Arguing With Friends

The Book

Arguing with Friends opens the door on an interesting concept – what if controversial conversations contributed to deeper friendships instead of straining, or breaking, them? What if we could look forward to discussing life’s greatest issues instead of cowering in fear? Furthermore, what if we could do this without backing down on our convictions, or sidestepping important issues on the way? How this is possible is a big subject, but Arguing with Friends cracks the door on it and provides a broad roadmap toward greater conversational success. It will surely not be the last book you need to read on the subject, but hopefully it is a great first step in the right direction; complete with suggestions for where to go next, and what to read next.

The Author

I have had a lot of discussions like these over the years. I have made a lot of mistakes. I have lost some friends. With time I learned what not to do and, perhaps more importantly, what to do. In recent years I have come to realize that there are a lot of people out there who either avoid these conversations altogether for fear of making some grave mistake, or who dive into the conversations because they are important, and make all the same mistakes I used to. This book is rooted in years of personal learning, and many of the stories in it are my own.

I am in my mid-thirties, a husband and father of two, Mechanical Engineer and actively involved in church life, especially through the Network of Christian Apologists in Calgary (http://www.whyjesus.ca/). I don’t bite, so feel free to connect with me.

This website

I have a few purposes for this website/blog.

1. To provide updates regarding my book.
2. To share real life stories (not all mine) to encourage readers that these conversations can go well – sometimes very well – and to learn from the mistakes of others.
3. To inspire readers to adopt the right goals, the right skills, and the right knowledge to help the conversations go well. And, of course, to point out mistakes that people make so others can avoid them.
4. Whatever else comes to my mind that I think it relevant to the subject of my book, specifically making observations from real life that relate to Arguing with Friends.

If you know me then you’ll know that I have an interest in Apologetics; basically the question of whether Christianity is true or not. The intent of this website (and my book) is not to have Apologetic discussions, but to consider how to have conversations on all kinds of subjects, including (but certainly not limited to) the question of whether or not Christianity is true. This is an important distinction and explains why I will dedicate very little time at this website to defending Christianity, even if specifically challenged on it. Generally I will briefly address challenges raised, point people to online resources, and move on. That’s it; I’m done. This link explains why. If you’re looking for substantially more engagement then you can readily find dozens, maybe hundreds, of other websites where you can banter with folks about these issues.