Episode 143. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning with Tricia Scribner

Mama Bear Apologetics

Hillary Morgan Ferrer & Amy Davison

Christianity, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Amy and Tricia continue their classical apologetics series, diving into discursive reasoning—the step-by-step thinking process that distinguishes humans as rational beings made in God’s image.

This conversation is a mental workout (in the best way possible!). The mamas unpack the difference between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. They emphasize that Christianity does not require blind faith—it calls us to love God with our minds and think well. With practical examples—from the cosmological argument to presidential debates, to lipstick on the wall—the mamas show how logic protects our children from being swayed by emotional manipulation and faulty reasoning.

This episode reminds us: Good thinking is discipleship. If we don’t train our children to evaluate arguments, culture will do it for us.

Main Points Covered

Discursive reasoning and how it distinguishes human rationality
Deductive vs. inductive reasoning
Evaluating premises, hidden assumptions, and logical fallacies
The cosmological argument as a real-world application
Teaching children to think critically through everyday media and conversations

People and resources mentioned

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The vast majority of things we know are through inductive reasoning.
0:09.9	In fact, the whole scientific process, the scientific method is built upon this notion
0:15.6	of inductive reason.
0:20.6	Welcome to the Mama Bear Apologetics podcast. I'm Hillary. And I'm Amy. We are just two gals who are
0:25.9	spiritually armed, highly caffeinated, and just sassy enough to make bad ideas cry. Mama Bear is a
0:31.5	ministry dedicated to helping you raise children who think critically, love biblically, and
0:36.1	stand firm in the faith using scripture, reason, and reality.
0:39.5	Because remember, Mama Bears, this might not affect your faith.
0:42.5	But it might affect your children.
0:48.2	Hey, everyone. Welcome to another Mama Bear Apologetics podcast, a podcast dedicated to helping you raise children who think
0:55.1	critically, love biblically, and stand firm in the faith using scripture, reason, and reality.
1:00.9	Well, if you've been tracking with us for our past, gosh, probably four or five podcasts now,
1:06.5	I have had the immense honor of having Tricia Scribner join me, and we have been taking you through
1:12.0	a classical style approach to apologetics. Now, our last podcast was absolutely fun. We were talking
1:19.7	about self-refuting statements, which that is a statement that fails to meet the very standard.
1:25.1	It sets up for itself. And that is such an important starting out
1:28.7	point because when we understand these self-refuting statements, then we're better able to
1:33.5	track with good logic and good reasoning. Now today, we're going to take a look at a very
1:38.5	specific type of reasoning that you may not be familiar with. This is specifically called
1:44.1	not just deductive and inductive reasoning, but it's actually
1:47.2	something called discursive reasoning.
1:50.0	Now, Tricia, I mean, this is just something that I think for many, they probably haven't
	...

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