Street Smarts Flashcards
The possibility that Christianity can be debunked is ___, it’s ___.
If a view is ___, then it is ___.
not a bad thing
a good thing
falsifiable
verifiable
With training under your belt, ___ works in you and through you, helping you effectively employ ___.
the Holy Spirit
the things you have learned
People come to Christ only because __
Even Jesus’ preaching was ineffectual without __
the Father enables them
the special work of God
Your task is to present the truth as __, __, __, and __ as you can
clearly, graciously, persuasively, faithfully
You present the truth. The rest is __
You do the talking, God does the __
up to God
persuading
If your goal is to win people, you will frequently be __
If your goal is to be faithful in the moment before your audience of one, then you can be __
disappointed
successful in every encounter
Our task is to make the unchanging message more __ to contemporary ears
intelligible
Before there can be any harvest, there has to be __
a season of gardening
Get to the gospel only when you think you can position it in a __, when it fits the __
meaningful way
natural flow of the discussion I’m having
The key to navigating effectively with others in rough spiritual waters is __
to use questions
The heart of the game plan itself is that the Christian takes __ in a disarming manner with __ chosen to move the dialogue forward in a safe, relaxed, but productive way
the initiative
specific questions
Assertions make you ___; questions keep you ___
vulnerable
Safe
Questions often reveal __ in your path you can carefully maneuver around once you know where they are
obstacles
If you stick with questions, you’ll have nothing to __, not vulnerable to __
defend
counterattack
First, ask questions and __. Second, after __, don’t swing for the fences. Instead, just try to make __ stick
listen, listening
one good point
The key to street smarts is using carefully selected questions to expose __ in a critic’s objections
a flaw
The burden of proof is the ___ someone in the conversation has to give __ for his view
responsibility
reasons
The one who makes the __, bears the __
claim
burden
After you get clarification on what he means by his assertion, you are going to ask some form of the query: __
How did you come to that conclusion?
How could you respond: Abortion shouldn’t be illegal. It’s health care.
What is health care?
Care provided to make someone healthier
Is pregnancy an illness? When a woman is pregnant, she’s not sick is she?
No.
Then how can abortion be health care for the mother if she isn’t sick?
But pregnancy, even healthy, is a health care concern!
I agree. But in the case of abortion, are you helping the woman have a healthy pregnancy?
I guess not.
No. Aren’t you helping her end the pregnancy? So the woman’s health isn’t an issue is it? What about the fetus? What does abortion to to the fetus?
It kills it.
Right, so how then is abortion health care for the fetus or the mother?
By using questions, you enlist your challenger as a ___ to unpack the problems with his view
willing partner
Paul acknowledges the reality of opposition in the ___, but instructs us that the more fundamental conflict is a deeper one in the ___
visible world, invisible realm
The very first step in arming ourselves for battle against the devil and the battle for the souls of men is to
gird our loins with the truth
Satan’s basic strategy is ___, so our most potent countermeasure is __
spreading lies, spreading truth
The key to seeing the unseen deceit is to __
look for something spiritually dramatic going on in the visible realm that is so obvious everyone else should see it, BUT THEY DON’T.
Human lives will be ruled by one of two fundamental forces:
truth or power
Without truth, ___ will always be the master, and freedom to choose to live by truth will be the casualty.
brute force
The revolt in the garden was a rejection of __ in exchange for _
the external source of truth; an internal authority
If the condition that makes a statement true is something about the object itself, outside of us, then the truth is an __
objective truth
When moral qualities, though not physical, are still just as real as a pen, philosophers call this __
moral realism
Objective moral truth, like all genuine truth, is mind __
independent
Expressive individualism is the idea that __
each of us finds our meaning by giving expression to our own feelings and desires
The simplest way to explain the reasons for believing in God is this:
God is the best explanation for the way things are
Atheism explains nothing by denying that _____
explanations exist
The most vulnerable part of any worldview is _____
its foundation
What should your first response be when somebody tells you he’s an atheist?
That’s interesting. What kind of atheist are you?
After finding out what kind of an atheist they are, what should your next question be?
Why are you an atheist?
Atheists may lack a belief __ God, but they do not lack a belief __ God.
in, about
What are the only three possible responses to the claim that God exists?
Affirmation, denial, neutral
How could you respond to someone who clearly believes God does not exist yet defines his atheism as mere lack of belief?
-I don’t know for certain.
–I’m agnostic.
—Like I said, I lack a belief in God.
Can I ask you a question? I’m going to make a statement. What is your response? “God exists.” What do you believe about that statement?
-I’m not asking you what you know, but what you believe.
–Agnostics have no opinion, and you’ve made it pretty clear that you’re not neutral on that statement. Let’s try this, given the statement “God exists,” you have one of three choices: affirmation, denial, or neutrality. Can you think of any other options? So which are you?
—I get that, but that wasn’t an option. Are you saying you have no opinion, sitting on the fence on the God issue? I believe in God, but you’ve been pushing back on that. You think I’m wrong, right? So you think I’m wrong about God existing, so you must hold to the denial option. In your case, having no belief in God is the same thing as believing that God doesn’t exist.
Both the Christian and the atheist have a __ which are at odds. Both have a view to ___
conviction/belief, defend
It doesn’t matter how an atheist defines faith, or even how some misinformed and confused Christians do. It only matters ___
how Christianity itself defines faith
How could you respond to “Faith is just wishing, blind, against evidence, leap, hoping…”?
-Well, I still think it’s blind…
–It’s not faith. I don’t know. But it’s not faith if you have reasons.
Since we are talking about my view right now, then can we use my definition?
Biblical faith is an active trust based on reasons and evidence. No leap, not blind, etc.
-What if I gave you evidence for my beliefs? What then? What would you call it?
–Ok. Since I’m glad to offer reasons for my views, what word would you like to use instead? Convictions?
Let’s talk about my convictions then.
How could you respond to “Belief in God is irrational”?
What is irrational about belief in God?
How could you respond to “There’s no evidence for God”?
-Haven’t seen any.
–Well, I have considered some.
What specific arguments for God have you considered?
-If you haven’t seen any, how do you know none exists?
–Good. Which ones, and what’s wrong with them?
Saying there’s no evidence is not the same as saying the evidence is ______
unconvincing
A thoughtful theist’s method is called ___ reasoning. What is the ____ for the way things are? It’s a ___ case approach.
abductive, best explanation, cumulative
What similar statements can you use to show the silliness of the statement “We are basically the same: I just believe in one less God.”
All men are basically bachelors since they are not wed to every other woman on the planet.
People with jobs are basically unemployed since there are gazillions of companies who haven’t hired them.
Murderers are basically peaceful folks, since they haven’t killed most everyone.
Philosophers would say that being an atheist is not a ___ property. You can’t be mostly atheist but a little theist.
degreed
What two points does the question “who created God” fault with?
It doesn’t address the main concern of what caused the universe.
The concern only applies to things that begin to exist.
Why must the cause of the universe be a personal agent?
Because only personal agents can make decisions. A decision to start something at a specific time.
What type of informal fallacy is the question “who created God?”
complex question
How can you respond: There is no evidence for God.
If you saw a shoe print in the sand, what would you conclude? Would you think it was an accident caused by the surf?
-No, there’s a better explanation.
What about a blueprint for a building? Ink spilled?
-No.
What about the human body and the DNA blueprint?
-Evolution. It’s possible.
Even if possible, doesn’t it seem unlikely when there is a better explanation? That someone made the DNA blueprint?
What is one problem with the idea of the multiverse?
It itself would need to be finely tuned
How could you respond? Scientists suggest there are an infinite number of universes out there, so we must be in the one that happens to be fine-tuned.
What’s the evidence for the multiverse?
-Theoretical, speculative, working on it.
Even so, don’t you think you may have just multiplied the problem you have? Now you have to explain what caused an infinite number of universes, and what fine-tuned the multiverse machine. Seems to have created more problems?
-They are working on it.
Well, when I see something that looks designed, and it’s radically unlikely to happen by chance, then the best conclusion is that it is designed. Why posit an infinite number of undetectable worlds when a simpler solution fits the data?
In the problem of evil, what is the key strategic move?
Show that genuine evil is evidence for God and against atheism
What is the two step strategy in responding to the problem of evil?
Every thoughtful person knows that something is terribly morally wrong with the world.
That stuff isn’t just something we don’t like or prefer.
The problem of evil is only problem if morality is ___, not ___
objective, subjective
In the problem of evil, the atheist faces a complication the theist does not:
How can anything be ultimately evil or good in a materialistic universe?
What could it possibly mean for an atheist to say that the world is ____ when in the atheist’s universe there is no ___ about anything?
not the way it’s supposed to be, “supposed to”
The atheist’s own answer to the problem of evil left to him, is ___
that there is no problem of evil.
How can you show that evil is good evidence for God?
Ask his perspective about something clearly morally grotesque.
In talking about these things, are you talking about the actions themselves or just your feelings?
Where does the standard come from labeling these actions as morally wrong?
