For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We demolish arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ - 2 Cor. 10:4-5
Have you demolished any arguments lately, Christian? Perhaps its not something you've considered recently, or at all. Perhaps instead you disagree with this characterization of our calling, after all demolishing arguments sounds quite rude, or perhaps too militaristic, doesn't it? Well, if we are to take seriously Paul's description of our responsibility amidst competing ideas, then we must consider whether we've been "derelict of duty" in this regard. Paul often employs the metaphor of military service or war to our lives as Christians (2 Tm 2:3-4; Eph 6:11-17; 1 Cor 9:7). In 2 Cor, he uses it specifically to address how Christians are to push back against arguments, employing terms like weapons, warfare, strongholds, captivity, and destruction. He does this to evoke in readers an appropriate perspective when it comes to Christians engaging competing ideas in the public square, though our weapons are not forceful, but persuasive; not for harm, but for restoration; not ineffective, but with divine power; not alone, but together with countless other members of Christ. If we are so equipped and supported, why have so many Western Christians remained silent and fearful for so long when faced with charges from the culture?
As we go about our lives as Christians we encounter quite a lot of ideas, and meet almost as many perspectives as we do people. Especially in the information age, there has never been a proliferation of perspectives such as we witness today. We have even invented the term "hot take" to denote quick expulsions of opinion without careful thought. Opinion has never been so fashionable, nor ever so poorly substantiated. Nonetheless, for some reason Western culture has learned to accept, even to crave, such rapid, empty thoughts and arguments as evidenced daily by Twitter, TikTok, and other bite-sized content. With so many opinions and perspectives, and so strongly held as they are these days, one might imagine that Christians have never been more adept at presenting the gospel and engaging opponents as they are today. However, this has not appeared to be the case. Instead, most people even struggle to find resources which aid them in standing against the "fiery darts" of detractors from gospel truth. It seems to me that Christian feel less ready than ever to speak up in defense of Christian principles and truth, often imagining that it is somehow kinder to leave people to their own opinions, to allow error, antagonistic to gospel truth, to go on without question. We must take a moment for once to carefully examine why this is the case, and what is the way forward.
In C.S. Lewis's 2nd book in his science fiction space trilogy (it was a surprise to me as well!), Perelandra, the main character, no more than a feeble man, is cast as some sort of final defense against a great and ancient enemy (a parallel for Satan himself, no less). Without spoiling a wonderful book for you, we may draw a few conclusions regarding Lewis's portrayal of a similar warfare to our own, a spiritual warfare taking place in the realm of ideas. The enemy is set on corrupting the mind of an otherwise entirely obedient servant to the Lord, simply by advancing such lies as modern culture has foisted upon us, even in just the last hundred years. The main character, a simple man seemingly unfit for the task, is set the responsibility to push back on these ideas with the truth. The main character is often frustrated by the clever lies, always needing to be on guard for how truth is twisted, and he frequently thinks "This cannot go on... this cannot go on." At first, he tosses aside as silly and uncivilized the idea that he should more directly confront the enemy, but as the corruption continues his conviction that "this cannot go on" becomes impossible to ignore, and he finally acts. Suffice it to say that he is right, and we must also have a similar conviction in the face of bald lies and vain philosophies that lead us away from Christ and the pattern the Creator has set for His world, and into despair and slavery to sin and self. So why is it that we as Christians are so hesitant to push back when so much is at stake?
I believe our hesitancy to push back on corrupt ideas which set themselves up against Christ stems from 2 prior commitments: syncretism, and fear of man. If "demolishing arguments" has been a foreign concept in your life, it will be most important for you to identify for yourself exactly which of these commitments is yours. First, syncretism is simply the attempt to combine two separate ideas, and in this case I mean the attempt to combine Christianity with philosophies opposed to it. This is precisely what Paul warns against when he says "see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ" (Col 2:8). We see this syncretism anytime we see people marrying Christianity with a fierce nationalism, or when people profess that you can be Christian while at the same time be gay/trans affirming, or even when people identify Christianity as merely another way to God or a psychological way to personal peace and comfort. Some Christians stray into this "captivity" Paul mentions because they have subtly succumb to a postmodern conviction, seeing that it must only be fair that everyone have their own "personal truths," and that each one is as valid as the next (as if it were possible for two contradictory views to be true simultaneously).
This has led us to think that challenging an error would be unkind, offensive, or even that Christians have no right to do so. However, the call to go into all the world with Christ's teachings, preaching the gospel, and "demolishing arguments" is even more than divine license, but instead it is divine command. Do not let clever or popular exhortations toward humility or the kindness of Christ (which have their place) deceive you into disobeying God's commands. Do not be "deluded with plausible arguments" (Col 2:4), but remain rooted in Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Whose authority to engage lies exceeds His (Col 2:8-9)?
Imagine a guard at the Pentagon. He stands there watching keenly for intruders, invaders, and malcontents. However, when one of these threats finally arrives, for fear of being rude or perhaps being misunderstood as exclusionary, the guard remains silent as the threats pass his post, or at most the guard makes little more than a quiet protest, all the while standing aside for the invaders. It is no stretch to say that this guard has failed in his post. We must not do likewise by giving credence to lies by our silence, but instead we must "demolish arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God." As someone has said before, Christ did indeed meet with all kinds of people, sinners included, but it was not Christ who went away changed, for the Truth never changes, nor does He suffer impostors (Hb 13:8; Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12).
The second reason we hesitate to engage lies is that we have feared man more than we have feared God. We have feared that the consequences of our speech would result in uncomfortable or unsafe conditions for us or our loved ones. These are legitimate fears, however are they so threatening to Westerners in modern times that we should walk back the confession of our only hope in Christ as Peter did (Lk 22:54-62; Mt 10:28)? Do we really desire to face Christ, though without punishment, with a report that we decided not to speak truth in the face of lies because we thought it would be unkind? The parable of the talents would seem to show us the error of such fear-guided thinking (Mt 25:14-30). Truth telling is no unkindness in the same way that drawing someone back from a cliff is not unkind, and the truth sets free only those to whom it is made known (Jn 8:32).
As I said before, you must take concentrated examination of yourself, along with prayer, to determine what it is in you that prevents you from engaging others with truth. For many, this fear of truth telling stems from a sense of inability, or fruitlessness. However, it is not us at work in "demolishing arguments" but the "divine power" of God Himself, just ask Moses who it is who gave Men their minds and mouth (Ex 4:10-15), or the Israelites whose meager voice was enough to topple Jericho (Jos 6:20). Nor is your inexperience or lack of education a problem for God, "for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor 1:18-31). "Where is the debater of this age" who is God the Spirit's equal (v20)? It is He who is in you. It is He who is in your brothers and sisters around the world, and by His power you may learn, grow, and be made fit for the task of demolishing arguments through his many servants and educators coming alongside you.
Many of you know that I've been studying in Durham, England for my PhD in Theology and Christian Origins. As I've done so, I've been part of many different conversations surrounding the folly of the whole enterprise of orthodox Christian faith, and near endless objections asserted against it from every corner imaginable. This was not entirely a surprise, I had been warned that this would be the case at elite universities. However during my first months, as I encountered these arguments being propounded by scholars with some of the most impressive CV's you can imagine, I found myself intimidated. I was not so much intimidated by their arguments, for many of them had inherent and obvious flaws; no, I was intimidated by the apparent success of their ideas, by the weight their name held, or by the multiplicity of their celebrated publications. This intimidation led me to remain silent during seminar Q&A, not venturing questions or comments though they were always present in my mind.
However one day, and partly through the encouragement of a brother in Christ, I decided to venture a whisper, to begin to push back with insights from the historic, orthodox Christian faith. I was fed up with the constant attacks, especially since I believed them to hold so little weight, and what I found was extraordinary. It turned out that the emperor had no clothes, and these arguments tended to falter under any serious objective scrutiny. I'll spare you the tedious details, but suffice it to say that you can take it from me that even in the highest halls of learning, your reason for faith is truly not so easily imperiled. I say this not to revel in personal glory (for I only work according to Christ's supply of wisdom and energy [1 Cor 1:28-31; Col 1:28-29]), but in the sincere hope that you too will come to see that the reason for your faith and hope in Christ is firm, ironclad, tested true by time, consistent, and in all ways accurate. You may have decisive evidential surety, not mere blind faith as some may charge, but a faith which is borne out consistently by research and reason.
In the same way that children are not truly made safe from monsters by hiding under blankets, Christians are not made safe by remaining silent or passive in the face of those who breathe threats against us and our Savior. No, safety comes from the realization of truth, that the monster is not real and no true threat, that it is inflated and substantiated purely on the basis of our fear and silence. The God of the Universe is no more intimidated by detractors than parents are intimidated to confront "monsters" on behalf of their children; parents have access to the truth. We too have access to the truth of God's perfect love shown in Christ's sacrifice, and so we must not fear. For those in need of practical help as often as fear arises, I refer you to my prayer For Need of Bravery. Take note that demolishing arguments well means having no need for my prayer After a Heated Exchange, but it is there for you nonetheless.
Now, you are not likely to have to go toe to toe with elite biblical scholars in the normal course of your day. Instead, the kind of people one most often engages are simply foolish folks on Twitter touting some lines they heard secondhand. No matter who it is that God has led you to engage with, remember that our speech is to be seasoned with salt (Col 4:6), and thus the best ways to demolish arguments will not look like verbal violence or bitter take-downs. Instead, our arguments must be winsome, their strength apparent to all, and our speech/writing should be evenhanded, a persuasion which betrays quiet confidence. If you are looking for resources to help you strengthen your ability to "demolish arguments," perhaps I can make another post sometime with recommendations. However, for now I find it best that your confidence would not first rest in your own ability, but in the surety of the truth and the power of God. My hope is that as you begin to engage others with truth in the face of lies, that you too would begin to find that the "strongholds" of philosophies set against Christ have sand for foundations, and that the "divine power" that is yours in Christ would set about to demolish arguments and lead captives to freedom through the gospel.
I pray "that [your] hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments" - Col 2:2–4.