Argument

The use of argument is to persuade, and not primarily to bludgeon. Arguing to win is a form of pride, and pride is not our friend, and however often he shows up, he is not welcome (Father, forgive me for I have sinned). Truth is satisfying; it fills and delights the soul. As we want to put food into the mouths of the hungry, so we want to put truth into the souls of the ignorant. Argument is a tool for getting that truth into those souls, but if a person is particularly receptive and doesn't need the argument, then nothing is lost.

To reverse a phrase from some musician, we haven't just been loved, we've been told. God loved us, and part of that love was telling us things, speaking to us about the good things which He has planned and prepared for us and of the good things He has done for us. And when such a one tells you things, you must simply believe and rejoice.

The problem with argument is that sometimes one can be skilled at argument and yet reach conclusions that are face down in a ditch somewhere. On the other hand, one can believe what one has been told by a reliable source and therefore know the truth, and have no argument to support it except, say, "my parents told me so." For instance, what year were you born?

Of course, such an appeal to authority depends on the reliability of the authority. When my parents tell me when I was born I believe them. If I met a drunkard on the street, however, and he told me that he was my father and that I was born in 1975, I wouldn't believe him, nor should I. When the authority is God, you have to believe, because God is perfect and cannot lie and is perfectly able to communicate. Therefore, many people, anyone who can hear or read, can believe lots of truth, and very important truth, without any argument at all.

Argument isn't useless, but argument's main purpose is destructive. It is a maxim of presuppotional apologetics that the role of apologetics is to shut the mouth of the opponent, not to convert his heart. The latter can be done only by the Holy Spirit. It is the role of apologetics to show that every worldview apart from Trinitarian Christianity is self-contradictory. Through argument, the apologist reveals all the holes and inconsistencies in opposing worldviews.

One should develop one's ability to argue, but arguments are not the greatest thing we have. They help one speak with clarity, with coherence, and with connecting ideas, but truth is what we cherish most.