Take a Tip From Columbo

Have you ever taken a verbal beating when trying to talk about Jesus? If so, try this simple approach to stop challengers mid-punch and make them take a close look at their gloves. It’s called the Columbo tactic.

Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo was the 1970s bumbling TV detective whose re-runs continue to this day. As I watched one of his programs the other night, I realized that his crime-solving success was based on a simple inquiry: “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

The key to this strategy is to shift the burden of proof to the other person by asking carefully selected questions. It can even be played out Columbo style - halting, head-scratching, and apparently harmless.

The Columbo tactic is most powerful when you have a goal in mind. If you see some weakness in another’s view, instead of plainly pointing out the error, you expose it by asking a question in a disarming way.

Though there are literally hundreds of ways to do this, the Columbo tactic offers tremendous advantages. For one, it’s inter­active, inviting the other person to participate in dialogue. It’s good to use to spread the word about Jesus because no preaching is involved. This approach allows you to make good headway in presenting and defending your view without actually stating your whole case. More importantly, a carefully placed question shifts the burden of proof to the other person where it may belong.

Christians tend to listen politely or else to take the burden on themselves to refute every fantasy a skeptic can spin out of thin air. Why let challengers off so easily, though, when they’re the ones making the claim? It isn’t your job to disprove his fairy tale. It is his job to demonstrate why anyone should take his ideas seriously.

Remember, the one making the claim shoulders the burden of proof. For far too long, skeptics have contrived fanciful challenges, then sat back and watched Christians squirm. If someone tells the story, it’s his job to defend it, not your job to refute it.

Three Key Questions

Sometimes when you are not sure how to proceed, it is good to ask open-ended questions. The most effective open-ended question I've found is some variation of “How do you know?” There is a three-step formula along this line that can keep the dialogue going with even the most belligerent antagonists.

The first step is asking a clarification question: “What do you mean by that?” This question accomplishes several things. First, it immediately engages the challenger in an interactive way. Second, it’s friendly because you’re expressed a real interest in knowing more about the other’s view. Third, it forces him to think carefully - maybe for the first time - about exactly what he believes. Fourth, it gives you valuable information about the roots of the person’s thinking. So pay careful attention to the response.

Here’s the second question: “How did you come to that conclusion?” This is a gentler variation of “Where did you get your facts?” Though it’s similar in content, it has a kinder tone, assuming the critic has not just made an unsubstantiated claim, but has actually done some thinking.
The additional data puts you in a better position to assess and respond to the person’s view. You now know what he thinks, and you also know how he thinks giving you valuable information on how to proceed if you choose to.

I say, “If you choose to” because you may detect that it’s not the time to move forward, nor are you automatically obliged to. Depending on your personality you’ll face the temptation to be over-eager or under-eager. Remember, you don’t always have to hit a home run. Sometimes just getting on base will do, and the first two questions accomplish that.

If you do proceed, your third question suggests an alternative. Ask, “Have you ever considered...” and then finish the sentence in an appropriate way. Offer an option that gently challenges the person’s beliefs, possibly exploiting a weakness you uncovered in the answers to your first two questions.

Christians don’t have to be experts in everything. In fact, God can use believers effectively despite a lack of knowledge if we learn to ask good questions.

You might be surprised to find that many critics aren’t prepared to defend their “faith”, or lack of it, when asked some basic questions.

As Lt. Columbo demonstrated so well - making the TV series so popular for so long - asking the right question frequently settles the case.

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