Debating Muslims/Critics: Some Precautions 006 (Concluding part)
[Part of My Memoirs]

Christians often rush into debate with Muslims and/or critics of the Christian faith because there is a prevalent ‘myth’ among us that anyone can ask a question and ‘silence’ the critics. Critics are not there for getting silenced so easy. They usually do their work much more carefully than what we can ever imagine.

Thus it is always advisable to do your own homework best. For example, when my Muslim debaters asked me to debate Quran or the history of Islam, I declined. But when they suggested that I debate the ‘Uniqueness of the Bible’ I readily agreed because that is the subject I studied all my life for apologetics.

Both the times that I debated MM Akbar, the topic was the same: The Uniqueness of the Bible. Here I was in highly familiar territory, had thousands of facts at my fingertips, and could speak for hours without the need to consult any notes. So much so that Akbar interrupted me during the first debate and said that he would not be able to win the debate if I went on debating him on that subject. That is how we finally came to a ‘draw’ in that debate.

Please remember, many have jumped into debates without preparation. Others have taken the path of offence. Both the approaches are fatal. Prepare well, speak in the area of your competence, answer their objections courteously, create a receptive atmosphere, and do share the gospel. Apologetics without sharing the gospel is not Christian apologetics at all.

[Picture: A scene from my Perumbvoor Debate with MM Akbar. I show them a book written by MM Akbar against the uniqueness of the Bible.]