Tactics A Game plan for discussing your christian convictions By: Gregory koukl

1. Tactics A Game plan for discussing your christian convictions By: Gregory koukl Owning your worldview presents:

2. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Finding The Flaws!!! Tactics: Part Two

3. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Chapter 7: Formal Suicide • These views are logically flawed (violating the Law of Non-contradiction) (A ≠ X AND -X) Chapter 8: Practical Suicide • These views are not logically flawed but not practical in the real world. Chapter 9: Sibling Rivalry & Infanticide • Sibling Rivalry occurs when two arguments conflict with each other. • Infanticide occurs when a larger “parent” concept is in conflict with a “child” claim that is being made. Tactics: Suicide Overview

4. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Most faulty arguments have a tendency to destroy themselves if we take the time to think them all the way through. A view “commits suicide” when it is self-defeating or self-refuting. Often the best strategy is to stop a debate and just show that a argument is self-defeating. Tactics: Suicide Overview

5. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: Tabloid reads “Woman gives birth to her own father!” Question: Are you able to draw her family tree for me? Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

6. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: Restaurant sign reads “Authentic Italian food served the traditional Chinese way!” Question: What makes the food “authentic” and the service “traditional”? Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

7. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “All English sentences are false.” Question: Is that English sentence false? Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

8. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws These statements are self-refuting because they don’t meet the criteria that they set for themselves. Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

9. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “There is no truth.” Question: Is that statement true? Statement: “There are no absolutes.” Question: Isn’t that statement an absolute? Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

10. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “No one knows any truths about religion.” Question: How did you come to know that truth about religion? Statement: “Talking about God is meaningless.” Question: Was your statement was meaningless? Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

11. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “You can only know things through experience.” Question: What experience taught you that? Statement: “Never take anyone’s advice.” Question: What makes your advice valid? Tactics: chapter 7 - Formal Suicide

12. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s to crowded.” Statement: “I wish I had an answer to that, because I am tired of answering that question.” Statement: “I really didn’t say everything I said.” Tactics: chapter 7 - Contradictory statements

13. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “I never, never repeat a word.” Statement: “This page is intentionally left blank.” Statement: “You’re in rare form, as usual.” Statement: “They have technology we don’t even know about.” Tactics: chapter 7 - Contradictory statements

14. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Statement: “My brother is an only child.” Statement: “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.” (Yogi Berra) Statement: “People shouldn’t try to impose their values on other people.” Tactics: chapter 7 - Contradictory statements

15. “Can God win an arm-wrestling match against himself?” “If God got in a fight with Himself, could He win?” “Can God defeat His own power?” Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Tactics: chapter 7 - Pseudo-questions Pseudo-questions like this assume that God can act as two distinct persons instead of a single entity. Pseudo-questions are incoherent.

16. Theistic Evolution states: God uses Darwinian Evolution as a tool to create life as He desires it to be. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Tactics: chapter 7 - Common ContradictionS Darwinian Evolution is by definition a random and unguided process. How could God guide and manipulate a random and unguided process?

17. Scientism states: “Only science gives reliable truth.” Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Tactics: chapter 7 - Common ContradictionS Can you prove that statement scientifically? This statement is actually a philosophical statement about the nature of truth but cannot be addressed using the scientific method.

18. Religious pluralism states: “Multiple (or all) religions are equally valid and lead to the truth.” Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Tactics: chapter 7 - Common ContradictionS All religions make exclusivity claims, this makes pluralism incompatible with them as they are stated. Christianity states you must believe in Jesus to be saved. This excludes all other religions.

19. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Practical Suicide • “There is no logical contradiction, strictly speaking, just a practical one. In this type of suicide, you can hold the view, but you can’t promote it.” Tactics: chapter 8 - Practical Suicide

20. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws “It’s wrong to say people are wrong.” “I’ll give you three good reasons why you cannot use logic to find the truth.” “I think its wrong to condemn anyone for anything.” “ You shouldn’t force your morality on other people.” Tactics: chapter 8 - Practical Suicide

21. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws One person states two (or more) arguments that conflict with each other. Both arguments cannot be correct. Point the problem out and ask them which argument is correct. This cuts your work in half, or they may give them all up since they most likely don’t clearly understand them. Tactics: chapter 9 - Sibling Rivalry

22. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws “A good God wouldn’t let bad things happen.” “A loving God would never send anyone to Hell.” In the first statement God must do something about wickedness/evil or His goodness is in question. In the second statement if He punishes wickedness/evil then His love is in question. Tactics: chapter 9 - Sibling Rivalry (examples)

23. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws “Everyone has his own morality. Right and wrong is a private affair. Who’s to judge?” “How could God exist if there is so much evil in the world?” In the first statement morality is relative. In the second statement God’s existence is questioned because of an absolute moral obligation to stop evil. Tactics: chapter 9 - Sibling Rivalry (examples)

24. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws G.K. Chesterton - Orthodoxy - Chapter 3 The Suicide of Thought - The Infinite Skeptic YouTube: The Modern Revolutionist • (Read by Ravi Zacharias) Eight examples of sibling rivalry. Tactics: chapter 9 - Sibling Rivalry (examples)

25. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws A “parent” concept/claim is a generalized and sets the overall tone or framework for the argument. A “child” concept/claim is specific and conflicts with the “parent”. The “child” is destroyed by the “parent”. Infanticide is the most difficult tactic to understand and use. Tactics: chapter 9 - Infanticide

26. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws “Son if you don't receive this letter, please let me know and I will send another. I made a copy.” • Parent: You must receive this letter for instructions. • Child: If you do not receive this letter…follow the instructions. Tactics: chapter 9 - Infanticide (Examples)

27. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws “Everything outside of science is a matter of mere belief and subjective opinion, of which rational assessment is not possible.” • Parent: Only things within the scientific realm can be rationally assessed. • Child: This statement is a rational assessment of everything non-scientific. Tactics: chapter 9 - Infanticide (Examples)

28. Part TWO: Finding The Flaws Steve Turner - Creed Parent: This is the “Creed” of the post-modern thinker. Child: We believe in the rejection of creeds. (last line) Tactics: chapter 9 - Infanticide (examples)