Addressing Biblical Challenges Properly

Created: 27 May 2013 / Modified: 25 Aug 2013 Over the years, I have noticed a counterproductive and somewhat discouraging trend in various Bible study discussion groups, relating to how challenges made to statements, positions and doctrines are addressed. It is the prerogative of any and every individual to hold and present beliefs that the Bible clearly rejects. This, in and of itself, is not the problem in question. The problem, briefly stated, is that if a premise or position is advocated by party A, and a challenge or rebuttal to that position is made by party B, there is little or no attempt by party A to actually address the essence of the challenge or rebuttal. Instead, more "proof" is sought by party A to bolster their original position without any regard to the statements or evidence that has been raised for consideration. Not only is this a frustrating and fruitless way to debate or discuss important topics, but it often leads to a feeling that party A is either unwilling or unable to engage in proper discussion. I rather suspect that that these communications issues are accidental rather than malicious, and occur primarily because there is no longer any emphasis on teaching the proper methods or tactics or rules for honest debate or effective discussion of ideas. If one (party A) has advocated a position or premise, and someone else (party B) brings forward a challenge to that position or premise, the proper response should be as follows: The challenge should be acknowledged by the original party (party A) The premise of the challenge should be refuted (not dismissed), using appropriate proof

If the challenger is wrong, then party A should be able to show the challenger how his or her challenge is invalid or incorrectly understood. Mere dismissal of the challenge is not valid or acceptable. Neither is mere dismissal of the challenger (party B). None of the following approaches are valid or acceptable responses to a challenge: Simply ignoring the challenge and pretending that it wasnt presented Reiterating the premise or position without regards to the challenge Insisting that the challenger just doesnt get it. Adding even more proof texts or statements to the original premise Failing to explain how the challengers statements should be correctly understood

It could very well be that party B is wrong and that the challenge is invalid. If so, it should be possible for party A to prove this using other statements and texts that directly address the challenge and how it should rightfully be understood. In other words, party B should be clearly shown why the challenge raised is not accurate or relevant. It could be that the challenge by party B has exposed a weakness in how party A expressed or communicated his or her premise or position. This is a good opportunity to address the challenge and reword or restate the original premise in such a manner that it now satisfies the valid observations raised by the challenge. This provides clarity and growth for both parties. Finally, it is possible that the challenger is in fact correct, or that more study is needed to be able to accurately and effectively address the valid issues raised by the challenge. This is still a good outcome as many of the issues discussed in Bible studies have serious implications for one s salvation. We should be pleased that we were able to obtain a more correct understanding of a critical position, or that an issue has been raised that will generate more diligent Bible study.

Point of Observation about Addressing Biblical Challenges by Andrew S. Baker

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Under no circumstance should a challenge simply be ignored. This will not contribute to the discussion or debate, and will tend to give the impression that party A's premise is weak, invalid, or, at the very least, not well thought out.

To help get my point across more distinctly, let me use a non-Biblical example. Imagine that I were to make the following statement in a private or public forum: "Any even number divided by itself equals 1. Examples include 2, 3, 40, 556 and 2700" What if, in response, someone were to point out that "...zero is an even number, but zero divided by itself is *not* equal to 1" Would it then be appropriate for me to say, "You just dont get it! Look at all these other examples, like 600, 864, 2608, 87654. You cant tell me that this is wrong!" ?

Would anyone conclude that the strength of my position could be enhanced by providing more examples of my premise without directly addressing the specific challenge that was raised? Or, would it be expected that I need to deal with the observation about zero, and show that either my understanding was wrong, or my premise was poorly stated, or my challenger's understanding was wrong? For there to be honest and edifying discussion, there needs to be effective communication, and challenges that are raised in the process of those discussions need to be addressed properly. I have witnessed far too many situations during Bible discussions1 which resemble the above example, and no good ever comes of them. If you have a position that is challenged, and you can only answer the challenges by adding more of your own data points (but not actually confronting the challenges themselves), then you really need to review your premise carefully. It should be possible to show a challenger how their challenge is wrong, if in fact it is, and to supply a proper understanding of how their challenge texts should be understood. This way, we all have an opportunity to learn and grow. At the very least, we will all become much better in how we present whatever it is we believe so that it is more resilient to being challenged effectively. Oh, and dont be one of those who insists on creating a false position to argue against (strawman). Never claim that your fellow discussion partners have stated or taken a position that they have not actually stated or taken, just so you can refute it more easily. Honest discussion is the only way to conduct Biblical discussions or any other type of discussion, for that matter.

-ASB: http://about.me/Andrew.S.Baker

Not just in this group, but in many other places and groups

Point of Observation about Addressing Biblical Challenges by Andrew S. Baker

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