Editors’ note: Part I of this two-part series was published on Tuesday.

Engaging the culture involves more than the picking apart of opposing arguments. While this is important, you must develop and use well-reasoned arguments. It is far too easy to point out the faults and inaccuracies of someone else’s argument, but to make this your only method does little in advancing the truth. You must be ready to give an answer for what you seek to correct. To help you toward this end, here are four fundamental tips related to the answering aspect of engaging the culture.

1. Provide the solution, not just a critique. This may sound like I am being repetitive, but it is worth repeating. Don’t stop at pointing out your another’s faults (regarding his argument). For instance, I recently read a Twitter post where someone claimed that a particular theologian’s argument committed the straw man fallacy, thus undermining his argument and essentially all of Scripture. The tweeter failed to provide an explanation as to why the theologian committed the straw man fallacy. Merely labeling an argument as fallacious is nothing more than name calling. If an argument is fallacious, explain why.

But, do not stop there. Pointing out a fault without offering a corrective is like a dentist removing a cavity without putting in the filling. Sure, the patient no longer has the cavity, but without filling the hole properly, the patient will have worse dental problems in the long run. To fix the problem, the dentist must add a filling after removing the cavity. Likewise, you must offer a corrective or a solution after pointing out a fault in another’s argument.

With regard to the Richards’ interview, it is easy for Christians to lambast Richards for her views on abortion and the actions of Planned Parenthood. We do little by way of bring truth to light if we focus only on the weaknesses of her argument. Instead, build a case that demonstrates how Richards’ claim is untenable and how the argument made by the Center for Medical Progress demands action.

2. Be informed. Know what you are talking about. Facebook and Twitter are excellent mediums to use when engaging cultural issues. The temptation, though, is to jump into a discussion and rely solely on hearsay or personal experience. Another temptation is to provide immediate responses to keep the upper hand or momentum.

Take the time to research the topic at hand. If you are unfamiliar about a particular issue, do some research and think through your response before replying. Peter’s instruction in 1 Peter 3:15 implies that we reflect carefully upon why we believe what we believe and how we answer objections to the faith. We can apply this principle to our cultural engagement as well; we are to be ready to defend the truth, whatever the situation.

Will you be able to answer successfully every charge? No. Will you make mistakes when defending the Christian faith? Yes. But this should not stop you from preparing well to give an answer for your faith. Jesus Christ promises the Holy Spirit to guide you when you face opposition, but he also instructs us through Peter to prepare for such times. He will bless your work.

3. Let emotion support, not carry, your argument. The ongoing controversy with Planned Parenthood ought to anger you. It is natural and biblical to be outraged at the murder of helpless babies and the trafficking of human parts. You ought to be disgusted at the recent videos of PP doctors and the attempt by Richards to justify their actions. God has created us to experience emotions, and these emotions spur us into action. Care must be given, however, to not let your emotions carry the force of your argument.

Allowing emotion to carry the day can lead you to create a fallacious argument.  Excessive emotion can inhibit your ability to think clearly, can lead you to attack you’re the other person as opposed to their argument, and can do more harm than good against those with differing views. A reasoned argument undergirded by a proper expression of emotion can address not only the opponent’s mind, but their heart as well.

4. Pray. Our Lord Jesus Christ did nothing without prayer. He prayed before choosing the 12 disciples. He went away to a mountain to pray after feeding more than 5,000 people. During the hours leading up to Jesus’s arrest, our Lord spent agonizing hours in the garden praying to the Father. If Jesus Christ prayed often about his ministry and about those to whom he ministers, so should you pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your thought process and your cultural encounter. Ask that he would work in the heart of those who propagate falsehood, open their eyes to their need for salvation through Jesus Christ. Through prayer, you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and submit yourself to the will of the Lord; without prayer, you walk in the futility of your own strength.

These tips are by no means exhaustive. They do, however, touch upon key factors to keep in mind when engaging our culture.  As a student at SBTS or Boyce College, you have the privilege of sitting under professors who give you the tools necessary to face an unbelieving culture with the power of the gospel. Your Old and New Testament courses saturate you with the truths of God’s Word as you delve into the riches found from Genesis through Revelation.

Theology professors ground you in the essential doctrines of the faith and the reasoning behind such doctrines. Missiology and evangelism courses get you out of the ivory tower and into the trenches of spiritual warfare, applying what you have learned for the salvation of lost souls. Preaching and church leadership professors guide you in the art of shepherding and teaching the people of God. Your Christian worldview and apologetics professors teach you, in part, how to argue effectively in the defense of and propagation of the gospel.

I encourage you to take advantage of your time here at seminary or Boyce. We are in a day and age where all Christians must be apologists. You will face objections to the faith that will require every resource you have to answer in defense of truth.

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J. Daniel McDonald, Ph.D., serves as adjunct professor of Christian Worldview and Apologetics at Boyce College.