If we are to be more effective in communicating biblical values and morality, we need to understand basic strategy. That is one of the themes in the book, Rules for Patriots by Steve Deace. The middle part of his book provides some needed coaching on how we can all be more effective in communicating and convincing.

One of his principles is that we should “never accept the premise of your opponent’s argument.” A premise is the assumption of an argument that is meant to justify a conclusion. A good example would be the pro-life debate. What happens if the premise of the argument is over “reproductive choice” rather than “sanctity of life? The pro-choice side is more likely to win.

This can be applied to various constitutional issues. As Christians we believe that God grants us rights. We have the right to call on Him (“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved). Therefore, government has the responsibility to protect religious freedom through the First Amendment as well as through other legislative acts. However, the premise of many in government is that government gives rights and thus has the right to take away or constrain certain rights. It all depends on the premise that is used to come to a conclusion.

God grants us the right to self-defense. Therefore, our government has the obligation to protect and enforce the Second Amendment. However, you can come to a much different conclusion if the debate is about whether individuals should own firearms.

Steve Deace was on one talk show where the debate was about how much more taxes should be levied on the rich. When it came time for him to speak, he asked a simple question. How many on the panel and in the studio audience got a job from a poor person? He noted that every job he had came from a rich person. That allowed him to focus the discussion on whether we should punitively punish people who produce jobs.

If we are to be effective in communicating biblical values and morality, we should never accept the premise of our opponent’s argument.