Beyond Apology

Book Review: Tactics Part II

Austin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:32:01 +0000

I was introduced to Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing your Christian Convictions by Dave’s first post reviewing the book. Like Dave, I also found the book a very captivating read.

I quickly finished the book and enjoyed it thouroughly. This post will address the second half of Tactics: Finding the Flaws

Finding the Flaws

Koukl begins this section with the statement, “It is axiomatic that the most intelligent people — college professors, Doctors, Lawyers, Ph.D.s, bright folks of all stripes – make foolish and elementary mistakes in thinking when it comes to spiritual things.” The major part of this section deals with the manners in which faulty views commit suicide.

The first way a claim may commit suicide is by being contradictory. The classic example Koukl refers to is the claim that “there is no truth.” This claim obviously contradicts itself, therefore cannot be valid.
The second mannerr a claim commits suicide is practical suicide. If a claim cannot be applied to itself, it cannot be true. Koukle writes, “In this type of suicide, you may hold the view, but you can’t promote it.” Moral relativism commits practical suicide because it is impossible to promote the claim, “it is wrong to say other people are wrong.”

In this section, Koukl also shares some strategies to deal with several types of flawed logic.

Steamroller

Koukl shares three brief steps to stopping a “steamroller” personality. A “steamroller” is a person who attempts to overwhelm you by sheer personality. The challenges come hard and fast, often leaving you unable to recover. Koukl’s three steps are:

Stop Him — This is merely stopping his barrage in order to allow youself time to answer. A response may go like this: “This is not a simple issue. I need a minute to explain myself. Is that okay?”
Shame Him — Here your answer must become more aggressive. If the steamroller has not heeded your first warning, Koukle advises you proceed to this step. A response to shame the steamroller may be, “Can I ask you a favor? I’d like to answer your questions, but you keep breaking in and interrupting. Can I have a few minutes to share my point, then I will allow you to respond. Is that okay?
Leave Him — Finally, if the steam roller ignores the previous two warnings, leave him. Shake the dust of your feet and leave. Allow him/her to have the last word, and get yourself out.

Rhodes Scholar

Often the scholarly articles cited by those you may witness two are merely sharing the authors beliefs.
Here Koukl emphasizes the importance of getting the reasons behind scholars beliefs, not just their opinions. Koukl writes, “Even when scholars speak within their field, they still owe us an accounting based on sound reasons.”

Conclusion

The second section of Koukl’s book encourages sound thinking to discover inconsistancies in flawed logic. His examples are great, and often supply questions to counter false beliefs. My favorite part of this section was walking away with the knowledge that every God-less view has a chink in its’ armor as it is based on a flawed view. Every unscriptural view is flawed in some distinct way. We merely have to ask the right questions to expose that flaw.

From the Front-lines: Tire Guy

clearly — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:24:18 +0000

Don’t we all love waiting rooms? Yesterday I sat in a grungy, smoke-filled waiting room, surrounded by old editions of Sports Illustrated and National Geographic. Although it was almost 2 Pm, the morning coffee still sat in an almost full carafe, but frankly it did not interest me in the least. Perhaps I am becoming one of those detestable coffee snobs — I digress.

An older man in a Brewers club jacket and Green Bay Packers ball cap entered the room and sat down right across from me. I picked up a conversation with him and moved quickly to spiritual things. It all went something like this:

Do you consider yourself a Christian? I asked.

He replied, Well, after 40 years of Catholic church, I’d sure hope so!

That really is a long time, sir. Let me ask you this — have you ever read the Bible cover to cover?

He answered, young man, I’ve never cracked the cover of that book.

So how do you know that your priest is telling you the truth week in and week out? I countered.

He explained that he had no way of knowing that and truthfully was not all that concerned about it. I challenged him about why he bothered calling himself a Christian if he had no desire to read the Bible.

What would you think of a man who called himself a doctor but had never cracked an Anatomy and Physiology book?

He conceded my point but countered that he talked with God every morning and every night before bed. His logic went something like this:

If the good Lord had something that He wanted me to know that badly, He would tell me in the morning or at night when I pray.

I responded with the old anecdote where the man is drowning, asking God to save him. The Lord sends boats and a helicopter to save him, but the man refuses them, saying that God will help him out of the perilous situation. After finishing the anecdote and seeing the old Wisconsiner chuckle, I asked him:

Sir, is it possible that God’s answer to your morning and evening prayers is the fact that He sent this preacher to this waiting room and at the same time brought you here? And, is it possible that He wants you to take this Bible that I’m about to offer you, and that He wants you to read it?

Astonishingly, he responded:

No. I’m not going to take that Bible. I know that I will never read it.

I said:

Sir, when you stand before God one day, He will remind you that He sent a preacher to the tire waiting room for you. You will have no excuse.

He shook my hand, said a brief thanks for caring, and went out to observe the tire work done on his car. I paid for my tire job, left the Bible with the mechanic, who was thrilled to receive it.

From the front-lines: Medical Professor

clearly — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:58:26 +0000

For the past two months, I’ve had the opportunity to meet the same medical professor on the same day of the week for the same purpose — talking about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and His gospel. For the purpose of anonymity, we will simply call him Robert. Shortly after completing his undergraduate degree, Robert was “called” (his word, not mine) into the field of medicine after standing by a dying woman in an ICU, wondering if he could develop equipment that could be used to prolong her life. Robert is a very intelligent Roman Catholic, morally upstanding in his own eyes.

We hit it off instantly one day in the coffee shop. I honestly can’t remember exactly how it happened – probably as it usually does. I typically feel like I should talk to the people around me — at least making an effort to speak to them about Jesus Christ. I look for “a way in,” something that can begin conversation, whether it pertains to what they are reading, what the newscast is about, the kind of coffee they are enjoying, or even things as lame as the weather trends.

As I get to know Robert, I found out that he is a Catholic malcontent. He and about 15 of his Catholic friends are meeting each week to discuss varying issues within the church and within theology. He told me which book they are reading and even gave me a copy. Since he had previously expressed a sincere respect for C.S. Lewis, I responded by giving him my copy of The Reason for God by Tim Keller, who I believe to be this generation’s version of CS.

A couple weeks later, he casually let me know that his thinking about God had been deeply challenged by Keller’s arguments, especially as it related to the gospel and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. This provided an excellent opportunity for me to clarify and rehash the gospel with him. I was able to return to that moment when he was called into the medical profession and to ask him, “When you are the individual occupying the ICU bed, will you be ready to die and stand before Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge?”

I hope to spend a few future posts talking about some specific conversations we have had. But one thing is sure, Robert is more than an acquaintance. He is a friend. Can’t wait to see him this Thursday!

From the Front-lines: New Muslim Friend

clearly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:45:40 +0000

09/30/2009, Journal Entry

This morning as I drove down to my perch at the local coffee shop, I was struggling internally:

Lord, is tonight’s Bible study even practical for our people? This is a Lutheran-Catholic Wisconsin community, is there even a single Muslim who lives here? I’m sure the people will find the topic of Evangelizing Muslims interesting and educational, but will they ever use it?

About 10 minutes later, I was filling my mug with Ethiopian Java and turned around, finding myself face to face with __________, my new Muslim friend from Iran who is an international businessman, a resident of our fine community. I asked in a very straightforward fashion, “Are you a Muslim?” He responded in the affirmative and we spent the next hour in conversation regarding his faith and mine. I was able to briefly share the gospel with him, and pray that God will give me another opportunity to lovingly confront him regarding his need for Christ.

Colossians 4:2-4:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (ESV)

Boldness, Not Fear

clearly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:13 +0000

In the midst of this pluralistic, post-modern world, what is needed is Spirit-empowered-boldness and loving confrontation, not apologies, endless conversations, and fear.

2 Timothy 1:7-8:

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God…

Book recommendation: Tactics

clearly — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:37:49 +0000

Gregory Koukl, of Stand to Reason, has written an excellent book entitled Tactics: a Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. It is written in a captivating and compelling fashion, so much so that I read it in just a few hours (real-life stories were great!). The result in my life has been an increased confidence in conversation with unbelievers, even those who are a bit hostile to Christianity. If you are serious about reaching your friends, family, classmates, and co-workers, you’ll want to purchase this little book and digest it for yourself.

He divides the book into parts: (1) The game plan and (2) Finding the flaws. Today, we will look at the Game Plan, then a later blog post will go through some of the flaws.

The Game Plan

Koukl maintains that having the truth is not enough to successfully maneuver your way through difficult conversations. I personally often find myself struggling to find a good balance between what Koukl calls “D-day” and “diplomacy.” So here is the major tactic identified in this section:

Columbo: Playing off the detective from old-school television, Koukl suggests that we begin by asking questions, instead of making assertions. He gives three main ways to employ the Columbo tactic:
- Gather Information: A simple question like, “What do you mean by that?” will do here. This gives you an opportunity to find out from where the individual is coming. Koukl says, “People don’t know what they mean much of the time. Often they’re merely repeating slogans.”
- Reverse the Burden of Proof: “The burden of proof is the responsibility someone has to defend or give evidence for his view.” Koukl presents another simple question, “Now, how did you come to that conclusion?”
- Lead the Conversation: this is the most aggressive form of Columbo. Ask questions like, “Have you considered…” or “Can you clear this up for me…” where their assertions are clearly contradictory or inaccurate.

I have found one major benefit from using Columbo over the past couple weeks. I am simply not quick on the draw, so asking questions in this manner gives me time to think and formulate. It buys me the time that I need.

From the Front-lines: Nazi-pagan

clearly — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:38:03 +0000

My new-found friend Liam identifies himself as a National Socialist. In other words, he’s a Nazi, perhaps a more moderated version in his thinking than what you would see portrayed in a Hitler’s Germany movie. He doesn’t believe that the weak should be exterminated per se, but he would be fine with allowing the poor and weak to die off, so that their sort are not perpetuated in society. “Hate” would be a strong word for how he feels about the Jewish people, but he certainly has a strong inward bent against them and can only interact with them skeptically. Postmodernism does strange things to people; here’s what it does to today’s Nazi’s. After telling me that the pope should be publicly beheaded and that the weak should be left to die, he said, “But that’s just my way, I wouldn’t force it upon others!”

Ironically, his French mother gave him a Hebrew name, Daniel, meaning “judgment of God” (how sovereign is God?). He now goes by Liam, short for William, a seemingly stronger Norman name, reflecting his worship of Odin, a pagan god.

All that to say, Liam is my nazi-pagan friend. Where did we meet? In the today’s agora, the community coffee shop.

After talking with Liam about his nazi beliefs and about his Christian upbringing, I said the following (which seemed to frustrate him):

Liam, you will not come to Jesus Christ for salvation because you see him as a weak, Jewish man who only perpetuated the blight upon society by rescuing the weak, caring for the poor, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, etc. Let me tell you that the Jesus who came the 1st time as a seemingly weak sacrificial lamb, who from your perspective got himself killed at the hands of the Roman empire, this Jesus will come again as a warrior, par-excellence, one who will ride a white horse, consuming his foes, those who do not believe in him and obey his gospel. The blood from that battle will flow as high as the horse’s bridal.

Even with all this blunt talk, Liam and I have a good friendship. He knows that I believe that Odin is a figment of imagination and has no power in this universe; he knows that I believe Jesus is the only way to God and that those outside of Jesus will face an eternity in hell. How do I know that he knows? I told him. Then he sat through a Wednesday Bible study and then a Sunday sermon in which I said exactly those things. And he keeps coming back for more discussion.

Christians, it’s time to start apologizing without apology. It’s time to stop cowering in fear regarding what we believe. Defend the faith. Stand strong in believing that Jesus is King over kings and Lord over lords.

**This is posted with Liam’s permission.

From the Front-lines: Unitarian Universalist

clearly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:22:40 +0000

If you don’t know what a Unitarian Universalist is, join the club. I’m not even sure they know what they are, which, ironically, is probably the only criterion for becoming one. That aside. The following is my encounter with an embittered UU.

I sat in one of my three regular coffee houses the other day, glanced to the table next to me, and immediately identified my “way in” (the lady was scribbling on a pad while pouring over a newspaper). I said, “Are you a writer?” “Not exactly. Are you?” she responded. I explained that I was indeed writing and that for my line of work, I tend to write about 20 pages per week.

I can’t remember her name, and even if I could, I wouldn’t share it here. So we’ll call her Sally, an ironically dignified and modern name for such a hippy, anti-establishment, liberated woman. She wore severely faded and somewhat tattered clothing — a jean top and one of those puffy ski-style vests. Sally responded with obvious disgust when she found out that I wrote so much in order to keep up with my weekly sermons.

She muttered her frustration with “fundamentalist sort of Christians” because apparently they “quote portions of the book in order to suit their own purposes.” From her perspective the message of Jesus can all be reduced to this: “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Hers is hardly a new perspective on Jesus. I responded, “In light of the fact that there are four gospels in the New Testament, don’t you think that your view on Jesus and his teachings is a little reductionistic?” “No,” she replied, and continued, “Jesus simply wanted us to love each other, and not to try to force our views on each other.”

“Okay, I agree that Jesus certainly taught that we should love our neighbors, but there’s actually another biblical topic that Jesus spoke more about than neighbor love. Do you know what topic that is?”

“Enlighten me,” she replied with a genuinely interested tone. So, I began explaining to her that Jesus taught more about hell and judgment than he did about neighbor love. She replied, “Well, I don’t believe in hell,” to which I responded, “do you believe in Jesus?” She became frustrated and replied, “What is it with you fundamentalists? I don’t have to believe in hell in order to believe in Jesus! Besides, you’re judging me.”

“I’m not judging you,” I replied. “You said that you don’t believe in hell. Jesus taught that there’s a hell. It’s taught in the Bible, so unless you believe in Jesus based upon other historical documents alone, I don’t see how you can believe in Jesus at all, because you could have no knowledge of Him apart from the Scriptures. If you don’t believe the Scriptures are true, then you don’t believe in the Jesus of the Bible. So, where do you gain your information of Jesus? What Jesus do you believe in? If not the Jesus described by the Bible, then I must conclude that you believe in a Jesus crafted by your own intellect, a god of your own creation.”

Now her objections start flying — “It’s not intellectually responsible to believe the Bible; it’s full of mistakes.” To this, I naturally requested that she show me some! As that line of objection fell flat on its face, she challenged, “Young man, you are too young to really understand the world; you are only so settled in your beliefs because you have not experienced real grief and pain as I have. You haven’t seen the world; your sheltered evangelical upbringing has left you hopelessly without real-world experience.”

I replied, “Isn’t that a little arrogant and judgmental, Sally?” She was caught off guard. “I’m sure you have felt more grief and seen more of the world than I have, and it’s certainly not my intent to rattle off a resume for you, but by the time I was 13 I had visited 3rd world countries in southeast Asia and Africa. I have seen the fruits of Aids and poverty. I have spoken to men whose limbs had been ripped off their bodies in land-mine accidents. I have seen what the world looks like without the God of the Bible. And as far as grief goes, as a five year old, I hugged my crying mother and family as the doctors told us that our little brother would never be born. I watched as this grief was repeated three more times before I graduated high school.”

She was shocked and a little humiliated by her former arrogance and condescension and said, “Perhaps my insinuation of your lack of experience was a little arrogant. However, isn’t it just as arrogant or even self-righteous to claim that you have the truth and other truths are wrong?”

I told her that I had to leave soon, but asked for permission to make my final point without being interrupted. She agreed to this.

I responded, “Actually, Sally, it’s not arrogant to claim that you know the truth. It’s actually an act of humility to subject one’s personal whims and opinions to the the Sovereign authority of God as it is revealed in the Scriptures. I actually have no righteousness of my own. The good news of Jesus Christ precludes self-righteousness and eliminates pride and boasting. I am not trying to tell you that I am a good person or that I deserve to be forgiven and accepted by God. What I am trying to tell you is that I am such a wicked sinner that the slaughter of the perfect Son of God was required to provide forgiveness for a scoundrel like me. Thanks for talking to me today. I’ve presumed upon a lot of your time. I hope you think about these things we’ve discussed.”

We left on good terms. And I can only hope to see Sally again.

Beyond Apology

clearly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:22:41 +0000

Welcome to Beyond Apology

The purpose of this blog is simple: to encourage believers in Jesus Christ to stand upon the truth that Jesus is King over kings and Lord over lords and to equip them to defend this claim rather than to apologize for it.

The format will be simple.

Reports from the front-lines (true stories of evangelism and apologetics in the marketplace).
Video and audio from the front-lines.
Book reviews, quotes, and recommendations.