Argue

Hello everyone and welcome back to Deeper Waters where we are diving into the ocean of truth. We’ve been looking at the idea of being a thinking Christian. What does it mean? These are tips that I gave to some Middle and High Schoolers and I want to pass on to you readers.

Today, I’m going to suggest that you argue. Now I realize that for many Christians, argue is a dirty word. We are often told that you can’t argue anyone into the kingdom. Where if entering the kingdom is a personal decision, you can’t even love them in. You are a tool the Holy Spirit can use and maybe a means of doing that will be a good argument.

Arguing doesn’t mean to necessarily be combative either. There is a time and a place for that. Right now, I am just saying to go out into the marketplace of ideas and put your ideas out there. I do that on TheologyWeb.com often. In the past when I was a member on AOL, I did that on there. The great thing about this is that you can get to interact with people who really do believe what they believe that is contradictory to you.

Some of you might think I’m only talking about religion, but I’m not. The same can be said of politics or sports or history or most any other field where two people can disagree on something. Of course, religion is a favorite topic of mine to discuss and it is one worthy to discuss.

Here’s something to keep in mind when you start to do this. For awhile when you go out there, you are going to get your tail kicked. You will think you know your side well and then someone’s going to come along and hand you yours. I remember when I started apologetics I had the delusion that people just didn’t know this existed and when the truth is told, there will be mass repentance.

That delusion doesn’t last long.

There are all kinds of reasons why someone doesn’t believe something. Some of them could be factual. A lot of them are emotional and volitional. That’s not just Christians. That’s non-Christians as well. That’s part of being human. The trouble is, for most of us, and mostly guys, we don’t want to admit it’s emotional or volitional.

Thus, when you get your tail kicked, don’t worry about it. You need it. It will force you to go back to your studies and review why you believe what you believe and learn how to address the arguments better. In fact, it could be in some cases, such as secondary issues on Christianity, you’re just wrong and a good argument helps reveal that.

Arguing will also help in that you will become familiar with the ideas that way. When you have to use an argument regularly, you come to know that argument. If you have to read it in a book every few months, you won’t know it as well. Arguing forces you to know the facts and know them quickly.

To be a good thinker, you need to know how to think and a great way to do that is arguing. Whatever your subject, learn it, and then find someone who disagrees.