If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? – Psalm 11:3, King James Version (KJV)

In his video The Authority of God’s Word (See 50 min 20 sec) in, Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham pointed out that Christians often make a fatal error when debating non believers about the Bible. The fatal error is this: they accept man’s word rather than God’s word as the starting point for their arguments.

In a recent collegiate appearance, Christian apologist Frank Turek illustrated how NOT to accept man’s word in a debate. In the video below, a young atheist named Carter challenged Turek on several fronts, including this one: how can God be a God of love if He sends people to Hell who don’t accept His conditions for salvation?  In response, Turek said something like this (The following is a paraphrase. For Turek’s exact response, please view the video.):

Actually, God loves you so much that He gives you the choice of whether or not you want to be with Him in Eternity. Let me illustrate it this way. Ladies in the audience, have you ever had a man seek your affections that you had no interest in? Sure, I see several hands. My guess is that, at some point, you gave him that old line, “I like you, but only as a friend.” What if that guy kept pursuing you and pursuing you until one day he said something like, “I love you so much I’m going to force you to love me.” Would that be love? Of course not. Love must be freely given. It cannot be forced. If he really loved you, he’d leave you alone.

God does the same thing. He gives us a choice to love Him or not. He sends us cards and flowers while we are here on Earth, but if we reject Him over and over, He’ll eventually give us up to our own desires. If we reject Him, that’s what we’ve told Him we want – my way, not Yours. Those who reject God, when they die, go to Hell because Hell is a holding tank for beings who’ve told God, “I don’t want you.” Hell is ultimately separation from God. It is a quarantine of evil. If you choose to love your way rather than God’s way, you can freely do so in the area of quarantine.

God loves you too much to force you to be with Him in Heaven against your will.

Carter tried to frame the debate from a “man’s word” foundation: “God is hate because He doesn’t give me a choice. I have to do things His way or suffer damnation.” Turek responded from a “God’s Word” foundation: “God is love (1 John 4:8). He loves you so much that He doesn’t force you to love Him. He gives you the choice to love Him or not.  He also loves you so much that He has honestly told you what the consequences are of choosing Him and of not choosing Him. Now, it’s up to you.”

When chatting with someone who doesn’t believe in God, don’t let man’s point of view be the starting point of your arguments. Make sure you rest your points on the firm foundation of God’s Word, and then it will be up to those with whom you are talking to accept God’s Word or not.