Part 4: Conversation Quick Reference Card

Use this card to prepare before a conversation or review after. The goal is not to memorize — it is to internalize the structure so you can ask naturally.

KOUKL’S COLUMBO RULES — ALWAYS IN EFFECT

Never make a statement when a question will do	Questions are less threatening and more intellectually productive
Never answer a question you don’t understand	Ask them to clarify first — buy time and get precision
Never argue someone into the kingdom	Plant seeds; let the Holy Spirit do the growing
Columbo is always friendly, never combative	Tone is as important as content — curiosity, not combat
It’s OK to say ‘I don’t know — let me find out’	Intellectual honesty builds credibility; bluffing destroys it
Your job is to put a stone in their shoe	One good question that stays with them is worth more than ten arguments they can dismiss

THE 10 EVIDENCE CATEGORIES — AT A GLANCE

1 Historical Death	Tacitus, Josephus, Lucian, Mara bar Serapion — no historian doubts it
2 1 Cor 15 Creed	Dated within 2 years; names living witnesses; pre-dates all Gospels
3 Empty Tomb	6 independent sources; enemy concession; women witnesses; no body produced
4 Appearances	7 appearances; physical/interactive; multiple independent traditions
5 Enemy Conversions	James (skeptic → martyr); Paul (persecutor → apostle)
6 Disciple Transformation	Hiding in fear → bold martyrs in Jerusalem within weeks
7 Criterion of Embarrassment	Women witnesses, Peter’s denial, cry of dereliction — no fabricator writes these
8 No Motive to Fabricate	Crucifixion = curse; disciples gained nothing; liars don’t make voluntary martyrs
9 Archaeological Evidence	Pilate Stone, Caiaphas ossuary, Nazareth inscription, crucifixion ossuary
10 Prophecy & Civilization	Jesus predicted it; no fabricated event produced this civilizational effect

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

— 1 Peter 3:15