Part Two of Part Five: Apologetics on the Offense
When I taught apologetic classes in Bible College, I ask the students at
the end of their final examine to tell me what they thought was the most
important thing they learned in the class. Seventy-five to eighty percent said
it was the Socratic Method (a method of argumentation used by the Greek
philosopher). This is the topic of the last two blog articles in my twelve part
series on the “Four Approaches to Evangelism.”
When skeptics and other critics raise issues against Christianity or
ask challenging questions, our normal response is to defend our faith by giving
evidences to support the Christian position on the issue at hand. This is defensive apologetics. It’s a valuable
and long-standing apologetic approach, one crucial for overcoming barriers that
hinder an unbeliever from considering Christianity as a world and life view.
The Socratic Method employs another strategy, which I call offensive apologetics. I believe it’s the best way—at least initially—to
begin an apologetic response when critics make challenging statements or ask a
skeptic’s question. Rather than responding by defending the Christian position,
we first challenge the unbeliever to defend their
position on the issue at hand. We challenge them to account for their religious or philosophical
beliefs. This allows us to point out inconsistencies, assumptions, and
inaccuracies (especially their assumptions and inaccuracies about the Bible and
Christian beliefs in general) as well as their lack of verification for their
position. More often than not, the beliefs and arguments raised by unbelievers
are merely what they have heard in popular culture: television, books and
magazines, professors in universities and colleges, and other pulpits of
secular culture—which are notoriously inaccurate and biased. In most cases
unbelievers are merely parroting what they’ve heard in popular culture. They seldom
have well thought-out arguments.
I believe the Socratic Method is the most valuable and useful
apologetic tactic Christian apologists can employ. If you understand it and
apply it, I can virtually guarantee you will dramatically increase your
effectiveness in apologetics. The entire
concept is summed up beautifully in Proverbs 18:17: “The first to present his
case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him” (NIV). The
arguments and assumptions skeptics and critics bring to religious discussions
can sound truly convincing—until we
pause a moment, think about what’s being said, and then question them. When
this happens, their arguments fall apart almost every time.
You see, too often we find
ourselves on the defensive. But it shouldn’t be that way. Why? Because we have
the truth—and unbelievers harbor untruth. As Francis Schaeffer pointed out
decades ago, we should move unbelievers in the direction their presuppositions
will take them if carried to their logical conclusion: “No one can live
logically according to his own non-Christian presuppositions. . . . If he were
consistent to his non-Christian presuppositions he would be separated from the
real universe (The God Who Is There).
In other words, if pushed far enough every non-Christian worldview will
eventually crumble into inconsistencies and incoherency. Only the Christian
worldview is internally and externally coherent, free of inconsistences, and in
harmony with reality as virtually every human being understands it and lives it
out (I give the characteristics of a coherent worldview in my book, Christianity on the Offense).
Asking challenging questions also encourages non-Christians to be more
willing to reconsider Christianity. Unbelievers are often confounded to find
they are unable to substantiate their beliefs or their misconceptions about
Christianity. They’ve never been forced to do so before. (The two most
outrageous revolve around evolution and the alleged historical inaccuracy of
the Bible.) When fair-minded people understand that their existing religious or
secular worldviews cannot be substantiated, when they discover they are unable
to muster supporting evidence to confirm them, they will be more willing to
rethink their assumptions about Christianity—and their own worldview. Remember,
we can give supporting evidences for
our positions on whatever the issue
is—assuming we’ve done our homework. We have truth on our side.
How does the Socratic Method work? I’ll explain it in the next blog
article and give examples. Following that, I have a new series of blog articles
beginning after the first of the year. It will probably be different from
anything you’ve read from a Christian apologist! I’ll be interested to getting
your responses. (This will be my last post until after the holidays. Have a
blessed and Christ-centered Christmas.)
* This and the other blog articles in this
series are adapted from copyrighted material and may not be reproduced in book
or article form, either electronically or in print, without permission. But
feel free to link this blog to your own website, personal email list, Facebook
friends and groups, or email it to people who may benefit from it. I explore
the topic of this present series of articles more fully in my book Engaging the Closed Minded; Presenting Your
Faith to the Confirmed Unbeliever (Kregel Publications).
