Jumpstarter 7 of 10

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Question 7

Dean says, “Question the questions,” warning that entering debates can mean entering someone else’s worldview; using his Mother Teresa example (“I don’t think that way”), what are some modern church questions (about power, identity, rights, or “who’s in charge”) that might be the wrong frame altogether, and what would it look like to refuse the frame without dodging truth?

Another way to ask: What church debates today may start with the wrong questions (about power, identity, rights, or control)? How can you reject that “frame” while still facing the truth?

Direct Answer Dean’s warning is that some questions are designed to trap us inside a rival worldview, so wisdom sometimes looks like refusing the frame rather than rushing to “win” the debate. Refusing the frame isn’t evasion if it redirects to a more biblical way of thinking, like Jesus often did by answering with a question.

Support from Transcript:

He states Rule #3: “Question the questions,” because questioning can pull you into “somebody’s worldview.”
He points to Jesus: Jesus would “often just throw back the question” and avoided entering debates that would force His opponents’ categories.
He says the danger is getting “the right answer to the wrong questions,” and needing to “back up.”
Mother Teresa illustration: asked about women priests, the interviewer frames her as “a leader of women,” and she replies, “I don’t think that way.” Dean praises this as “beautiful… she questioned the question.”
He applies it to “theological debates” where you realize “you’re so deep” in the wrong framework.

Discussion Follow-ups What church arguments today feel pre-loaded with assumptions about status and control? How can we answer in a way that is truthful but also exposes the hidden assumptions behind the question?

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Jumpstarter 7 of 10