Description
Jesus Christ was the most accomplished informal debater in history. That is the opinion of the author of this book. That opinion is grounded upon several objective criteria. Jesus Christ had very powerful adversaries who sent very accomplished debate specialists against Him. The well-known Pharisees were renowned in their day for their ability to humiliate, harass, outmaneuver, and entrap those whom they had targeted for public destruction. Christ Himself spoke of their abilities in traveling far and wide making converts. The Sadducees also were exceptionally able in this arena of power. They were the rivals of the Pharisees and would not be undone by them. The scribes, lawyers, and other skilled individuals confronted the Christ of the Bible. He was “up against the very best.” He defeated them with logic, one by one. He defeated them group-by-group. He humiliated, exposed, and overturned both their arguments and their agendas time and again, until finally “His time was come” and He willfully exposed Himself to their malice, going to the cross to make Atonement for the sins of His people. But for those three years of public ministry, He out foxed His adversaries constantly.
Jesus Christ displays all the marks of an accomplished debater. He uses known methods of refutation. He confronts the people with honed skills of persuasive technique and insight. He catches His opponents in fallacy after fallacy, humiliating them as He exposes their deceitful and fallacious thinking. He repeatedly “gets under” the arguments of His detractors whom He defeats by knowing their positions better that they. All the while He is able to lay the groundwork for the successful rise of the Christian Church while calling many thousands of people to a devout and earnest call to faith. In addition, His miracles and healings brought comfort and rejoicing to many more. All of that He accomplished despite an embattled ministry. This text has been used by homeschoolers for a homeschool course for debate and a homeschool course for logic. It is also used as a Christian college text.
You will not find fallacy or error in the arguments of Jesus Christ. Given the amount of written testimony we have concerning the content of His informal debates that, in itself, is a remarkable accomplishment. You will find His methods to be amazingly simple to use at times. In fact, this manual is all about replicating the methods of our Lord.
All too often, Christians are content to just “know” what He said. But when it comes time to approach others, whether it be in evangelical outreach, counseling, public speaking opportunities, educational efforts of church or family (including reaching spouses, in-laws, or children and homeschool settings), radio or TV ministries, seminar presentations, private discussions and “witnessing”, business concerns, cultural activities, or a thousand and one other situations, they feel defeated, at a loss for words and unable to present His message effectively. Of course, it is necessary to be persuasive in all avenues of life and do so effectively without resorting to the use of fallacy, trickery or deceit. They cannot figure why it is that their application of His religion “gets overwhelmed” in the situations they face.
Could it be the case that our Lord Jesus was not just interested in presenting what He said but that He was also interested in portraying how He said it, as an example to others who follow Him? In other words, Christ believed that both “means” and “ends” were all to be tied together, that process alone being justified.
What about you? Have you ever been lost in a conversation? Have you been frustrated by distractions, deceit, rudeness, and powerful argumentation? Did you ever think that you knew what the conversation was about only to find that you were discussing another subject? Have you ever found yourself involved in an argument where you were clearly in the right, only to find that your opponents were able to make their case so very convincing to those around and were able to do so at your expense? Did you ever find that those around you threw in your face the idea that you were odd, the “only one” who believed what you were talking about… or.. that “everyone believes” a thing, why not you? Have you ever felt a complete inability to “bring the point home”, to bring it to its proper conclusion? Or… have you ever been at a loss for words, especially when you knew that you knew the subject matter thoroughly and believed that you were ready to articulate it the “moment it comes up again?”
It is the author’s belief many who would defend truth but, for some reason “freeze up” aren’t able to defend it because they lack either the wise counsels of Jesus Christ’s words or they have not taken the time to master the manner in which He approached men. Logic befuddles them and debate just something learned and forgotten! This is so because, even though they may think they know how the Master answered, they are unable to apply the principles to their own situation. One must learn that the way He answered is as important as what He answered.
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