How to Respond Like a Pro

It’s difficult to think on the spot. Suppose you’re trying to explain rational arguments for God’s existence. No matter how well you know the arguments, skeptics can rattle off quick objections like machine gun fire:

• Why is there evil if God exists?
• Children die of cancer all the time. Why couldn’t God could just cure them?
• Why doesn’t God make His existence more obvious?
• If He’s all-powerful, why couldn’t He just convince everyone that He exists?
• The vast majority of scientists don’t believe in God and that tells you something.

Just as you think of an answer to one point, the skeptic is ready with another. It’s even more difficult in a high-pressure situation like a formal debate or the Thanksgiving dinner table. How could you possibly know how to respond to everything without years of formal study?

How do THEY do it?

Watch William Lane Craig, Timothy Keller, or Trent Horn defend Christian ideas. They are not stumped. They always respond logically and often with wit. Yes, they have had formal training and study, but they have also learned a ton through experience. So, how can YOU respond like the pros? One key is revealed in William Lane Craig’s question of the week #533 on how to cure slow thinking.

Here it is: Never Be Surprised by an Objection More than Once!

Craig follows that principle strictly. How can you? Simple. Every time you are faced with an objection that gives you pause or that you are unsure how to answer, write it down (or type it). Obviously you can’t do that during a discussion. But later, at home, reflect on the objection and what made it difficult. Feel the weight of it. Sit down with it. Study it. Search for answers.

And finally, write them down. As a high school teacher, I know students are more likely to remember what they write down or summarize on their own. Physically write down (or type) the best answers to those objections. Keep a file folder (or electronic folders) of all these objections and your replies. Place them in categories like Atheism, Abortion, Trinitarianism, the Gospels, and so forth.

The more you have written down, the less thinking you will need to do on the spot! In an earlier post, I discussed the 3 P’s (Prepare, Pray, and Practice kindness). Add this file folder idea to the PREPARE category.