Logic 101 for Honest Conversation
What rules does every good argument — from any side — actually follow?
How to use this guide
This guide is built for a 45-60 minute small-group conversation about "Logic 101 for Honest Conversation." Open with prayer, read the framing aloud, and use the questions below to surface what people actually think before you walk through the case. Aim for honest engagement over consensus.
Facilitator tips
- Read the lesson before the meeting; you do not need to be an expert, just a guide.
- Resist the urge to fill silence. The best discussions follow long pauses.
- When someone raises an objection you cannot answer, write it down and follow up next week.
- Close with a single takeaway from each member, not a doctrinal summary.
What we're studying
Most disagreements turn less on deep disputes and more on sloppy reasoning: ambiguous terms, hidden premises, and fallacies both sides deploy. Mastering a short list of principles drastically improves the quality of conversations, and protects you from bad Christian arguments as well as bad skeptical ones.
The case in brief
Classical logic rests on three laws (identity: A is A; non-contradiction: not both A and not-A at the same time in the same sense; excluded middle: either A or not-A). Good arguments have a valid form (the conclusion follows if the premises are true) and sound premises (the premises actually are true). Common fallacies to learn include ad hominem, straw man, genetic fallacy, appeal to authority/popularity, and false dichotomy. A disciplined apologist should be able to diagnose these in their own arguments first.
What if someone says...
"Quantum mechanics violates non-contradiction."
Quantum systems are counterintuitive but not contradictory. A particle being in a superposition is not the same particle being in definite state X and definite state not-X simultaneously.
"Calling out fallacies is itself a rhetorical trick."
Correctly identifying a fallacy is a diagnosis, not a rebuttal. You still have to engage the underlying substantive issue.
Discussion questions
- When have you made (or encountered) a genetic fallacy in the last week?
- Can you name the last argument you changed your mind on — and why?
- What is one Christian argument you find weak? Why?
- [Small group] Where in your own life does this question feel most pressing?
- [Small group] Who do you know that wrestles with this — and how could you talk with them about it this week?
Going deeper
- Scaling the Secular CityJ.P. Moreland · 1987 · Philosophy of religion
- Reasonable FaithWilliam Lane Craig · 2008 (3rd ed.) · Natural theology
- Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian ConvictionsGreg Koukl · 2009 (rev. 2019) · Dialogue