Defending God's Existence

Despite its noble aim of presenting an apologetic case for the existence of the God of Scripture (using, it should be noted, a presuppositional apologetic method), this book suffers numerous shortcomings that prevent it from being a recommendable resource:

1. The book fails to demonstrate how its apologetic method is grounded in Scripture. Although there are a considerable number of Bible verses cited throughout, rarely does this book engage in detailed exegesis of those verses in order to demonstrate how (allegedly) they undergird the argumentative strategy this work employs. The verses appealed to are cherrypicked, and there is scant interaction with the biblical passages used by other Christian apologists in advocating for alternative apologetic methods.

2. The book’s critiques of alternative apologetic methods often are reducible to mere caricatures. It is evident that the author has invested little effort in actually trying to understand alternative views, as he frequently oversimplifies or outright misrepresents them. The author clearly understands the strawman fallacy (and discusses it in chapter 4); but this does not stop him from repeatedly setting up grossly misrepresented versions of alternative apologetic strategies, only to easily tear them down and disparage them.

3. The book contains a large volume of content that simply is rehashed, sometimes with very little change, from earlier material published by Answers in Genesis (namely other books and web articles). Even where the book contains material that has not appeared in other Answers in Genesis publications, there is little, if any, truly innovative content that advances the case for a presuppositional apologetic method or (more importantly) the existence of the God of Scripture. In short, this work is almost entirely derivative.

4. The book is poorly written. Readers looking for the basic, relatable style present in Ken Ham’s better-known works (such as “The Lie: Evolution”) will not find it here. This book is plagued throughout by tortured sentence structure, confusing vocabulary choices, inconsistent punctuation, and overall sloppy organization. Where the book refers to other sources, bibliographical information is sometimes missing. Additionally, the content of the book has been greatly padded by quoting Bible verses, at length, in footnotes.

5. The book fails to make a meaningful contribution in its field. It does not measure up to other contemporary works on Christian apologetics by the field’s foremost scholars, such as John Feinberg and Gary Habermas. Among works by presuppositionalists, it is far outstripped by readily accessible books by John Frame, K. Scott Oliphint, and Robert Reymond. And if the reader insists on the supposed strictly “Van Tillian” approach advocated for in this book, why not just read the many apologetic works of Van Til himself, which are still in print?

I deeply appreciate resources that help me equip my kids to stand confidently in their faith, and Defending God’s Existence does exactly that. Ken Ham explains foundational apologetics in a way that is clear, biblical, and accessible for families, making big worldview questions feel understandable rather than intimidating. I love how the book encourages children to think critically, evaluate what they hear from culture, and build their convictions on Scripture. It’s been an excellent tool in our homeschool for strengthening both understanding and confidence in the truth of God’s Word.

This is an excellent resource for your Library. I think everybody should have a good knowledge of why God is the one true God and if He really is real or not. If you or your child, or someone you know, has questions like these or want to know how the God of the Bible is the only true God and that there’s not just some other random deity in charge of it all then you’ll want to grab a copy.
Ken Ham has laid it out in an easy to understand yet very clear and direct way.
This book could easily be added to a high school morning basket or to your student’s elective reading. But I do think everybody should read this book just to get a firm grip on the why and the how behind who God is.

“Defending God’s Existence” by Ken Ham couldn’t have been released at a better time for me. I have been working to create a one year long Christian Apologetics course and the Presuppositional apologetic approach was in the lineup of topics to cover. I really appreciate this book for multiple reasons and I highly recommend it.

First, as most Presuppositional apologists do, the Word of God is the foundation for “apologetic” discussions. Ken Ham clearly shows how the Bible must be our starting point when considering various topics. Just as Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Second, I appreciate how Ken Ham reminds us that Christian apologists don’t convince people of the truth and certainly do not save people. The Holy Spirit does the drawing of the soul to God through the truth of His Word and He convinces people of where they stand before God. The Holy Spirit does the work in a person. The Christian Apologist’ job is to plant seeds of truth by defending why they believe what they believe. Ken Ham describes that many times the Christian Apologist won’t see a person be born again, but when they do, it’s possible the answers the Christian Apologist gave from the truth of God’s Word were planted or watered in the soul that was saved. Remember God gives the increase!

Third, I appreciate the history of presuppositional apologetics and the comparison to other apologetic approaches (e.g., classical, evidential, etc.). It was helpful to understand the differences between the apologetic approaches. It was also helpful to be given examples of questions one could ask with claims that are made contrary to the truth. The questions are twofold at least: 1) Understand where the person is coming from/genuinely get to know them and 2) Help the person see the error of their way.

Fourth, Ken provided several tables with key information as it relates to formal and informal logical fallacies, comparisons of other religions (e.g., Islam, Buddhism, Latter Day Saints/Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Atheism, etc.) to Christianity, and example conversations on various topics. All of these are great for quick references.

Fifth, I appreciated Ken Ham’s attitude throughout the book. Many Christians don’t see the importance of apologetics and/or they have a negative perception of it. Many times, people have negative perceptions of Christian apologetics because of the person carrying the message, and especially with the Presuppositional approach. Oftentimes the Presuppositional approach comes across as “tear your house down and build it back up” such that it makes the person who is being spoken to feel stupid. Sometimes the Presuppositional apologist acts puffed up with knowledge and wisdom of various arguments, speaks down to people, and is trying to win an argument. Ken Ham goes out of his way in the book to emphasize how the Christian apologist needs to be aware of this and to ensure kindness, gentleness, and respect is used when confronting false teachings, ideas, and worldviews. The goal isn’t to win an argument, and we need to be humble. The goal is to help people see the truth so they can be saved from their sins through Jesus Christ.

This is a meaty book! Think of a logic and apologetics crash course all rolled into one! Defending God has lots of great information, but you’ll need to take your time and probably read it several times to glean all that’s in it. Im a little over halfway done. Im trying not to rush through it because there is so much to comprehend! It’s not the easiest read simply due to the subject matter but the information contained within is worth its weight in gold! Ive never taken a logic course, but I think that would be helpful background information to have (Ken Ham does explain the logic but logic itself is a very meaty topic that takes time to understand, so many concepts!) Overall great book, especially for learning to defend the Christian faith.

This book is a main meal, not a starter or desert. It explains difficult concepts in depth and challenges your thinking on each topic. Very well researched and gives a lot of information. Not an easy read though. If you want to use it as part as your schooling, set a good chunk of time apart for discussion and dissection.

A faith-building read that points out reasons to believe in the Creator. The author explains complex ideas in a simple, understandable way. It expresses how science, logic, and Scripture all point to God’s reality. It encourages readers to stand firm in their faith and gives practical tools for answering common questions about beliefs through apologetics. A great resource for Christians wanting to grow in confidence and understanding.