How to. Avoid the Professor's Ploy

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How to. Avoid the Professor's Ploy

Greg Koukl

In the book, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, there are three basic steps that are thoroughly outlined.

Step 1 is to gather information by asking the question, "What do you mean by that?"

Step 2 is to reverse the burden of proof by asking the question, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Step 3 is to make your own point using questions.

There’s a liability to the burden of proof—a trick where someone is trying to reverse the burden of proof on you. I call it the Professor's Ploy because professors like to do this. You might go to class and have a professor that is bent on destroying your convictions, and so they go after Christianity as often as they can.

Some Christians want to challenge the professor who's saying the Bible is just a bunch of fables or something like that. Going after the professor is right-hearted but wrong-headed. It violates a basic rule of engagement: Never make a frontal assault on a superior force in an entrenched position. The man with the microphone is going to win.

However, I'm not saying to break off the engagement. You can still be effective if you use your tactics. What would that look like?

If the professor is saying the Bible is a bunch of fables, what question could you raise your hand and ask? How about, "What do you mean by that?" That’s an appropriate question for a student to ask, and you’re not being confrontational. You're just getting information. He's going to explain in more detail what he means by "the Bible's full of fables."

After he’s done explaining, what other question comes to mind in light of the tactical game plan? "How did you come to that conclusion?" Again, it's the kind of question that a student should be asking.

However, the professor may figure out what's going on and say, “You must be one of those Christians who believes the Bible's the Word of God. Why don't you stand up and explain to the rest of the class why you think the Bible is not a bunch of fables?"

What did the professor just do? He reversed the burden of proof. Why is that an illicit move? Because the student, the Christian, has not made a claim. He has only asked questions. Therefore, the student, the Christian, bears no burden of proof. The professor is pushing it on him anyways saying, "You disprove me." That's the Professor's Ploy, and here's my advice. Don't take the bait.

In other words, don't take the burden of responsibility on yourself to disprove the other person's point of view. If you haven't made any claims, and at this stage in the game plan you haven't, then you bear no burden of proof.

What can you say to the professor? You say, "Professor, you don't know my view because I never said it. I'm just trying to figure out what you believe and your reasons for it."

You don't want to take the bait when somebody tries to push the burden of proof on you when you have not made any claims. That is the Professor's Ploy. Do not fall for it.

Which Kind of Evangelist Are You?

Greg Koukl

In evangelism, before there can be a harvest, there has to be a season of gardening. If we go to the field looking for a harvest, we may be frustrated because the fruit may not be ripe yet. In other words, before someone comes to Christ, there is first a season of considering Christ. I’m not a harvester. I’m a gardener. Someone comes into my garden after me and harvests my fruit. Do you think that bothers me? No, I’m glad. Jesus confirms this point in John 4. He says to the disciples, “You are about to reap where you did not sow.” He’s identifying one field, two seasons—reaping and sowing—and two kinds of workers—harvesters and gardeners. I think the gardening job is harder than harvesting because when the fruit is ripe, it falls into the basket. Jesus is telling the disciples they’re about to get the ripe, low-hanging fruit after someone else did the heavy lifting. Then He says, “So that the one who reaps and the one who sows can rejoice together.” I want to put a stone in someone’s shoe. That’s my approach. I want to create a doubt in their mind about their own view so they move a little closer to Christ. If more Christians thought of themselves as gardeners and left the harvest up to God’s sovereignty, more Christians would be willing to get into play. The book Tactics is a game plan that will allow you to do that effectively. Tactics help you to garden, and gardening is the biggest thing that’s needed right now.

Want to Share the Gospel? Start with This Question

Greg Koukl

Having a tactical game plan in place allows you to engage somebody in a productive way for Christ without taking a lot of risk on yourself. Don’t worry about the harvest, but think more about the gardening. If we garden effectively, the harvest will take care of itself. Trying to win someone to Christ is daunting for a lot of people, so they sit on the bench instead. I want to suggest how you can get in the game. First, gather information. What does that do? It gives me a lay of the land. I might find out if they are a Christian, if they used to be a Christian, whether they’ve thought about Christianity, or whether they’re hostile to Christianity. These are all things that are really valuable to know before you move forward. You don’t need to hurry. Do not worry about winning them to Christ. Just think about gathering information. I have a model question that will help you: “What do you mean by that?” You can use it different ways, under different circumstances, with different people. This is especially helpful when people are raising objections or challenges against Christianity. Examples: A: Friend: “Everything is relative.” You: “What do you mean by relative?” B: Friend: “I believe in evolution.” You: “What do you mean by evolution?” C: Friend: “I believe the Bible is filled with errors.” You: “Why do you believe the Bible is filled with errors?” It is always in your favor to ask more questions. You don’t have to answer the objection at this point. Just get more information. The more information you get, the better. The more you understand that person, the better you’ll be able to decide which direction to go or whether to go in any direction at all. This first question, “What do you mean by that?”—meant to help you gather information—is going to get you started, and that’s all we want to worry about at this point in the tactical game plan.

The Burden-Free Step in Discussing Christian Beliefs

Greg Koukl

When we think about the tactical game plan, or how we thoughtfully engage someone while staying relaxed and keeping our risk level low, I have in mind a multi-step process. The first step is to gather information. We can use the question “What do you mean by that?” The second step I call “reversing the burden of proof.” The burden of proof is the responsibility someone in the conversation has to give reasons or evidence for a view. Here is the burden of proof rule: The one who makes the claim bears the burden. If somebody says, “The Bible has been changed,” or, “God doesn’t exist,” or “Jesus didn’t exist,” or, “There are no miracles,” it’s not your job as a follower of Christ to show where the other person is wrong. It is that person’s job to show why he or she is right. After we ask some questions to get more clarification, we will have a clear picture of what they believe. We want to know why they believe their view. This is where some form of the question “How did you come to that conclusion?” comes in. “What are your reasons for saying that?” “How do you know that’s the way it really happened?” “Do you have any evidence for that view? I’m interested in finding out.” In the second step, we’re gathering a different kind of information than the first step. First, we get clarity on their point of view. Now we want clarity on why they believe what they believe. Just like the first step, there’s no pressure on you. It’s relaxed. You’re being a student. You’re just listening to what the other person has to say. The other person has to clarify their view and their reasons for it. Don’t be surprised when you get silence in response to your questions because most people have not thought through their views. You have no obligation to go any further into theology, apologetics, or philosophy. All you’re doing in the first two stages of the game plan is gathering information, getting an education, and deciding whether you’re in a position for the next step. No stress on you.