A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

"This book changed my life and my relationships in a very specific way. It encourages asking clarifying questions. One cannot do that without listening. Therefore, by example, it taught me to LISTEN to other people's WORDS, rather than just waiting for my turn to talk. I am sure that ALL of us could benefit by listening more and talking less. The saying goes, God gave us two ears and one mouth. Perhaps we should use them accordingly." -Darren Williams, Ratio Christi at SHSU Chapter Director

Gregory Koukl has an amazing talent for getting people to think about what they believe and why they believe it. He shares his skills through this book and helps the reader learn to help others see the fallacy in their misguided beliefs.

When I finished the book Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, I told my wife that I need to read it again! Greg Koukl's writing style is very similar to his speaking style (his podcast at str.org is on my personal "required listening" list). This book is very readable and does not get too "heady". With my schedule, I need material that I can read and understand without having to "wade through it", and "Tactics" delivers quite well. The "Columbo Questions" are demonstrated with examples and applications, many from Greg's own experiences. (There were a couple of concepts I felt that I did not fully grasp, but I blame my distractions for that, not the author.) Any Christian who wants to be able to defend and present the faith should read this book. Not only are we shown tactics, but tact. Nobody needs an abrasive witness.

In addition, I found some other benefits. Since I have been studying logical fallacies, I will be able to use the "Tactics" information and approaches in discussing those with unbelievers as well. I have also developed a fondness for the "Columbo" character as well, and learned some things from the character that add to the whole experience. But the most interesting side benefit is that the questions and approaches presented here are practical in other areas besides Christian witnessing.

I'm going to be buying copies for gifts.

This is a phenomenal book. It is not overly complicated, nor filled with every last theory on apologetics. Nor is it a full-blown expression of the entire message a believer should present to others when preaching the gospel. Rather, its brilliance is that it is what it sets out to be: a work that provides the tools to "give a reason" for a Christian's hope, and to clear the way for the gospel to receive a fair hearing.

The author has a firm grasp of biblical teaching on "general revelation" (that which is known by all men in all places at all times). He has a high view of God's work in salvation (necessary) and of the Christian's responsibility to proclaim God's message of salvation (also necessary). This is not a book filled with tricks. This is a book saturated with practical ideas about how to defend God's word from all kinds of common objections, and to set the table for a faithful presentation of Christ.

Those who have read Bahnsen and Van Til and said to themselves, "Great, how do I practice this?", will find this book nearly impossible to put down. Those who are not familiar with the discipline of apologetics will receive here the finest kind of introduction to the subject.

This has shot to the top of my list as the first apologetics book I would recommend to anyone who asks.

easy to understand and apply which is very important 5 stars all the way . I was using these easy awesome tactics right away .I preach on the street so needless to say this book has been a blessing .

I engage in Internet apologetics. I have been doing so for about 2 years. I have always felt ineffective because all I would receive from unbelievers is severe resistance to everything I would say.

I received the book "Tactics" three days ago. I read about 1/3 third of it the first day and engaged for a couple of hours. In that time, using the tactics I learned, 2 people conceded my points. That was a first. To that point, NO ONE had ever conceded. Most of the others were also far more receptive throughout the discourse.

Last night and this morning I read to about 1/2 way through the book. I got one more concession. I challenged a guy who said that the science channel had said Noah's Ark would break apart. I simply asked him how they arrived at their conclusion. Did they build one? What? I also reminded him that since we don't even know for sure what the biblical gopher wood is; it would be impossible to empirically test it.

He responded with "I'm sorry, I'm not a ship builder." That is, as Gregory says, a pebble in his shoe, as well as being some powerful information for those who read but do not engage. Suffice it to say that in one day's time, I have a whole new approach to preaching Christ and him crucified.

Gregory Koukl's tactics work amazingly well. As he alludes to in the book, I engage for those who read my words more so than for those with whom I directly speak. Now I believe that the readers will see much more Christ reflected in my writings.

Thank you Gregory.

Great book! The non-threatening "ask thoughtful questions" approach is presented well. Each chapter follows a "what are you going to learn," "here's the information," "what did you learn" outline. Even if you can't give a lot of time at one sitting, you can catch up easily by reviewing the end of the previous chapter (or chapters). Since the book focuses on how to identify and draw out inconsistencies in non-Christian (and even Christian) questions, arguments, and red herrings, this book pairs well with a book like Keller's The Reason for God that provides a thoughtful consideration of those common questions, etc.

resources to stay in control of any conversation without feeling unsure of yourself. Mr. Koukl's techniques make the person you're witnessing to use their own weak arguments to achieve the results you want.

Great book. Helps you to ask the right questions. Lots of times people give just phrases without thinking of their consequences. Here you will learn how to discover flaws in their argumentation, by asking the right questions. A non confrontational approach to help the communicate better and make the other party aware of mistakes in their statements.

Full Disclosure: I read alot of what this author writes. There is a reason for that and it is quite simply I prefer reading from someone that knows what they talking about. The life we lead on this earth and the lives we may touch along the way mandate as a Christian we follow hard after the things of God. Everyday we talk with another person, we may have a chance to possibly share about our own journey and how Christ's influence changed us for the better. Greg Koukl offers a realistic paradigm in conversation if you will to accomplish the desired goals one can have in starting discussions that frankly can be very hard to bring up (abortion, evolution, the existence of God) in regular conversation. As a Christian, its my desire to share more openly about my beliefs without being offensive. I have had to learn the hard way at times. This book has shown me beautifully illustrated styles to talk without offending others. Learning to manuever eloquently in conversation is what this book offers you.

I am always interested in books about evangelistic conversation skills. Koukl's book lays out a great set of skills to use with people who object to your Christian beliefs. If you are regularly talking with people who are hostile to your faith, anchored in their own beliefs, or dismissing your beliefs through unreasoned cliches, then this book can help you further the discussions in intelligent ways.

This book is not about how to share the gospel. There are other great books for that. This book focuses on those conversations that occur long before having conversations about the Savior. Nor is this book about all of the Christian facts we must know.

Rather, this book is aimed to help you use questions to examine assertions, claims, and world views, and use the questions to reveal weaknesses or faulty conclusions in those points.

I know far, far too many people who feel burdened by two opposing tensions:
1. Evangelism is very important and I should be telling others about God. God is everything to me and I know others need to know him.
2. Evangelism sucks. I have broken relationships, hurt people's feelings, and made a mess of things by trying to talk about my relationship with God.

This book will help you to resolve those tensions. It offers sound wisdom, practical tips, and new ways of thinking about what we are called to do in evangelistic conversations. I think you will find this book to be refreshing and give you a great deal of new-found confidence to start evangelistic conversations - because you'll know what to do!

I love to listen to Koukl, who is intelligent, articulate and impressively reasons away much less thoughtful arguments. Koukl shows how the Christian faith is indeed reasonable, much more so than its detractors. If you are easily swayed by attacks on the Christian faith, Koukl will show you how they falter by their own poor contradictory thinking. You must put on your thinking caps if you are to follow Koukl's book. This is not for the faint of thought.

Koukl is an awesome author and apologetic. I love this book and know I'll read it numerous times. The tactics that he teaches gives you an absolute upper hand on staying in control of a pro life conversation with respect. If you want to be able to get your opinion and beliefs across in a conversation regarding your point of view on abortion issues this is a must have for your library! You can use these tactics in and conversation. It's an easy read and easy to understand. It's one on my favorite books!

I have read this book several times and have given away as gifts to many as well... Amazing book that teaches how to develop relationships. It teaches ways to keep conversations about controversial subjects flowing and ways to "put a stone" in a person's shoe.

I have read this book several times and have given away as gifts to many as well... Amazing book that teaches how to develop relationships. It teaches ways to keep conversations about controversial subjects flowing and ways to "put a stone" in a person's shoe.

I chose this rating because this book has allowed me to better represent what it is I stand for what it is I believe. Greg has equipped me with the ability to present the love and passion that I have with others in a more calming and loving way. It also gives me the ability to better understand why it is people respond the way to respond and he quits meet you better respond back without any reserve.

Easy to understand. Easy to remember and therefore stay using the strategies and tactics. Great examples and stories of personal experiences. I highly recommend this for all those to read ASAP to give more confidence in evangelism!

Greg Koukl's book, "Tactics" is practical, easy to read, entertaining, and an invaluable resource for all believers living in this postmodern age who are confronted on a regular basis by skeptics with all sorts of unfounded absurd accusations. It's obvious he is an expert in his field but even the most amateurish defender of the Christian faith can learn from his practical approach.

Even if you're not into "apologetics" or hate dealing with confrontation and challenges over your beliefs, Mr. Koukle offers a down to earth approach to defending your faith. He not only provides a useful game plan for defending your faith, he also gives some gentle and non-hostile tactics to use that goes on the offensive with critics and skeptics; ways to help remove the mental roadblocks of those we are trying to reach.

I am a Roman Catholic, and I greatly enjoyed this book on apologetics. I think Koukl's messages/lessons can be applied to any lifestyle, Christian or not.

I appreciated Koukl's language; he gave plenty of life-applicable examples and wrote in such a way that was not only easy to follow, but intellectually challenging. He was straightforward, logical, and organized. He also, fortunately for us readers, took care not to weigh his diction down with unnecessary Christian lingo. I honestly don't have any bad things to say about it, except it could've been longer.

It is a quick 200-page read that I can see myself re-reading and referencing in the future. If you struggle during arguments about issues you care about, or even if you don't know how to act during an argument, I highly recommend Tactics.

For those who have ever wished they could intelligently discuss their beliefs with people who may disagree with them. In the process of describing the "game plan" for managing these discussions, Koukl provides dozens of examples of real world challenges to the Christian worldview.

This was an excellent book… Very well written… Great suggestions and thoughts on how to engage in dialogue in a nonoffensive way… I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in engaging in apologetics or evangelistic conversations.

'Tactics' is one of the best books on Apologetics I've ever read. Every once in a while you find a book that you never permanently put down. It stays on your Kindle/phone/tablet indefinitely.

This is one of those books.

Tactics is aptly named. While there are many examples of specific responses that work well against specific claims, the heart of the book is to give you TACTICS. It gives you many strategies that you can use to dismantle faulty arguments. It teaches you how to spot logical flaws and expose them. Honestly, there are so many strategies that I may have to spend weeks on each one to truly get them down.

This is a resource that every Christian should own if wishes to become an effective defender of the faith.