“THREE QUESTIONS TO ASK”
This past weekend we had three very fine speakers from The Daily Apologist
for our youth lectureship. Bro. Dean Meadows gave us three questions. Here they
are with his explanation.
Face-to-face dialogue can be intimidating! Jesus told his followers that they
were to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mt.28:16). Peter implores
Christians to give an account for the hope they have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15). How
then, can we fulfill the commands of scripture even if we’re intimidated by one-on-one
dialogue with our non-religious friends and neighbors? Here are three key
questions to ask in a conversation with skeptics:
1) What do you mean by that? What a great question! Too often, in carrying a
conversation we’ve got our pre-developed answers and we begin the conversation
by loading up both barrels. But what if we could ask a non-aggressive question,
that seeks clarification and forces our friends to defend their statement? That is
exactly what this question does. Furthermore, it forces us to actually listen to the
person on the other end of the conversation!
2) How did you arrive at that conclusion? While the first question seeks clarification
of a statement, this question requires the person on the other end of the conversation
to walk us through their thought process or a life experience that contributed
to the conclusion of their position. Once again, this question forces us to
listen for more than just an opening to attack, but rather, gives us access to what
the person thinks and the journey they took to get there.
3) If…..Then….Questions. Once we’ve asked for a clarification of a statement or
how someone arrived at the conclusions they have, we can ask “if…then…
questions. What is an “if…then” question? It is a question that seeks to go on the
offense from a defensive position. For example, say a friend states, “I don’t believe
that truth is absolute!” W can ask both questions #1 and #2 and follow it up with
“If what you are saying is true, then is the statement ‘truth is not absolute?’ an
absolute statement about truth?”
By asking these questions we can be genuine towards our skeptical friends,
understand why they believe what they believe and probe the validity of their beliefs
without coming across as “holier than thou.” Jesus wants us to spread the
gospel to all. Peter called for Christians to defend the hope of Christianity. These
three questions are instrumental (in my opinion) in helping all of us conquer our
fear of face-to-face discussions.
