Clear Thinking

“Assertions are often mistaken for arguments….An argument is required to back an assertion. By asking, ‘How do you know that’s true?’ the conversation moves beyond dueling assertions to why an assertion should be taken seriously.” - Breakpoint

“Reasons are the explanation for why you started holding a position or taking an action…. Rationalizations are facts, arguments, principles, etc., that you offer to justify a conclusion you have already reached.” - DBTS Blog

“these theories flatter—they can help people feel insightful or powerful or as if they are a part of something. They provide easy, lightly researched answers to deep anxieties. They can also give people “permission” to deflect responsibility for challenges in their own lives” - Public Discourse

“it is not enough just to describe what intellectual friendship might look like: robust conversation, charitable questioning, and civil disagreement among friends who are committed to truth-seeking. We also need to explain why it matters” - Public Discourse

“One of the first steps in bridging differences is striving to understand rather than rush to judgment. Remember James 1:19, which encourages us to be ‘quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’” - The Baptist Paper

“Willful gullibility neglects our God-given responsibility to acquire the skills necessary to evaluate truth claims. This doesn’t mean we must be experts in every subject, but it does mean we practice strategic hesitation…” - TGC

Per new study from Religion in Public: “Bible-believing Christians and Christian nationalists are the most likely demographic to embrace conspiracy theories, including ones related to 9/11 and mass shootings.” -

“Conspiracy theories require the involvement of huge numbers of well-informed and ordinarily altruistic guilds (e.g., law enforcement, medical professionals, the clergy, etc.) who secretly and completely betray their ideals en masse in order to support the conspiracy.” - Snoeberger

“a measure of humility and caution may make it possible to responsibly navigate uncertainty, and the ancient Sophists’ techniques provide ways to do so – but only if people discuss their differences in good faith.” - The Conversation

“1. The Need to Cojoin Substance with Accessibility….2. The Power of Explanatory Reasoning….3. The Idea of Mere Christianity” - Reasons to Believe