Tactic
Rhodes Scholar
Do not bow to ‘experts’ until you hear their reasons.
How
- Ask which experts, in which field, arguing from which premises.
- Check whether a philosophical commitment (for example, naturalism) is doing the work that ‘science’ is being credited for.
- You may respect a scholar and still reject an argument.
Questions to keep in your pocket
- Which scholars, and what is their actual argument?
- Are they concluding there is no evidence, or ruling miracle out in advance?
In the wild
Someone cites the Jesus Seminar: there is no evidence for the resurrection.
Point out that a method which assumes the dead stay dead cannot ‘find’ a resurrection. That is a worldview, not a lab result.
Do not become the person who sneers at scholarship. Read. Then ask whether the reasons support the headline.