Category Archives: Mentoring

Mentoring

Bill Craig explains how to answer a non-Christian without apologetics

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It’s in his question of the week. The question is from a student who is not familiar with apologetics, but who is being challenged by his co-workers on his faith. None 0f his co-workers are Christians.

Excerpt:

I took your question this week, John, because I think it’s one that many Christians face. We don’t all have time to become skilled apologists, and yet we find ourselves in situations in which we’re called upon to give “a reason for the hope that is in us” (I Peter 3:15). What are we supposed to do?

One easy thing that we can all do is learn to ask questions. Greg Koukl recommends asking two questions of non-believers:

1. What do you mean by that?

2. What reasons do you have to think that?

It’s amazing how these two disarmingly simple questions can tie people in knots! For example, ask the unbeliever what he means when he says he doesn’t believe in God—is he an atheist or an agnostic? (Be prepared to explain the difference to him!) Whatever he says, ask him, “What reasons do you have to think that?” Many people don’t even understand what they mean by their assertions, and probably most don’t have any good reasons for them. So long as you’re asking questions, you’re not making any assertions at all, and so don’t have to prove anything. Let the non-believers bear the burden of proof for their claims.

[…]A second thing you can do is refer the unbeliever to some resource. You don’t have to have any brains to tell someone, “Have you seen the Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology? Before you say there are no intelligent theists and no good reasons to believe in God, maybe you’d better look at that book first. Otherwise, you’re not really informed.”

[…]Shame the unbeliever for his ignorance of the literature. If he’s a sincere seeker, on the other hand, recommend that he peruse this website or watch a debate.

And it goes on like that. Five points in all.

The whole thing is worth reading… it’s pretty funny in parts, because he is telling him exactly what to say.

Mentoring

Twenty ideas for doing apologetics from Apologetics 315

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The post is here.

Here are the ones I do from his list:

1. Give to an apologetics ministry
2. Get books into the hands of the right people (Love Your God with All Your Mind)
3. Organize apologetics conferences
5. Comment on blogs
6. Start your own blog (Blogger, WordPress)
7. Give people CDs and MP3s to listen to

That’s right – there’s a ton of them on there that I don’t do! But they are ALL do-able!

Leave a comment if you think of more. The one I thought of that isn’t on his list is to talk to your co-workers about your faith. But the first commenter mentions it. Here some links below. I recommend the co-workers one and the defend your faith in public one.

Mentoring

Apologetics advocacy

Mentoring

The importance of being the first to frame issues for your children

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Dan’s post at The Bumbling Genius on the importance of parents talking to their children FIRST about controversial issues related to Christianity is a must-read. The post drew 100 comments, so far. The post is here.

Excerpt:

The common assertion that “Christians are narrow-minded, or anti-science” is a logical fallacy called”Poisoning the Well”. Well poisoning is a preempted ad hominem attack that attempts to pre-program, or especially in this case to embed into society’s thinking a predisposition against a particular point of view.

My first exposure to the effectiveness of this tactic-from the outside looking in-occurred during discussions in my home with Jehovah’s Witnesses. It was here that I began to appreciate the persuasive power of this logical fallacy, and to develop a similar technique in teaching my own children in ways to help insulate them against this kind of mind poisoning by doing a little pre-poisoning of the well of their thinking myself. I hope to accomplish this by being the first to present the messages of our culture except that I do so under the microscope of scripture, logic, and objective truth. In this way I am the one setting the table, so to speak, for the future discussions my children will encounter involving their worldview.

Not unlike the tactics used by the JW’s and anti-Christ cultural apologist, as I teach my children I employ the key concept of “firsts.” For example: when an institution or media is the first to present a cultural issue, and also the first to present my response in a “closed-minded”, “Christian” caricatured stereotype, followed by their a pithy, high-browed, and cognitive dissonant response to that stereotype, then my children’s Well becomes poisoned against my teaching. Everything I as parent subsequently espouse may then be seen through the lens of that stereotype. On the other hand, if I am the first to present the tenets of those opposing worldviews along with a logical and realistic explanation as to why they are flawed, then I will have achieved the objective of firsts.

This is something Christian parents really need to think about. You want to inoculate your children against pressure from teachers and peers by discussing issues long before they are introduced in the classroom or the playground. And you should be on guard against other sources of sin and lies, too.