Session 12
Topics
Common evolutionists tactics
 Critical thinking issues and evolution
 3 critical thinking questions
 A power question
 Fuzzy words and magic words
 Red-flag words

Session Background
The purpose of this session is to:
• Be able to critically analyze statements
by both nonbelievers and believers.
• Respond to statements using
questioning techniques that will compel
the person to justify their claim.
The Method
Step 1
Discernment and 2 Tim 2:15
Step 2
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Asking questions
Step 3
Evangelism:
The Good News of the Gospel
The Critical Thinking Method
Instead of focusing on the comparison of
evidence between creation and evolution,
we can focus on analyzing the evolutionist’
arguments and making them accountable
for their statements.
Evolution
is a fact
Creation
is true
Common Evolutionists’ Tactics
Bluffing: We all know…
Over millions of years…
Grades: Only evolution answers
Opposition disallowed
Intimidation techniques
 Discredit the Bible/creation
 Discredit anyone who does not believe
in evolution
 Establish the illusion of authority/facts
Carl Gallups, The Magic Man in the Sky,
2012, p.3.
“I would rather believe in the observable,
proven, and settled scientific evidence
concerning origins and obvious
evolution of life than in some magic man
in the sky, as you Christians do.”
A common Showstopper
to Most Christians
You say Jesus is the only way to
heaven. Then what about all those
people who have never heard? Your
God doesn’t sound like a very fair God.
Richard Paul (Director of Research and Professional
Development at the Center for Critical Thinking),
“Critical Thinking Movement: 3 Waves,”
www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinkingmovement-3-waves/856
“It is now generally conceded that the art
of thinking critically is a major missing link
in education today, and that effective
communication and problem-solving
skills, as well as mastery of content,
require critical thinking.”
Three Critical Thinking Questions
How do you know it is true?
Has it ever been observed?
Are you making any assumptions?
THINK
It’s not illegal
yet
Recognize
Assumptions
Applying 3 Critical Thinking
Questions
Life originated in a pool of chemicals
about 3.7 billion years ago.
“Scientists do know that about 200 to 300
million years after Earth cooled enough to
carry liquid water, cells similar to modern
bacteria were common.”
Biology, Miller and Levine, 2002, p. 425.
Three Critical Thinking Questions
How do you know it is true?
Has it ever been observed?
Are you making any assumptions?
A Power Question
Using the Power Question
Life must be on
other planets. It’s
arrogant to believe
we are the only life
in the universe.
Using the Power Question
Over millions of years
mutations added new
genetic information allowing
for all the diversity of life we
see today.
More Challenges
The universe originated 13 billion years
ago with the big bang.
 The origin of life occurred 3.7 billion
years ago.
 The earth is 4.6 billion years old.
 Evolution is an observable fact.

POP Quiz
observational
faith
Three critical thinking questions
How do you know it is true?
1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
Has it ever been observed?
Are you making any assumptions?
3. ________________________________
Words Have Meaning
How to read between the lines.
How to recognize the bluff.
Show me the observable evidence.
Fuzzy Words
Magic Words
Fuzzy Words
We believe
 We think
 Must have
 Could have
 Might have
 Our opinion is
 We guess
 Over millions of years

No
observable
evidence
Example
USA Today, November 5, 1013
“A discovery out of this world: Earth-like planets”
“There are likely ‘tens of billions’ of Earthlike planets in our Milky Way galaxy…. In
fact, the nearest Earth-like planet may be
‘only’ 12 light years away… And with a
universe of hundreds of billions of
galaxies, ‘our entire universe must contain
billions of Earth-like planets.’”
Example
Life Science, Prentice Hall (Grade 7),
2002, p. 410.
“Paleontologist think that
Archaeopteryx and today’s birds
descended from some kind of reptile,
possibly from a dinosaur.”
“Meteorites Delivered The ‘Seeds’ Of Earth’s Left-Hand
Life, Experts Argue”, ScienceDaily, Apr. 6, 2008.
“These meteorites were bringing in what I
call the ‘seeds of chirality’. If you have a
universe that was just the mirror image of
the one we know about, then in fact,
presumably it would have right-handed
amino acids. … These amino acids
‘seeds’ formed in interstellar space,
possibly on asteroids as they careened
through space.”
Magic Words








Appeared
Emerged
Arose
Gave rise to
Was on the way to becoming
Burst onto the scene
Evolved itself
Was making a transition to
“Evo-devo proposes that genes
involved in cobbling together flesh
and bone during early growth were
repurposed to develop new
structures throughout evolution's
history, by combining their functions
in new ways.”
USA Today, “Why did bugs grow wings to
fly?”, Mar 29, 2010.
“The 185-million-year-old specimen
is a sauropodomorph, a category of
plant-eating dinosaur that stood only
four feet at the shoulders and could
walk on its hind legs. They evolved
into sauropods, such as the
apatosaurus ….”
The Salt Lake Tribune, “Utah's Navajo sandstone
yields rare dinosaur find,” Thursday, March 25, 2010
Red-Flag Words
DANGER
DANGER
Red-Flag Words
All
 Everybody
 No real scientist
 I believe
 I think
 Truth
 Fundamentalist
 Intolerant

Express an
absolute
Express a
personal idea
Reference to
being closeminded
Red-Flag Statements

People should decide for themselves
what is right and wrong.

No one has the whole truth.

That’s true for you, but not for me.

That’s just your opinion.
Analyze the Statement
Look, Jay, any educated person knows the
Bible isn’t true. Evolution proved that a long
time ago. I’ve read my fair share of the
Bible and, we can glean a degree of
wisdom from its tales and proverbs – just
like any other ancient writing – but do you
honestly think all that stuff really
happened?
From Why Mike’s Not a Christian,
Ben Young, 2006, p. 12.
Evaluate
“One of the biggest mistakes humans
make is to believe that there is only one
way. Actually, there are many diverse
paths leading to what you call God.”
Oprah Winfrey, (cited in Christianity Today, Apr 2002)
ASK QUESTIONS
This is the
end of
session 5
3 Critical thinking questions
Power question
Fuzzy/magic words
Red-flag words
Analyze the Statement
Bill, I was watching TV yesterday, and they
had some religious fanatic on there. This
guy was saying he believes there is
absolute truth. And to top it off, he said he
knew this absolute truth and was trying to
impose his beliefs and his morality on
everyone else. How can one man claim to
know the truth? How can one man say he
has all the answers? What arrogance!
From Why Mike’s Not a Christian, Ben Young, 2006, p. 20.