As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Even my commenting friends who are asserting diametrically opposed positions have something true and useful to say. It’s counterintuitive. They’re saying opposite things, and yet they’re both right, in at least some sense.” - Olinger
“…it’s been a devastating year of conflict. And we’re all tired from it. But I’ve noticed a concerning pattern of response to perceived conflict in recent weeks, particularly on social media: Fatigue has led many Christians to avoid any kind of disagreement.” - Natahsa Crain
“As the debate proceeds, I’ll offer my thoughts in the Comments feature. But don’t make me do all of the work. I invite you, dear reader, to join in with your own comments. I hope we have participants from all political perspectives. We would thus represent the “General Public” in our responses, without the media filters and without the vitriol.” - Gene Veith
“The Latin term ad hominem literally means ‘to the man.’ … ‘attacking the person of a source rather than his or her qualifications or reliability, or the actual argument he or she makes.’” - Ref21
“No matter the theological issue, we can be sure that a litany of quick-fire responses often only exacerbate the issue for those who are in need of biblical instruction and theologically nuanced clarity. To that end, I would suggest that the antiquarian tripartite modes of persuasion (i.e.
Conservative Christianity needs more people who argue well. It does not need more people who quarrel well!
Scripture opposes quarreling, along with the behaviors the KJV renders as “strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings” and “tumults” (2 Cor. 12:20). But arguing is something else. Scripture calls us to argue and to do it well. Every Christian is obligated to develop and exercise the skill of thinking and communicating clearly with the goal of persuasion.
“If a person despises me for defending life, filing lawsuits to protect the First Amendment, or deploying abroad to play my own very small part in battling vicious terrorists, then so be it. That’s what some on the Left have done.
“Surrendering our rights and agreeing to disagree is vital to the unity in which Jesus has called his people to live, worship, and serve him together.” - John Ellis
“ ‘Motive Attribution Asymmetry’—the assumption that one’s own views are based in love, while one’s opponent’s views is based in hate.” - Intellectual Takeout
“Why don’t people take the truth more seriously on the internet? Why do so many disputes escalate into scorched earth battles? Schopenhauer’s explanation is characteristically pessimistic…” - Intellectual Takeout
Discussion