4-Point Refutation in Apologetics

When starting out, it's easy to fill a speech with assertions, conclusions, and support willy-nilly. Things get more complicated when you address claims you don't believe. However, there is an orderly way to refute an idea with which you disagree. Debaters should recognize this format, and even non-debaters will find it simple to understand and use.

Point 1: Identify. While you won’t hear “Contention 3” or “Disadvantage 24”, most General Questions and Statements hide assumptions that you can expose to the judges. For instance, topic III.B.7, “Why would a loving God create hell?” implies that God must not be loving because condemning anyone to hell is cruel. Identifying the assumption behind the question increases your credibility and clarifies your speech.

Point 2: Tag. A “tag” is a summary of your point, short enough for the judge to quickly write down. Fortunately, writing space on an IE ballot is way bigger than those tiny columns on a debate flow! Still, keep it concise and very clear. A tag might be something like, “Hell is a just punishment for sin,” or “God loves by giving sinners what they want.”

Point 3: Support. Don’t just make claims; give the judges a reason to prefer your point over your opponent’s, even theoretical ones. Debaters are rated on their use of evidence or support, and guess what? So are you! In fact, that’s the first thing the judges rate you on after stating and adhering to the topic. (You can download an NCFCA Apologetics ballot here.) It is crucial to include scripture and outside sources, and even more crucial that your support actually strengthens your claims.

Furthermore, speakers too often neglect to cite sources. If you read a statistic, state the year the study was done and what organization performed the research, at the very least. There’s no rule requiring it, but it shows credibility and academic integrity, as well as helping the audience find the information later to share with unbelievers.

Be specific with quotations. Instead of saying, “the Bible says that,” or “as the apostle Paul wrote,” cite the reference if you can. And instead of “C.S. Lewis once said something like,” try “C.S. Lewis wrote in chapter 5 of Mere Christianity,” and read the quotation verbatim.

You don’t have an opponent across the table now, but be ready to dialogue with the many people who disagree with Christianity. Document your support just as carefully as you would for a debate round.

Point 4: Impact. Impacting is showing why your point matters to the judge. Often overlooked, this step can make your speech more personal and memorable. This is different from explaining the meaning and significance of a term in that it focuses on the significance of a particular point you’ve introduced, not an entire theological concept chosen for you to explain.

If you’ve never used 4-point refutation in apologetics, give it a try! Practice using it in your debate rounds, too, if you don’t already. Whenever you’re refuting an idea, this simple format is a recipe for clarity, organization, and solid communication. 

Eighteen Inches: Pascal's Wager and the Goodness of God

Repentance and faith aren’t just an act of the intellect; they’re an act of the will. Someone may run out of intellectual arguments against Christianity yet refuse to accept the gospel. As one pastor said, if Christianity is in your head but not your heart, you’ll miss heaven by just eighteen inches! As an apologist, what do you do next?

One useful (and overlooked) art is dialogue. Asking key questions is just as crucial as crafting arguments. Gently ask your friend what keeps them from committing to belief in God. Simply blaming stubbornness or pride isn’t helpful; it’s redundant, since asserting that someone refuses to believe because they are acting stubborn is equivalent to saying that they refuse to believe because they refuse.

One excuse may be that sin is fun and giving up everything they enjoy to obey commands and do boring “church-y” work isn’t worth it. I’ll admit that I’ve seen Christians with this attitude, too.

Not only is it illogical, it reveals a distorted view of God. Its illogic is that those seeking happiness should care more about an eternal, infinite happiness or suffering than about the temporary. In 1660, Blaise Pascal wrote an argument now known as Pascal’s Wager:

“Let us then examine this point, and say, "God is, or He is not." … A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up. What will you wager?... you must of necessity choose. This is one point settled. But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.” (Blaise Pascal, Pensees, section 1, paragraghs 233-241) 

In contrast, if you live like the God of the Bible does not exist, you may gain limited pleasure if He doesn't, but you may also suffer infinite pain in Hell if He does. Note that this only works for those who are already intellectually accepting of the gospel. Don't use it to be a super-villain to those who reject the possibility out of hand. 

The belief that earthly pleasure is a reason to reject the gospel also reveals a false view of God.  Jesus told his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that 

“[E]veryone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:8-11) 

God is a generous father, not a grumpy kill-joy looking to steal our fun. God help us to recognize that good pleasure is the kind that doesn’t lead to emptiness and self-destruction. Moreover, great pleasure is knowing God Himself. If that doesn’t seem exciting, you have no idea what you’re missing! 

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)