Wise Words on Wednesday: Arguing with those who renounce Reason
“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
Thomas Paine
Tag: Argument
The Pattern of Abortion Discussion online
Over the last month or so, I have been involved in quite a few online discussions about abortion and I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect upon a few of the interactions as several of them involved strange arguments and bewildering claims…
Read morePWJ: S2E2.5 – Bonus – “The language we use…”
This week is a short episode and Matt and I are not discussing The Great Divorce. Instead I talk about an interaction I recently had on Facebook and how we’d all be better off if we took to heart a little piece of Lewisian wisdom…
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S2E2.5: “The language we use, and wishing black was a little blacker…” (Download)
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Read moreHow Not To Be A Jerk
Honestly, I’ve been rather horrified by many of the exchanges I’ve seen among friends on Facebook recently on the subject of politics. So, as we enter the final few days before the Presidential Election, I thought it would be a good idea to share Meg Hunter-Kilmer‘s article on “How not to be a jerk online”:
Wise Words on Wednesday: Good Argument
The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress
– Joseph Joubert
Impressive Arguments
Leading a Bible study: Part 6
Today is the final post in my series on leading a Bible study (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5). Here are my concluding Do’s and Don’ts:
DON’T: Forget the heart
I’m a very “head” oriented person. When I study the Bible I like to pull apart texts, examine the words, look at the historical background and get straight to the meaning of the text. It is only after I’ve done all this that I’m ready to engage with the Scripture on a “heart” level. However, I know that in this I am an oddity! I find that most people engage with Scripture on an emotional level much earlier in the process. Therefore, to lead an engaging bible study I must accommodate this and allow people to respond emotionally to the Scripture before we’ve dissected every technical detail of the text.
DON’T: Forget the head
…having said that, don’t neglect the exegesis. I have been to Bible studies before which have been nothing more than a “feeling sharing group”. That was all anyone ever talked about, how they felt about the text! The actual meaning of the text wasn’t even examined.
DO: Keep the hippy, tree-hugging stuff to a minimum… 😉
A balance must be struck between head and heart.