Meet the Skeptic Book Description:
Conversations are snapshots of a person’s worldview. You never know when one of those conversations will challenge your Christian faith. Are you equipped to effectively deal with this skepticism? Meet the Skeptic teaches believers to think about skepticism in categories. Chasing down answers to every objection a skeptic raises often leads nowhere because the conversation becomes a superficial game of one-upmanship. By uncovering the presuppositions (Root Ideas) behind objections, Meet the Skeptic trains believers how to steer conversations with skeptics in a more meaningful direction rather than trying to win the argument. It will help readers:
- Get to the Root Ideas of worldviews instead of pulling at the weeds
- Recognize the Red-Flag Words that prop up objections
- Scrutinize bumper-sticker comments
- Ask probing questions and acquire an ear for opportunities
Meet the Skeptic is effective for conversational training as well as being a model for building an apologetics curriculum. The four categories described provide a framework into which believers can organize and connect worldview ideas.
About the Author:
As a Christian apologist and owner of a brand image and design firm, Bill Foster has a unique perspective of how the popular culture perceives and is influenced by the ideas that shape our world. He has created an approach for engaging skeptics that breaks down objections into categories. Bill believes that understanding the worldviews behind these categories, rather than chasing down answers to every objection, is the key to reaching the heart of a skeptic’s thinking.
Book Details:
- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Master Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0890516510
- ISBN-13: 978-0890516515
- Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
- Retail Price: $10.99
My Thoughts:
Because I have friends from a variety of religions, I feel that I need to point out that if you follow the Islamic, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, Buddhism…. faith then this book will probably rub you the wrong way. While it does not bash other religions, it does go into why “works-based” religions are not right according to the Bible. The above stated religions are specifically mentioned in at least one location in the book. It’s also definitely not a book that will sit well with anyone who has the “people can get to heaven by many paths” mentality. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read it, but you would need to go into it knowing that some parts will, quite frankly, make you mad/uncomfortable.
Now to the book itself….
The book teaches believers to think differently about the approach taken with skeptics of the Christian faith. All to often, we forget what it’s like to be an outsider to the Christian faith, so we use catch phrases and religious words to get our point across. These types of approaches often only turn people away and confirm their already set ideas about Christians. Once the base information is given within the book, it then proceeds to go into the 4 types of skeptics (spiritual, moral, scientific, and biblical) and how to approach a conversation with each of the them. It goes into how to determine the type of skeptic you are dealing with based upon the questions asked or words used. There are a list of key words, the root idea behind the skepticism, and a probing question to ask.
The 4 types of skeptics are covered briefly in the overview and then tackled individually in a more in-depth manner. Examples of conversations are given to show how the conversation might go and what it would look like to use the skills being taught.
The book is well laid out and is presented in a logical manner. I often found myself chuckling as my husband naturally approaches things in the manner in which is recommended in the book. He does it both at home and at work, so the ideas presented weren’t new to me. The idea of the 4 types of skeptics was something that I had not thought about previously, so it provided some food for thought.
