Program / Course 26: Comprehensive Assessment / Lesson 5.2
What you will learn
- Structure a defense as a sequence of claims, each supported by an argument or evidence.
- Choose sources that are suitable, and cite them accurately.
- Distinguish arguments from illustrations and from appeals to authority.
- Draft a short defense without overstating what the evidence shows.
The big idea
A written defense is built like a small structure. A clearly stated claim rests on two or three main supports, each of which is an argument or a piece of evidence, and each support is itself backed by a source the reader can check. The case is made stronger by saying plainly how far each support goes. Sources are named carefully: no invented quotations, no invented page numbers. This is private work for the student’s own use, and no one grades it but the student.
Key terms
- Argument
- A set of premises offered as reasons for a conclusion.
- Evidence
- Facts, texts or observations that count for or against a claim.
- Appeal to authority
- Resting a claim on the standing of a person or text. Legitimate when the authority is relevant and reliable, fallacious when it is not.
- Cumulative case
- A case that rests on several lines of evidence that support one another, none of which need be decisive alone.
- Citation
- A record of the source of a claim so that a reader can find it. It names the author, work and the place in the work.
- Overstatement
- Claiming more than the evidence shows. A common weakness in defenses.
Background
Defenses of the faith have taken many forms. Some are deductive, as in certain philosophical arguments for God. Some are historical, as in arguments for the resurrection. Some are cumulative, such as Swinburne’s case, which holds that several considerations together make God’s existence probable. Some are experiential or moral, as in Lewis’s argument from desire or conscience. A student may choose any kind that fits the proposition, but should know which kind is in use.
Sources must be chosen with care. For a claim about what a church teaches, use that church’s own text. For a claim about history, use primary sources and recognized scholarship from more than one viewpoint. For a claim about the Bible, cite the passage. For a claim about what a thinker said, cite the work. Where a source is a popular book, say so. Do not quote modern copyrighted works at length, and do not give a quotation or page number you have not checked.
The program’s rules for accuracy apply: say only what you are confident is true, mark what is uncertain, and describe disputed matters as disputed. A defense that is honest about its limits is more persuasive to a careful reader than one that claims too much.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Outline the case
For each proposition, write the claim at the top. Under it, list two or three supports. For example, for the claim that Jesus rose bodily: the early date of the report in 1 Corinthians 15; the multiple independent sources for the empty tomb and appearances; the transformation of the early disciples; the difficulty of the alternative explanations.
Step 2: Support each point
For each support, write one paragraph that states the point, gives the evidence and cites the source. Ask: could a reader check this? If a point rests on a scholar’s judgment, say whose it is and note that others disagree.
Step 3: Say how far each point goes
Add a sentence to each support stating its limits: what it shows and what it does not. This is not weakness. It shows that you know the difference between a strong point and a decisive one.
Step 4: Check sources and quotations
Check every reference. Quote Scripture only from the King James Version or refer to it by reference. Use short quotations from public domain works only if you have the text in front of you. Mark any detail you could not check as uncertain, or remove it.
Step 5: Draft the case
Write the draft in plain prose: a short introduction that states the claim and defines the terms, the supports in order of strength, and a brief closing that restates the claim and its scope. Leave the objections for the next lesson, but note where they will come.
- What exactly is each support supposed to show?
- Could a skeptical reader check my sources?
- Where am I relying on authority, and is the authority relevant?
- Which support is strongest, and which weakest?
- Have I overstated anything?
- Have I invented, guessed or half remembered any quotation or page number?
Examples
A support with limits
The report in 1 Corinthians 15:3 to 8 is early and comes from a writer who knew the apostles. It shows that belief in the resurrection arose early. It does not by itself show that the resurrection occurred. (A constructed example.)
A cumulative case
No single argument for God may be decisive, but the existence of the universe, its order, moral awareness and religious experience may together make belief reasonable. The student should say how much weight each carries. (A summary of a type of case.)
A bad citation
As Augustine says on page 214 of the Confessions, followed by a quotation from memory. A citation like this should not be written unless the text and page have been checked in a named edition. (A constructed example.)
Different perspectives
Catholic
Catholic apologetics draws on reason, history and the tradition of the church. It treats natural reason and revelation as complementary, a view stated in Fides et Ratio and in the older tradition of Aquinas.
Orthodox
Orthodox writers often point to the witness of the saints, the liturgy and the experience of the church as the main testimony. Arguments from reason are secondary, though not rejected.
Protestant
Protestants range from evidentialists, who give weight to historical and philosophical arguments, to presuppositionalists, who hold that argument must begin from the truth of God. A paper should state which approach it takes.
Skeptical
A skeptic would press on every support: Is it really independent? Is the source reliable? Is there a simpler explanation? Writing with these questions in mind makes a paper stronger.
Why it matters
A well built case shows its work. A reader, including the student at a later date, can see what each claim rests on and can test it. That is the difference between an argument and an assertion.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: More arguments make a better case.
Correction: A few strong, well explained supports are better than many weak ones. Padding invites objections.
Misunderstanding: A scholar’s name settles a point.
Correction: A scholar’s view is evidence only when the scholar is relevant and the reasons are given. Others may disagree.
Misunderstanding: A quotation from memory is fine if the sense is right.
Correction: Quotations must be exact and checked. Otherwise paraphrase and give the source in general terms.
Knowledge check
What is a cumulative case?
A case made up of several lines of evidence that support one another, none of which needs to be decisive by itself. Swinburne’s case for God is an example. The student must say how much weight each line carries and avoid claiming that the sum is stronger than the parts allow.
How should sources be chosen?
To suit the claim. A church’s own text for what it teaches, primary sources and scholarship from more than one view for history, the passage itself for what the Bible says, and the work itself for what a thinker wrote. Every reference should be checked, and unchecked details should be left out or marked uncertain.
Why state the limits of each support?
It shows honesty and understanding. A support may show that a belief arose early without showing that it is true. Saying so prevents overstatement, makes the argument harder to dismiss and helps the student see what further evidence is needed.
May a defense quote modern books at length?
The program’s rule is not to reproduce modern copyrighted material beyond a brief quotation. Summaries in your own words with an accurate reference are better. Scripture may be quoted briefly from the King James Version or referred to by reference.
Think it through
- What is the weakest support in your best case?
- Do you rely on any authority you have not checked?
- How would you explain your main argument to a child, and what does that show?
- What would be lost if you left out the strongest objection?
Independent assignment
Draft the first case
In your own notebook or documents, write a draft of about 600 to 900 words defending the first of your three propositions. Include a statement of the claim, defined terms, two or three supports each with a source and a stated limit, and a short conclusion. Mark any uncertain detail. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.
Further study
- Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God A cumulative case, to read critically.
- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Arguments from moral awareness, in plain language.
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, Q. 2: The Existence of God Classic arguments to compare with modern versions.
- Blaise Pascal, Pensées A different style of defense, to read selectively.
- Acts 17:22 Paul at Athens, reasoning from common ground.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3 An early summary of the gospel.