Socratic Evangelism

By David Vogel

January 01, 2006

“Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent.” -- Mark 3:4

“While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?’” -- Mark 12:35

“Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?’” -- Luke 14:3

“Jesus looked directly at them and asked, ‘Then what is the meaning of that which is written: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone...?’” -- Luke 20:17

“Jesus asked...” When confronted with the entrenched beliefs of a self-assured religious sect, Jesus didn’t waste time attacking them head-on. Instead, Christ turned the tables on his opponents, drawing them out with careful questions that revealed the emptiness of their arguments. By exposing the contradictions within the Pharisee’s religious beliefs, Jesus put them in the position of rebutting themselves!

The technique of evangelizing by asking questions is called Socratic Evangelism (after the Greek philosopher Socrates, who used similar dialogical methods to instruct his students) and a new study by The Barna Group shows that it is still popular with Christ’s followers, 2000 years later.

According to the study, 69% of Christians have employed the technique to witness to an unbeliever in the past year. Those younger than 40 were even more likely to use Socratic Evangelism techniques, indicating a growing preference for “evangelism through questions.”

There’s a good reason for the increasing popularity of Socratic Evangelism: It works! Three essential characteristics give this method its power.

1. Simplicity. Asking someone a few questions doesn’t take a Ph.D., or a lot of time.
2. Friendliness. What’s a bit of dialogue between friends? Expressing genuine interest in someone else’s beliefs is hardly confrontational, and allows for witnessing opportunities that more direct approaches might preclude.
3. Effectiveness. If Christianity is truth, then any deviation from Christianity must be false, and therefore vulnerable to honest inspection. By asking the unbeliever to defend his viewpoint, Christians can expose the contradictions and falsehoods inherent within any false religion.

As Jesus himself demonstrated, Socratic Evangelism alone is not enough. Lifestyle evangelism, showing God’s love in everything that we do, is the indispensable evangelistic tool of any Christian. However, when dealing with someone whose skepticism stems from a flawed belief system, asking a few questions may be just what’s needed to break through their self-deception. That is why the Cultural Commission classes emphasize effective Socratic Evangelism, showing young people how to use logic, reasoning, and worldview comprehension to turn the lies of the enemy back on themselves. “Jesus asked,” and so must we.