Dr. Craig and Reasonable Faith Team,
Early in my high school career, I underwent and, thanks to God’s faithfulness, emerged from a deep crisis of faith. Strengthened in my relationship with Christ, I still saw what I thought was a deep, disparaging hole in the intellectual life of the Evangelical community and the world at large, and vowed to spend my life helping to change that state of affairs even if it was a long, lonely road. I was surprised and delighted, then, when early my sophomore year of undergraduate studies I discovered that philosophy is a thriving, academic discipline that one can pursue. (Where was the mention of the field during my formative high school years!?) But perhaps with equal joy came my subsequent discovery of Reasonable Faith after stumbling across your name, Dr. Craig, in my epistemology notes. In many ways, your personal testimony resonated and still resonates with my own life experiences and your treatment of divine providence enthralled me as it greatly expanded upon and refined my longstanding intuitions.
This was nearly three years ago, and ever since, I have been amazed as God has used you and your work to guide my thinking and shape my character. Time and again, a newly released RF podcast or academic work (most recently your treatment of divine aseity in Philosophia Christi) corresponds brilliantly with a newly acquired philosophic interest of mine or a subject that I have been discussing with my peers. Tangentially, in recent months, your work has helped put to rest the intellectual fears of one of my good friends from China. The discussion I had with him about arguments for God’s existence and Christ’s resurrection is but one link in an amazing chain that helped lead him to Christ! Praise God! He has since been devouring Christian literature and has helped lead another Chinese student to Christ. Praise God!
Or again, in 2011, I spent a summer in Germany and one evening feared that my new atheist acquaintances’ eyes might grow so wide as to pop from their heads! I had earnestly shared with them that not only did I have the internal witness of the Holy Spirit, but also in light of external evidences for God’s existence and Christ’s resurrection, I felt rationally compelled to accept the great things of the Gospel. With this comment, they leaned in with astonishment and said with no shortage of shock and incredulity, “Really?”and an edifying, three-hour conversation, not to mention a longstanding friendship, began. I believe they were rather stunned and perhaps pleasantly surprised to engage with arguments from natural theology. Were it not for your work, I do not believe I would have been able to engage and largely guide the conversation as I did. Your work is truly helping to reach the nations, Dr. Craig! Thank you.
Currently, I am on course to begin graduate studies in philosophy beginning fall 2013. It is my sincere wish not only to continue what you and others have aptly described as a Christian renaissance in Anglo-American philosophy, but also to bring this renaissance to other parts of the world, particularly China and Germany. I am fortunate enough to be in a prime position to begin this process, and so remain excited about your work throughout the world, and the work of other organizations like the EPS and their recent outreach to Christian, European academics. It has been very encouraging and helpful to hear what God has been doing through RF around the world as I consider where He may be leading me.
-Joshua
