about 100 people. I grew up in a small country town with only about 300 or 400 people in my high school, an hour's drive to the nearest Walmart. To say the least, I would consider myself to have been a sheltered individual! Christianity was in the overwhelming majority at my school, with what few atheists we had remaining silent most of the time on moral issues. Basically, I had it easy. My faith was rarely challenged, save for doctrinal debate. I had little need for the field of study known as "apologetics."
But then it was time for college. I chose my dream school, the University of Florida, to continue my education and, by God's amazing grace, got plugged in with one of the most amazing college church groups imaginable. But I was by no means prepared for the intellectual turmoil I'd face throughout my three years there. Groups of varying beliefs, sizes, cultures, races, ages, and intellects now made up my entire collegiate environment, and what little knowledge I thought I had about Christianity and apologetics were batted down quite quickly. And just as all trial by fire goes, combined with my proud personality, I felt compelled to never be put in such embarrassing situations ever again. So we as a college group, in order to be better equipped and gain more experience dealing with these varying beliefs, decided to resurrect the group's on-campus "tabling," which is where we'd set up a little table in a high-foot-traffic location with church info on it and talk to those who passed by (not forcibly) about Christ and Christianity. We also set up opposing whiteboards with thought-provoking questions such as "I do/don't believe in God because..." or "Is God moral?" in order to start conversations. Although we had MANY great conversations, I realized that A) most non-Christians don't actually want to discuss, they just want to vent, and B) only one guy in the group was educated and confident enough to be able to sufficiently answer most of the questions posed against us.
But one day, that same guy in the group recommended that I search your name and watch some of your debates. "William Lane Craig is definitely one the best Christian debaters of our time," he said, "He schools atheists with confidence that I've never seen." Although you probably wouldn't approve of the term "school" since this is about winning souls and not debates, I just wanted you to understand how college kids think of it and how great your debates go from outside (but admittedly biased) onlookers! Moving on, I began watching some of your videos only to have only about every third word break through my uneducated brain. Not that your arguments are difficult to follow, I just had to get used to the concepts first! So get used to them I did; I watched video after video, studied debate after debate, read article after article, listened to podcast after podcast, and now and only now do I believe I have finally scratched the surface of both apologetics and philosophy!
So THANK YOU! Your confidence, preparation, and presentation of the extremely simple arguments for Christianity have inspired a confidence in me that I didn't know could be tapped into. I have yet to purchase your books, but the time is definitely coming soon! I have such a drive to learn more and more about all of these topics, both of apologetics and Christian doctrine, to where I hope I never cease to learn something new each day. You are a blessing to my life and, I'm sure, countless others. Your ministry has inspired me to, hopefully in the near future, attend some type of schooling for a biblical degree with an interest in apologetics. The confidence in my faith that I have now is a gift you have bestowed upon me that I cannot think of repaying. Especially with the (very) recent and future decisions of our nation sparking much discussion on moral issues and the existence of God, this confidence and knowledge has come in handy. I wish all of God's blessings upon the continuation of this apologetic ministry and I hope this testimony finds its way to your personal eyes so that you can know that there is a new generation of apologists out there willing to take a stand for God's eternal truth. I would love to one day meet you just to discuss...well....everything! Take care, Dr. Craig, and may you "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18)
In sincerity and gratitude,
-Sawyer
