BACK ASSERT 5'?m2f Apologetics: assertion vs argumentation LIZ -- (enters running carrying high school class year book, hand raised) Hey! Stop! (stops, sighs, shrugs, crosses to front lip of stage, looks left and right, opens book, pages) AMY -- (enters opposite carrying Bible, crosses to front lip of stage, looks left and right) Is this where I catch the shuttle to the convention center? LIZ -- Yeah. I just missed the last one. The next one should come by in five minutes. AMY -- That's a high school class year book, isn't it? (points) LIZ -- Yes. AMY -- Class reunion? LIZ -- Yes. I was just refreshing my memory of faces and names. I don't want to be embarrassed by forgetting someone's name. AMY -- Yeah, well, people change over the years. You might not even recognize them. LIZ -- Say, you weren't in my graduating class, were you? AMY -- Me? No. I'm here for a Christian conference. (shows Bible) LIZ -- What a shame. (opens book, turns away) AMY -- Excuse me? LIZ -- I said it's a shame. AMY -- What's a shame? LIZ -- You look so intelligent. I don't see how anyone could be so gullible as to believe what's in the Bible. AMY -- I'm sorry, I don't understand what's so difficult to believe. LIZ -- All of it. It's just a collection of myths and legends. AMY -- Can you PROVE that? LIZ -- Prove it? AMY -- Yes, merely CLAIMING that it's full of myths and legends doesn't make it so. Do you have any PROOF that what's in the Bible never happened? LIZ -- Well, no. Can you prove that it did happen? AMY -- That's not how things work. The standard for evaluating historical documents is to ASSUME they're true unless they're self-contradictory or if there's proof of errors. If you give the Bible the same treatment as any other historical document, you need PROOF when you claim it's wrong. LIZ -- Everybody knows the Bible is wrong. AMY -- How? LIZ -- Well, look at the New Testament. It was written by the disciples of Jesus. That's bias right there. AMY -- So, you're saying that any account written by people biased in favor of the topic can't be trusted? LIZ -- That's right. They made it up to make Jesus look good. AMY -- So, according to your reasoning, that (points) high school class year book there can't be trusted. LIZ -- Of course it can! AMY -- But it was written by people who have a bias in favor of the school, especially of your graduating class. By your logic, you can't believe a word in it. LIZ -- Oh... well... this is the exception to the rule. I KNOW these (points) people. I know the writers and I know the people they write about. And I know first hand what they said is true. AMY -- So, if I accused that book of being full of myths and legends... LIZ -- I'd say you're wrong. AMY -- But I said it. Doesn't saying it make it true? LIZ -- No. You need proof. AMY -- And what proof do YOU have that the Bible is nothing but myths and legends? LIZ -- Well, I don't. But I'm sure there are others who say so. AMY -- Can you name the others? LIZ -- Well, no. AMY -- In that case, I claim that there are tons of people who swear that your high school class year book is a fake. LIZ -- Alright. I get your point. AMY -- What's my point? LIZ -- That I shouldn't make claims without proof, even if I've heard a lot of people say so. But you have to admit that there's a lot better chance that the Bible is full of errors than this year book. AMY -- Sorry to disagree. LIZ -- How can you say that?! AMY -- Well, for one thing, four different writers wrote about the life of Jesus. And their writings harmonize with one another. For another thing, nearly all of the New Testament was written within the lifetime of the people who lived through the events. If even one fact was incorrect, thousands of readers would have been there to correct the error. In fact, there were probably more witnesses to the events of the Bible than to events in your year book. Are you sure you can trust that year book? LIZ -- Of course! But you don't REALLY believe in all those miracles, do you? AMY -- I believe in the ones that had witnesses. LIZ -- Which ones had witnesses. AMY -- All of them. LIZ -- I still don't believe them. AMY -- Well, how much proof would you need to believe them? LIZ -- None. AMY -- None. LIZ -- I wouldn't believe in miracles, even if the Bible had a million witnesses. AMY -- So, then, you're problem with the Bible is not that you don't think there's enough PROOF for the claims. Your problem is that no matter how much PROOF it provides, you're not going to believe a word of it. LIZ -- That's right. AMY -- What if I said that about your year book? Wouldn't you say that I'm closed minded and bigoted? LIZ -- (exiting) Listen, I think I'll just walk to the convention center. AMY -- (exiting opposite) But the shuttle is here. LIZ -- It's okay. I need the exercise. (mumbles) I'm glad I wasn't in HER graduating class. I'd be a Christian by now. ©2008 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: bob@bobsnook.org BACK |