Las Vegas, Nevada Church
Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

Why Religious Arguments Do Not Work   MP3     

Back in the early months of 1998, when Garner Ted Armstrong assigned me to this desk, he asked me to field all Bible questions and church inquiries that arrive by e-mail.  A monumental task to say the least.  Early on, he warned me that though most will come forward with valid questions borne in sincere attitudes, some would be seeking me out for religious argument, debate and/or to hound me with their "idea baby" or "newly revealed knowledge."  He told me that some would even approach me by claiming that God had sent them with new or corrected doctrine, not understanding how God corrects the church.

I am not proud to say that I did not always take his advice.  I carried on some e-mail debates that lasted months.  I soon came to realize that religious arguments and debates are a waste of time and do not work.  There is often a fundamental reason why.  Over time we developed a form letter for those who wished to have us enter such debates.  Notice:

SUBJECT:  Religious Arguments

QUESTION:  Why do religious arguments and debates fail?

ANSWER:

Following is what we send a person when he or she has entered into a religious argument or debate with us:

WHY RELIGIOUS ARGUMENTS FAIL

I know I am in a religious argument or debate when:

1) You are attempting to convince me that YOUR beliefs (which are different from mine) are correct.

2) You are attempting to convince me that MY beliefs are wrong.

3) You are attempting to convince me to change MY beliefs or embrace a different religion or doctrine.

4) You and I are in 100% or almost 100% opposition to each other on the subject we are discussing.

A religious discussion only works if God, the Father is involved.  Only God can bring one to truth.

John 6:44

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Our church therefore, does not proselyte new members.  We preach the gospel and let God, the Father draw members.  Further, in a religious discussion between myself and another, I never seek to change his beliefs nor convince him to accept mine.

REGARDING ARGUMENTS

When any two people find themselves in opposition to each other regarding scripture, doctrine or belief as we have, only two things can be true:

1) We are both wrong.  If this is the case, then neither of us hold the truth and the discussions are moot.

2) One of us is correct and the other is wrong.

Let us assume you are the correct one, so as to make it possible to make my point.

If you are correct and I am wrong, the Bible states that your truth will not make sense to me.  Notice:

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man (one without the Spirit of God) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they [the ones with the Holy Spirit] are spiritually discerned [have discernment].

You can check the commentaries but "natural man" refers to those without the Spirit of God.  Without the Spirit of God, a person cannot understand the truth which is from the Spirit of God.  Spiritual things to someone without the Spirit of God are foolish and he cannot know or understand them fully.  They are without discernment (they don't get it).  You, if you are the correct one (having the truth), could not give this truth to the person who lacks the Spirit of God.  There is NO WAY you can convince these others to believe what you believe.

It WILL WORK if, according to John 6:44, God the Father is calling or drawing one toward the Faith (truth).

You, the human with the truth, will not necessarily know if God has opened the mind of the person in question.  This is why we do not proselyte.  We have no commission in the Bible to proselyte new members.  We DO have a commission to preach the Gospel.  We have no commission to attempt to convince others of our beliefs nor to get them to change their minds or beliefs.

Now, the one with the truth knows the truth by the power of the Holy Spirit:

1 John 2:20

But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

CONCLUSION:

I believe one of us is wrong and without truth.  I also believe that neither will convince the other of anything.

Reasons Why:

 One of us has spiritual discernment and understands the truth.  The other lacks discernment and does not understand or hold the truth, YET,

Both of us KNOW we are absolutely correct.
Both of us use the Word of God as our authority.
Both of us claim to have God’s Holy Spirit.
Both of us claim to understand the Word of God
Both of us know the other is ABSOLUTELY WRONG and just doesn’t get it.
 

However we are in or close to 100% opposition to the subject on the table.  One of us, by spiritual definition, MUST BE WRONG.

Hence:  Nothing will change, as far as this communication goes.

---END---

We all need to realize that religious argument does not bear fruit and we need to refrain from it.  We all need to understand the reason why.

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Las Vegas, Nevada Church of God - part of The Intercontinental Church of God and The Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association - Tyler, Texas