Anthony Williams | March 30, 2025
A brief scan of your social media will likely make you mad, no matter your worldview. You read a post that disagrees with what you are certain is accurate, and you feel yourself becoming angry. You cannot put your finger on the issue, but they clearly don’t know what you know and are being a jerk about it!
You pray about it and don’t send that response. Or you send the response and feel better for a few seconds until you feel the need to pray for forgiveness. This process is exhausting to the mind and heart for those who participate and those who are spectators.
The Argument
Arguing online is not something that I encourage for anyone. That said, when you have the opportunity to have a conversation online or in person (my personal preference), it is imperative that you are able to argue well, keeping the wisdom of Proverbs 15:1-2 in mind; “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.”
As you scan the latest hot takes from friends, family, and people you thought were your friends, it is critical to know how to analyze the argument itself before you unload with an emotional response.
While the study of arguments is still alive and well in law schools and classical education, society at large seems to have largely forgotten how to have constructive conversations about important topics. It does not come naturally. You have to work at it!
If you are a Christian obeying the mandate to go and make disciples of the whole world, you will be confronted with arguments at every turn. However, identifying logical fallacies and knowing better ways to respond can keep the conversation civil and maybe even change a mind or two.
The Response
Responding to bad arguments can be challenging, especially when it comes to emotional topics, but there are ways to bring the conversation to a better place without resorting to verbal violence (or actual violence). Responding to a logical fallacy with a logical fallacy won’t win friends or influence people.
Greg Koukl’s book Tactics (2009/2019) is a very helpful resource for learning how to lovingly counter bad arguments and logical fallacies without resorting to mudslinging. He uses counter-questions and statements to keep the other party honest and clarify positions to have an honest conversation. They include, “What do you mean by…”, “How did you come to that conclusion”, and “Have you ever considered…”. I highly encourage any Christian to invest in this very helpful resource to help navigate hard conversations. Below are a few logical fallacy descriptions, examples, and ways to contend with the arguments using Koukl’s tactics.
Logical Fallacy Descriptions
Ad Hominem is when you don’t like something someone says, so you resort to a personal attack. Example: You only believe in God it is because you aren’t educated. Response: What do you mean by uneducated? Have you considered the very highly educated people all over the world throughout time who have and do believe in God?
Circular Reasoning also called “begging the question” is when you use the conclusion of your argument as evidence for the argument. Example: No evidence exists to prove God because there is no such thing as God. Response: What do you mean by evidence? Have you considered that space, time, and matter have a beginning, and all things that begin to exist require a cause, and that cause must be outside space, time, and matter and be very intelligent, powerful, and personal to decide to create the universe? What does that sound like?
False Dilemma is to say that only two possible options exist when there may be more options. Example: Either God doesn’t exist, or He is evil for making a world like this. Response: What do you mean by evil? If there is no God to set the world “right”, how can we say it is “wrong”? Have you considered that the Bible says the world was right, but that mankind sinned and has been the cause of the evil, and that He will bring things “right” again for those who trust in Jesus who takes away the sins of the world?
Strawman Arguments (very popular today) provide a false set of facts to knock down what is a misrepresentation of an opposing argument. Example: People believe in God because their parents believe in God. Response: How did you come to that conclusion? Have you considered all of the people in history who became Christians despite the fact that their parents weren’t, and the people who didn’t become Christians even though their parents were?
Appeal to Authority arguments say that because an influential or highly esteemed person believes something, it must be true. Example: Scientists don’t believe in God, and I believe in science, so I don’t believe in God. Response: Have you considered that “science” was developed almost exclusively by Christians, including Blaise Pascal, Robert Boyle, Gregor Mendel, George Washington Carver, Isaac Newton, and many others? Or that between 1901 and 2000, 65% of Nobel Prize winners were Christian (65%)?
Appealing to Emotion is an effort to try and convince others of something based on how they feel rather than using logic. Example: If you don’t accept my life decisions, you don’t love me. Response: How did you come to that conclusion? Did you ever consider that I believe your decisions are hurting you, and I love you and don’t want to see you hurt yourself?
Conclusion
If I have not love…
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
These verses provide a powerful reminder to the Christian that our mission is forged in unearned love from a God Who gives us the unearned opportunity to share the greatest news for eternal hope and healing anyone could ever hear. So, ask questions, listen to the answers, and argue honestly with the love of Christ and love for His people as you “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5, ESV)
About the Author
Tony Williams
Tony Williams is currently serving in his 20th year as a police officer in a city in Southern Illinois. He has been studying apologetics in his spare time for two decades, since a crisis of faith led him to the discovery of vast and ever-increasing evidence for his faith. Tony received a bachelor’s degree in University Studies from Southern Illinois University in 2019. His career in law enforcement has provided valuable insight into the concepts of truth, evidence, confession, testimony, cultural competency, morality, and most of all, the compelling need for Christ in the lives of the lost. Tony plans to pursue postgraduate studies in apologetics in the near future to sharpen his understanding of the various facets of Christian apologetics.
Bibliography
Koukl, Greg. Tactics: a game plan for discussing your Christian convictions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.
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