Christians seem to have a poor reputation for answering questions. Would you like to know why people don't listen to our answers? And do you want some ideas for changing this situation? Then this post is for you! Let's start by understanding the problem a little better. There are at least three reasons why people are not always interested in our answers: For one, sometimes … [Read more...]

In my post on Assessing Arguments I noted that a valid argument is one where it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. I gave the following example: Premise: All men are under 10 feet tall; Premise: John is a man; Conclusion: John is under 10 feet tall. This argument is valid because it is impossible for both premises to be true and the conclusion … [Read more...]

A few years ago I listened to the podcast "The Word Nerds". This podcast helped me gain an appreciation for the power of the English language. In my conversations with people I have noticed the power of the words themselves. Using the wrong word can cause needless arguments; using a less specific word can cause confusion, and many other effects (I just checked Dictionary.com to … [Read more...]

In the discussion following last week’s Fallacy Friday topic, Ad Populum, LJ asked about the ad ignorantiam fallacy. In particular she wanted to know about its relationship to creationism. I suspect LJ was being sarcastic but despite this it is worth exploring this issue a bit. First, we should recall that a fallacy is not simply a false position on some subject. The fact that … [Read more...]

Continuing in my ongoing theme of exploring conversational successes and failures I have a little ditty of an anecdote to share of my own interaction with somebody. I was meandering through our local video store looking for a movie to rent and as I did so I overheard two of the coworkers bantering with each other. The subject of religion came up and the one employee made it … [Read more...]

Within the discipline of Christian apologetics, there are several sub-disciplines, philosophy being among them. Apologetics can be done in an “offensive” way (where arguments are presented for Christianity’s truth) and in a “defensive” way (where a defense of Christianity is made against anti-Christian arguments and objections). However, another method I am interested in serves … [Read more...]

This is a fascinating story of one Atheist's journey to Faith (Marilyn Adamson). She highlights the role that her friend played in that decision and this interaction provides another good case study of what was done right. Here are a few observations I hope you'll keep in mind as you read it. … [Read more...]

This week I will look at the ad misericordiam fallacy, the fallacy of appealing to pity. Perhaps the best example I have come across is one used by my friend Francis Beckwith; In his book Politically Correct Death: Answering Arguments for Abortion Rights, Beckwith cites the following letter to the editor: The fallacy in this letter is not difficult to spot; it is an argument … [Read more...]