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Tactics in Christian Apologetics (Part III):

The following four tactics are adapted from Gregory Koukl, Stand to Reason Ministries, 1-800-2-Reason; www.str.org

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Tactics in Christian Apologetics: The Columbo Tactic

The Suicide Tactic

The “Take the Roof Off” Tactic

The Steamroller Tactic

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The Columbo Tactic:

* If you hit a roadblock, ask a good question:

Offensive tactic used in a disarming way with carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation.

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The Columbo Tactic: Ask a Good Question!

Three basic ways to use the Columbo tactic toboth gain information & stay out of the hot seat,reverse the burden of proof, and indirectly exploita weakness or flaw in someone’s view:

Ask the following 3 questions…

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The Columbo Tactic: Ask a Good Question!

What do you mean by that?

- This is a clarification question.

- It tells you what he or she thinks, so you don’t misunderstand or misrepresent him or her.

- Keeps you out of the hot seat.

- Gives you more thinking time.

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The Columbo Tactic: Reverse the Burden of

Proof!

Now, how did you come to that conclusion or …what are your reasons for saying that?

- This question assumes the person has come to a conclusion.

- While the first question helps you to learn what he or she thinks, this second question helps you to learn how he or she thinks, giving you valuable information on how to question further.

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The Columbo Tactic: Indirectly Exploit a Weakness

or Flaw!

Have you ever considered…

- This is an offensive question, yet not in an offensive way.

- It offers an alternative view that gently challenges his beliefs, exploiting a point of weakness you uncovered in his answers to your first two questions.

- It requires you have an option you can explain clearly that gives him reason to abandon his view for a better answer.

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The Columbo Tactic: Indirectly Exploit a Weakness

or Flaw!

Have you ever considered…

- You can use a number of phrases to introduce your question to soften your approach:

* “I am just curious…”* “Help me out because I’m trying to understand you on this…”* “I’m a little confused on something…”* “Maybe you can clear something up for me…”* “Something about this thing bothers me…”* “Maybe I’m still missing something…”

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The Columbo Tactic: REVIEW OF COLUMBO

QUESTIONS:

1. What did you mean by that?

2. Now, how did you come to that conclusion or what are your

reasons for saying that?

3. Have you ever considered…

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The SUICIDE Tactic:

The suicide tactic makes capital of the tendency of many arguments to self destruct when given the opportunity:

- They express contradictory concepts.- Self-refuting arguments.

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The SUICIDE Tactic:• “There are no absolutes!” Are you sure about

that?

• “There is no truth.” Is that statement true?

• “Don’t take anyone’s advice on that issue.” Is that your advice to me?

• “Who are you to say?” Who are you to ask the question?

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The SUICIDE Tactic:• “It’s wrong to try to change other people’s religious beliefs!” If

you think this is wrong, why are trying to change my religious beliefs about evangelism & missions?

• “All religions are true.” If all religions are true, then Christianity is true. But part of the truth of Christianity is that all other religions, taken as a whole, are false. Either Christianity is true and others are false, or others are true and Christianity is false. Either way, all religions can’t be true.

• “I don’t believe anything unless it can be proven scientifically.” Oh? What scientific experiment or proof taught you that only science can teach you truth?

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The SUICIDE Tactic:• “You can only know truth through

experience.” Oh? What experience taught you that you could only know truth through experience?

• “I’ll give you three good reasons you can’t use logic to find truth.” So you want to use logic to disprove logic.

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Taking the Roof Off Tactic:• This is a simple technique used with great

skill by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer:

(1) Adopt the other person’s viewpoint for the sake of argument.

(2) Press the person to the logical conclusion of his or her view. This is way of seeing whether he or she can really live in the kind of world he or she is affirming.

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Taking the Roof Off Tactic:

In essence, you are taking his or her moral or intellectual rules and applying them consistently to show that are inadequate or absurd. Can he or she live with the moral consequences of his or her beliefs?

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Taking the Roof Off Tactic:• This tactic is also known as reductio ad

absurdum (or simply reductio), or reducing the argument to its absurd conclusion or consequence.

• All you do is take his or her view seriously, reflect it back to him unambiguously-taking the spin off, as it were-showing him where it really leads.

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Taking the Roof Off Tactic:• Warning when you use this approach:

1. Sometimes we remove a person’s false sense of security and convince him of the nihilism inherent in his beliefs…if we do not have the time to replace his beliefs with the God of the Bible, we may end up leaving him or her in a worse state than when we found him:

“This is what we mean by taking the roof off. But we cannot ever think this to be easy. The hardest thing of all is that when we have exposed modern man to his tension, he still may not be willing for the true solution. Consequently, we may seem to leave him in a worse state than he was in before. But this is the same as the evangelism of the past. Whenever the evangelist preached the reality of hell, men who did not believe were more miserable after hearing his preaching than if they never heard him. We are in the same position. We confront men with reality; we remove their protection and their escapes; we allow the avalanches to fall. If they do not become Christians, they are indeed in a worse state than before we spoke to them.”Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There, in The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1982), 1: 140.

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Steamroller Tactic:• The steamroller is not a technique you

use; it is one you defend against. It is insincere people who bombard you with questions and possibly insults.

• Three ways to deal with a steamroller in process:

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Steamroller Tactic:Defense # 1: Stop him or her graciously but firmly, then referee the argument:

1. Stop the intrusion…use a little body language. For example:

a. Hold up your hand briefly & say, “I am not quite finished yet.”

b. “Wait a minute, let me finish.” c. “You have asked a good question and you

deserve a good answer. Are you interested in what I have to say?”

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Steamroller Tactic:Defense # 1: Stop him or her graciously but firmly, then referee the argument:

2. Negotiate an agreement. For example:

a. Say, “Is it okay with you if I take a few moments to answer your concerns before you ask another question?”

b. “I know it’s easier to ask the hard questions than to listen to the hard answers. But I need a moment to

explain myself. Is that okay?” c. Don’t let him or her ask you more than ONE question

before you stop him or her and get a chance to give adequate answers.“Say, let me respond to

your first challenge. When I’m done you can jump in again. Is that okay?”

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Steamroller Tactic:Defense # 2: Shame Him:

1. If he or she has broken the agreement you made in how to discuss the argument, then you will need to be more aggressive. For example, if he or she continues to interrupt ask…

a. “Oh, did you want me to stop talking now so you could talk? Or did you want to take turns and have a

conversation?” b. “Are you genuinely interested in an answer to my question

or do you just want to make a point by asking questions without listening to my response? I’ll stop and listen if all you want is an audience.”

c. The point here: “You and I had an agreement and now you’re breaking that. What’s it going to be?”

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Steamroller Tactic:Defense # 3: Leave the Person:

1. If he or she won’t let you answer, listen politely until he or she is finished, then drop it. Let him or her have the satisfaction of having the last word, then walk away.

Jesus said,“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do

not throw your pearls before swine.”Matthew 7:6

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Conclusion: Practice Makes Perfect:1. Know your Bible so that you can give an accurate

answer.2. Actively share with others…experimentation with

tactics is often the proving ground.3. Push yourself beyond your comfort zone.4. Examine your intimacy/fellowship with the Lord

before and during the exchange.5. Be prayerful.6. Evaluate or replay the exchange in order sharpen

your skills of argumentation…keep notes.