Part Five: Rebound Questions: Challenging non-Christians to confront the same issues they think Christians can’t resolve
In the previous two blog articles, we examined category one Socratic questions. These are questions that compel skeptics who challenge Christianity to explain what they believe, why they believe it, and what difference does it makes. In other words, questions that require them to clarify and justify the arguments they bring against Christianity.
In this blog article, we’ll examine category two Socratic questions, what I call rebound questions. These questions are essentially identical to the kinds of questions non-Christians typically ask us. Their purpose is to help them to see for themselves that their religious or philosophical worldviews face even more daunting challenges than the Christian worldview, in terms of resolving the issues they raise. At the very least, rebound questions will stimulate conversation and allow believers to present evidences for the Christian position on the topics under discussion.
I’ll illustrate this technique by presenting a series of brief conversations. Notice that all the Christian responses are designed to place the burden of proof on unbelievers by challenging them to respond to the same issues they raises.
Unbeliever: “You Christians can’t prove what you believe!”
Christian: “Then you prove what you believe!”
Unbeliever: “How do know the Bible is true?”
Christian: “How do you know it’s not true?”
Unbeliever: “If the Christian God exists, how do you account for the existence of evil and suffering?
Christian: “If God doesn’t exist, what is the solution to evil and suffering?”
Unbeliever: “Christians are so narrow-minded. You only think your religion is true!”
Christian: “Don’t you believe what you say is true? Does being narrow-minded automatically make something untrue?”
Unbeliever: “I think people are free to decide their own moral standards.”
Christian: “Then you think it was OK for Hitler to slaughter six million Jews?”
Unbeliever: “What makes you think Christianity is true when it contradicts my religious beliefs?”
Christian: How do you know your religion is true when it contradicts Christianity? Can you prove your religion is true?”
Unbeliever: “If a woman wants an abortion, it’s her right to do whatever she wants with her own body.”
Christian: “If a baby is a human being, why wouldn’t it have the same right to live as the mother?”
Unbeliever: “We don’t need a God to set standards of good and evil. People can make their own moral choices.”
Christian “Then if I say infanticide or gang rape is acceptable you will agree?” If not, how do you justify your claim that people are free to make their own moral choices?
Unbeliever: “Science disproves miracles like the resurrection.”
Christian: “Aren’t miracles like the resurrection historical events? How can science disprove anything in history?”
Do you see what’s being done here? Rather than defending our beliefs, we are challenging unbelievers to account for their beliefs. We are shifting the burden of proof away from Christianity to the non-Christian. The purpose of these kinds of questions, then, is to point out problems that the unbeliever cannot easily resolve and likely never considered. People seldom think through their beliefs. Religious and ethical presuppositions are usually taken for granted as true. The right questions force unbelievers to rethink their beliefs. Once they realize they can’t adequately defend their own worldview assumptions, they may be more willing to listen to the Christian solution on the issues at hand. ©
* This series of blog articles is adapted from my books Engaging the Closed Minded: Presenting Your Faith to the Confirmed Unbeliever and The Christian Combat Manual: Helps for Defending Your Faith; A Handbook for Practical Apologetics, which can be purchased at most outlets. More category two questions are listed in the Combat Manual.