Awhile back, I read a book by Grek Koukl called, “Tactics”. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to talk to others about faith in a non-threatening, relaxed way. In the book, Koukl has a few questions to help people realize the pitfalls of their own viewpoints:
- What do you mean by that?
- How did you come to that conclusion?
Many times, people in our culture have emotional, rather than logical reasons for what they believe. I want to go through a short example conversation to show you how this might play out.
Nonbeliever: I’m sure glad I believe in reincarnation, gives me hope.
Believer: (1) What do you mean by ‘reincarnation’?
Nonbeliever: Well, after this life, my soul will live on in another body.
Believer: (2) I’m just curious, how did you come to the conclusion that reincarnation is possible?
Nonbeliever: It seemed like a good option for me.
Believer: Does believing in something make it true? If I don’t believe in gravity will I fly up into the air?
This is a very short example, but part of leading people towards Christ is leading them away from illogical, ‘feel good’ views. By contrast to made up philosophies, we know that our faith is based upon historical fact. I encourage you to read Matthew 22:15-22 and Matthew 22:41-46 (by clicking them) for examples of Jesus using questioning tactics in the face of a contradicting worldview.
Finally, let us not forget to pray for those whom we are evangelizing. Otherwise, our hearts will make them into enemies to win an argument with rather than realizing their true state as a soul that is thirsting for Jesus.