An Introduction to Argumentation and Debate - Bible Baptist Church

Argumentation and DebateFoundations of ThoughtFoundations of ThoughtAnd he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:31I. Foundations are important.A. They are the structures upon which buildings are constructed. If the foundations are faulty,the whole building will be weak. So we begin this course on public speaking and debate byconsidering the foundations upon which we build our beliefs upon.B. The only sure foundation of every human endeavour, all human understanding, all humanspeech, yea, everything, is the word of God, the Bible. It is here that we find the infalliblewords of the Lord Jesus Christ. Miracles, and feelings DO NOT decide the truth. Abrahamtold the rich man in hell that his brothers had to repent based upon____________________________, not based upon a miracle. All our decisions and choicesmust be based upon the solid foundation of the written words of God (Mt 7:24-27).C. There simply is no substitute for the foundation of God’s word.1. Human ______________ is no sure foundation, for it rests upon many assumptions offallible men. Science used to be all about discovering truth, but now, no scientist admitsto believing anything is true.2. The pronouncements of other __________________ or philosophies are no surefoundation, for they too ultimately are but the speculations of fallible men.3. Only the infallible words of the omniscient God are worthy of our faith as thefoundation of our thoughts, speech, and conduct.4. Why is the Bible different? Because it has proven facts behind it in seven distinct,verifiable areas:a. ______________________________________.b. ______________________________________.c. ____________________________________________.d. ________________________________________________________.e. ____________________________________.f. ________________________.g. Its claim to be ____________________________________________________.II. The defence of the Christian faith is called ______________________.A. It is called “apologetics” because it is ____________________ the reason we believe, notapologizing for that belief. Even when we are not directly giving a defence of the Christianfaith, we must make sure that our words reflect our foundational faith in the word of God.By so doing, our speech on a broad range of topics serves as a witness of our Christian faith.Our speech therefore operates as an apology (in the sense that term means______________) for the Christian faith even in a diverse array of circumstances.B. Proverbs 26:4-5 provides a two-fold apologetic procedure.1. Don’t answer a fool’s attacks when?2. But DO answer a fool’s attacks when?C. What would be the result if we trusted our own intellectual powers or the teachings of theso-called experts more than we trusted the veracity of God’s revelation?III. Before next week, READ pages 1-9 in your textbook.Page 7