Why Good Arguments Often Fail | James W. Sire

James W. Sire. Why Good Arguments Often Fail: Making a More Persuasive Case for Christ. IVP, 2006. 205 pp.

This is a book about the way Christians can most effectively present a case for Christ. In short, it deals with the art of persuasion, the art of making the most credible witness to the truth of the Christian faith.

It is not so much a book filled with good arguments as one that examines the pitfalls facing Christians who wish not merely to assert the truth of the Christian faith but do so with the greatest likelihood of success. I say likelihood because there are no surefire, knock-down arguments for anything a Christian believes. In fact, there are no surefire, knock-down arguments for anything anyone believes, even one who claims to believe nothing at all.

We human beings are finite in every way. We are born, live and die. We seem to know some things but often find out that what we thought we knew isn’t true. We believe that our fundamental commitments to life are justifiable if not to others at least to us. Then we run smack up against a conundrum that shatters our self-satisfaction. . . .

As maturing disciples of Christ, we have already been commissioned to spread the good news. Just before his departure from this earth, Jesus told his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Then he drew a conclusion: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” And he followed it with a promise: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:18-20).

Notice the “argument” that Jesus makes. He starts with an announcement that acts as the premise: I have all authority in both heaven and earth. If that is so, then it follows logically that whatever he says should be obeyed.

What does he say? He says to his disciples, Go. Get out of here and spread the good news—teach everyone in the world what I have taught you. Make disciples so that they not only will know what I have taught but will, as a logical consequence, do what these teachings demand. Then, to let them know that they are not alone in this awesome task, he assures them of his presence.

All we need as motivation and justification for our witness is right there in these words. They tell us what we are supposed to do, why we are supposed to do it and why the awesome task can be done.

Our job, then, is to be the best witnesses to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that we can be. It matters not the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This is clear form the words of the apostle Peter to believers who were being persecuted for their faith: “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Pet 3:15-16). . . .

In the process of practicing this approach to Christian witness, we will make many errors. Our “good” case for the Christian faith will often not be so good. Our rejoinders to those who believe otherwise may miss the mark. Our attempts to be winsome will on occasion fall flat as we are perceived as arrogant or bigoted. And even our really good arguments, ones that should go a long way to persuading a seeker of truth, will be misconstrued or just flat rejected.

No matter where we are on the scale of effective apologists, we all have a very long way to go. So let’s get started.

Part one looks at the sorts of arguments that we are often tempted to use but that are so flawed that if we use them we should hang our head in shame. These are called “informal fallacies” by the professional logicians. Their ineptness and downright idiocy are aptly illustrated by a clever story by Max Shulman. I will use it as a takeoff point for a less humorous (sigh!) analysis.

Part two assumes that our arguments do not make any of these or any other fallacies but sill prove ineffective. Why is this? What can we learn from the rejection our arguments often receive? Along the way, I trust that we will learn how we can make our arguments more effective, what arguments we may do well to stay away from even though they may be “good” ones from the standpoint of reason, and how taking the long way around may in the long run be the shortest way to opening closed minds to the good news.

Part three shifts to a positive mode, giving two examples of effective arguments–the ancient one presented by the apostle Paul in Athens and a recent one addressing a postmodern issue. Finally, an annotated bibliography listing further sources of arguments and rhetorical ploys forms the close.

Taken from Why Good Arguments Often Fail by James W. Sire. ©2006 by James W. Sire. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426. www.ivpress.com

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