What do you think of William Lane Craig?

[God of Mr. Hanky]

I think Craig is a legit believer.  I say this as someone who was indoctrinated from birth and whose father has been a pastor for almost 30 years.  I think the main difference in my father and Craig is that my father is very ignorant of science and how the world works, so he doesn't need to jump through as many hoops as Craig to hold on to faith.  When I have gone to Craig's website and read the amount of time and detail he puts into his e-mails to Christians, I can't really believe that he's a charlatan like some television evangelist.  In my eyes, Craig has just outsmarted himself.  

What I've found from Christians I've talked to since my deconversion is that the ones who have invested the most in faith seem to be the least capable of even considering that they could be wrong.  Their faith is their entire identity, and without it they are a hollow shell.  It's a terrifying notion to them, which is why I don't press my new beliefs on those who seem legitimately terrified by them.  I believe that Craig is locked into a life of apologetics because actively defending the faith is the only way to maintain it, and after what he has invested, he's not about to consider that he could be wrong.

I agree, I think he probably does really believe in the religion. And you bet, those most invested, who have it as their identity, are those least likely to ever seriously question it.

However, he is smart enough to know when he has a belief he can't support with proper evidence and arguments, so he has created elaborate ways of convincing himself, which is quite normal. But he has discovered he can make a living off of those same tricks. I think he knows his methodology is flawed and dishonest. He may however believe the ends justify the means, and making a bunch of money is just a side benefit.

Which truly points out how pointless the degree of respect which people allot for beliefs. For true believers who don't care about the means to their ends, there was Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler (yeah, Godwin me), Stalin, bin Laden, Castro, Mao Tse-Tung, possibly (although not probably) Kim Jong Ill...