Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Greg Koukl has done every Christian a massive favour by writing this book. So many believers are hesitant to engage others in conversation about God and the gospel because they feel intimidated and ill-equipped. If the teaching of this book is imbibed then the reader will be well equipped for any conversation and will not be intimidated by any opponent. This is not a dry book of untried and untested theory. Those who listen to Koukl on Stand to Reason will have heard him use these tactics for real. This book distils his years of experience and wealth of wisdom into 200 pages and allows you to learn these tactics for yourself. As one who is involved in the spread of the gospel, I can testify to the usefulness of this book. Day and daily I employ what I have learned from Koukl in real life situations. It is the most useful book on personal witness I have. The beauty of this book is that anyone can benefit from it. It is so accessible and practical. Koukl is a very engaging writer, and he uses illustrations and conversations from his own experience from which to glean lessons. This keeps your interest and helps you see the tactics in action. The book commences by talking about what is meant by the tactical approach and why it is valuable. Typical fears people have about engaging others in conversation about spiritual matters are addressed in chapter two. Koukl also presents the scriptural justification for apologetics, and shows that reason and evidence does not exclude dependence on God. We are encouraged to argue but not quarrel! “If anyone in the conversation gets mad, then you lose.” Chapters three to six get into the specifics. We are presented with scenarios and challenged as to what we would say. Koukl then provides sample answers, and as you look at his answers you see his approach – asking questions. This is the “Columbo Tactic” and everyone can and should master it. The remainder of the book gives help in finding flaws in the arguments of your opponents. Once you master these chapters you will find yourself applying the tactics to every argument you hear, and you will root out flaws quickly and easily. Throughout the book you catch Koukl's gracious and diplomatic way of dealing with opponents, and this too is a vital element of Christian witness. I can’t recommend this book highly or enthusiastically enough. Please get it.

This book comes recommended by a variety of well-known Christian apologists. It is not, however, another book dealing with the substance of arguments defending the faith, it is rather (as the title suggests) a book about tactics. As Koukl notes in his first chapter 'effective persuasion in the twenty-first century requires more than having the right answers'. He suggests that three 'skills' are required in order to be an effective ambassador for Christ. These skills he defines as 'knowledge, an accurately informed mind; wisdom, an artful method; and character, an attractive manner'. Knowledge can be obtained through careful study of the Scriptures, and through reading some of the many excellent books written for the purpose of defending the faith from every conceivable attack. Character involves our own personal submission to the Word of God and will be seen by the measure in which we are like Christ. However it is tactical wisdom which is 'the main focus of this book'. The book is divided into two main sections as follows:. Part One: The Game Plan. This section first deals with the need for our engagements to look 'more like diplomacy than combat'. We are also reminded that the tactics discussed in the book are not intended to be used to humiliate anyone but rather with the end in view of guiding a person to the truth. The whole subject of argument and its usefulness in the service of God is then discussed before Koukl introduces us to The Columbo Tactic and it's various uses. There are 6 chapters in this first section. Part Two: Finding the Flaws. The second section involves training oneself to see the logical flaws in anothers argument. These flaws are clearly explained and illustrated and relevant names are given to each in order to help the reader to memorise and put into practice the advice given. There are 8 chapters in this section. The book is 207 pages long and will certainly be a great help to those who find it difficult to engage with their friends and relatives about Christianity. The writer of this review is involved in evangelism full-time and finds the tactics here presented to be invaluable as he discusses and communicates the Gospel to others. Whether you are actively spreading the Gospel or just wanting to be better prepared to discuss and defend Biblical truth when asked, this book will be a help to you.

Tactics is a fantastic book. Every Christian should read it. It both motivates one to engage in evangelism and helps all evangelists to direct and lead the conversation with confidence. The strategy Greg Koukl outlines keeps ‘you’ in the driver’s seat, so to speak. I loved the illustrations he gave and learned a lot. Extremely readable. I couldn’t put it down.

I thought the "tactics" of the title would be sneaky, devious, dishonest tricks. You know the type thing. I thought Koukl would be discussing how to trick the "mark" into presuming key "facts" (Habermas). Or how to misrepresent your opponent's argument (Craig). Or how to run the "Gish Gallop". But Koukl's advice is designed to facilitate a good discussion, largely, by getting positions clear and out in the open. And doing that without being annoying and offensive. He recommends questions to establish the other party's position and the reasons they hold it. He gives ways of asking for this clarification ("why do you think that?" is so much better than "HOW DO YOU KNOW"), and what to do when you have it. He looks at ways of diffusing aggression when presented to you and how to avoid being aggressive yourself. He even gives advice on when to stop and leave people alone. This last one was a big surprise. My picture of the typical apologist is someone who just will not stop banging on and on about God. Incessantly. Now here's one recommending that, occasionally, you just might just leave people alone! The examples given of Koukl's own arguments are incredibly weak. I assume that they work because of the weakness and ill thought out nature of the other points of view he has come across. In these situations Koukl's arguments, weak as they are, do the job they should do: criticizing and revealing the weaknesses of other's positions. I do have three criticisms of the book, bits where it falls short. 1. Koukl often, at least in the examples he gives, isolates particular parts of an argument. This risks misrepresenting the argument. For example Koukl counters the "we used to say mixed race marriages were wrong" argument ("A"): "It is not sound to argue that just because people were wrong in the past about interracial marriage, they are now wrong about same-sex marriage". The key word here is "just". Very few argue that same-marriage is right "just" because "A". Often "A" is not an argument for same-sex marriage at all: it's revealing a trap that the "A"-proponent thinks the other party may have fallen into. For all his emphasis on making positions clear Koukl appears to leap in ahead of time. 2. Questions beyond the need for clarification are, to say the least, irritating. At the extreme they can even be dishonest "tactics". Koukl comes perilously close to this with his recommendation to use "leading", not just clarifying, questions. Koukl, towards the end of the book, acknowledges his dislike of being asked leading questions. So if you don't like them being asked of you, don't ask them yourself. Do unto others and all that. 3. Lack of epistemic humility. Whilst relativism is an absolute menace, there is related error of conflating the existence of truth with actually having it. We do not all have our own (relative) truths, but we are limited to our relative opinions on the one truth. Koukl assumes, in several places in the book, that he has the truth. His epistemic humility is limited to conceding that his understanding of that truth may be suspect. He does not seem to accept the possibility that he might be out and out wrong. I don't expect him to think he is wrong (otherwise he wouldn't put his opinion forward) but I do expect him to be open to the possibility. These might be quibbles, though, and correctable quibbles if the desire to clarify arguments and discuss the issues is followed. It's a light book, an engaging read and an enjoyable one. I think I might be following some of his advice.

Great book highly recommended

I cannot begin to say how valuable the contents of this book are to all Christians (engaged in evangelism). I have shared its contents with students of various countries who are engaged in presenting and defending their faith and they were incredibly receptive. Just about any Christian who wants to be equipped and/or is scared of evangelism, making oneself and others uneasy etc. can benefit from this book. PLEASE, don't miss out on this. Let God help you think about your faith and share it effectively with others in a non-threatening, engaging way that helps others see the beauty and truth of Christianity without being preached to or talked at.

This is one of those book that is easy to read and hard to put down once you begin. It has some helps and hints which are really interesting. Some 'clever' people may think it a little too condescending, but us mere mortals will enjoy it and I gleaned some interesting hints and helps. It is an excellent 'Book Club' read for Church. People can then discuss some of the things brought up in the book. I rarely enjoy a book enough to read it twice - but I will with this one, alongside a note book so that I can pass this info on in Church.

Excellent. Anyone who wishes to have fruitful discussions whether a Christian or not needs to read this book.

This book is great for not only Christian apologetics, but for day to day conversations in general. For perspective, I would imagine that an extremely staunch Athiest, Agnostic, Muslim, Buddhist and many others would still enjoy this book. The book itself is very easy to follow and gets quick to the point. It's far to common that you pick up a book to enjoy, only for it to be the equivalent of reading through sludge, trying to decipher the extraordinarily pompous and unnecessary words jotted on the pages, assumingly just for the sake of superficially elevating itself above others, without fine tuning the sentences themselves. The Author gives real world examples for each individual tactic to give a better understanding on how to apply said tactics. Word choice is excellent, you can tell that the Author put a lot of thought in to writing this book. The sentences are sophisticated enough for Intellectuals to enjoy, but simple enough for the average Joe to understand. I just can't express how enjoyable this book was to read. I personally don't fancy reading the same book a second time, but I just might make an exception for this book. The only downside I can find with this book is that it has been published by Zondervan, whose parent company is HarperCollins, who published the Satanic Bible and the Joy of Gay Sex. Completely vile and distusting. I suggest to find a used version or get a free pdf if possible. I personally wouldn't have ordered it if I knew it was published by Zondervan. On top of that, you are still supporting Amazon, the monopoly giant that squashes it's competition with low prices, or buys them out right. Pros: Fairly short read (200 pages) Straight to the point Effective tactics and arguments Useful outside of apologetics Cons: You support HarperCollins and Amazon

It's a good book, written especially for those who feel intimidated or insecure to share their faith in Christ to others. Gokul covers lots of very powerful communication tactics which would help to engage in conversation, asking questions, putting the burden on the other side to prove their viewpoints. He teaches us how we can be in a driver seat and maneuver the conversation to the direction we want. I enjoyed reading it. I'm reading it again. Thanks to the author for writing this book.

This week I received my copy of Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl. I was anxious to have a look at the book, as I have been following Greg Koukl's ministry of Stand to Reason for a number of years. On one hand, I was excited to see in book form what I have heard Koukl demonstrate so many times on his live radio program: an effective and gracious way to communicate one's faith in an articulate and winsome way. On the other hand, my familiarity with Koukl's Tactics audio program made me wonder if this was just a repackaging of the same material. I was thoroughly surprised. I'm a reader - but it's been a while since I have devoured a book. Tactics is an immediately practical book. The author's heart is that Christians be equipped to be good ambassadors. An ambassador has three skills: "knowledge, an accurately informed mind; wisdom, an artful method; and character, an attractive manner." Koukl describes the goal of a tactical approach - one that seeks to converse more persuasively by being thoughtful and reasonable, rather than emotional, about one's convictions. In a very balanced way, Koukl carefully introduces this approach and neutralizes some of the negative connotations that come with sharing and defending the faith. Some people immediately object at the idea of argumentation or "methods." However, Koukl summarizes a more biblical approach: "Here's the key principle: Without God's work, nothing else works; but with God's work, many things work. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, love persuades. By the power of God, the gospel transforms. And with Jesus at work, arguments convince. God is happy to use each of these methods." Now Koukl dives into the meat of the book. He presents about a half dozen "tactics," as he calls them - each with a memorable name, such as, "Columbo," "Suicide," and, "Taking the Roof Off," among others. As he teaches you these tactics, Koukl's experience and mastery in this area immediately become evident. He is not a theorist presenting untested ideas. Instead, he is a veteran, discussing situation after situation gleaned from countless personal encounters, public debates, radio interviews, and friendly conversations. The phenomenal part is that these approaches are simple and the applications are immediately accessible to the reader. One particular insight Koukl shares should bring relief to those who feel fear come over them at even the thought of discussing their faith: you don't have to hit home runs. In fact, Koukl stresses that you don't even have to get on base. The goal is to leave them with something to think about. His advice: simply leave them with "a stone in their shoe." Navigating through the book, you will find gem after gem of wisdom. So many of the common objections that the Christian encounters are found here - but with answers that are actually useful in conversation. Although much of the substance is philosophical in nature, Koukl drops the jargon and replaces it with practical expressions. This is a handbook suitable for the layman and professional apologist alike. After passing the halfway point in the book, you will realize that you are not just learning how to steer safely through a conversation - you are learning how to think. Koukl will sharpen your thinking skills and your ability to spot fuzzy logic and faulty arguments. You will realize that this is a book about truth. By the time you reach the end (it's about 200 pages), you will be amazed at the amount of wisdom, insight, and courage you have gleaned. A second reading is definitely in order. Koukl's Tactics is endorsed by a long list of notable apologists and Christian thinkers: Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, J. P. Moreland, Hank Hanegraaff, Jay Wesley Richards, David Noebel, Justin Taylor, Paul Copan, Sean McDowell, Frank Turek, and Craig Hazen. For those familiar with Koukl's Tactics audio program, many of the same personal encounters are cited. However, this is not a repackaging of old material. I found the book to be immensely helpful even after recently re-listening to Greg Koukl's Tactics in Defending the Faith audio program. In addition to the expanded and fresh material, I found the summaries at the end of each chapter to be particularly helpful. Greg Koukl's Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions is not designed to give you pat answers or lists of facts to bring to your conversations. Far from being "another evangelism book," Tactics is a book that will challenge you to be a critical thinker, a logical communicator, and a gracious ambassador for Jesus Christ.

Es ist ein sehr gutes Buch. Ich denke jede Christ soll es Lesen. Dieses Buch gibt uns rede Wendungen und Taktik wie wir mit die Leute um uns herum umgehen sollen.

Very useful tips and filled with practical advice to engage in evangelistic conversations. It doesn't substitute the hard work you need to do to actually KNOW your stuff and to be able to argue correctly to defend the christian faith. But if you know the topic, this book will definitely enhance your debating technique and enable you to carry out good conversations and to engage appropriately while sharing the gospel. The book is easy to read, and the techniques described can also be useful to improve communication skills and diplomatic conversations in everyday life and even in professional environment.