Some Thoughts On The Nature of Christian Debate

[MarcR]

It's not my intention to attack. Some people just feel attacked when someone disagrees with them. It's hard to tell in text- when you can't see their facial expression, or hear their tone of voice. I'm a very soft-spoken and quiet person if you knew me personally. I am shy and not assertive in speaking up, except for in this format.

Everything that I mention on here was once new to me too. My goal is truth, not pride. I hope everyone here knows that I care, and that that's why I'm here- to see to it that no one goes to hell just because I don't want to speak up. From there, they can make up their own minds.

I honestly wasn't aiming at anyone.

 

[pottersclay]

I honestly wasn't aiming at anyone.

Well marcR you got us all in the cross hairs with this one. How do you explain that?....huh.....yeah just what I thought.....off with your head.

 

[joefizz]

When all else fails, we can hurl insults at each other...

Oh yeah!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

now now boys if you must be "silly" put these pictures in my "silly thread" in singles forum lol!

 

[joefizz]

When all else fails, we can hurl insults at each other...

Yeah!!!

Ooommmph!!!

Yeah!!!

once again please direct all silly fight pictures to Joefizz's silly thread in singles forum!

 

[joefizz]

Uh-huh! Here ya go!

pure silliness picture welcome to be put in Joefizz's silly thread in singles forum!

 

[joefizz]

Oh no you don't. I'll help myself.

Don't worry...I have sumptin' up my sleeve...

Silliness personified please oh please put these pictures in Joefizz's silly thread in singles forum,they could add more silliness to his silly thread lol!

 

[joefizz]

Well marcR you got us all in the cross hairs with this one. How do you explain that?....huh.....yeah just what I thought.....off with your head.

of cabbage???

 

[Depleted]

Basic Premise: The Bible is the absolute standard of truth and ANYTHING that contradicts it is a lie or an error.


Premise: One function of a forum is to attack ideas to see if they can withstand a challenge.


What should happen is that the attacks are directed exclusively at the ideas and NEVER at the people who hold them or seek to test them. Otherwise we ignore Jesus' command to love our enemies. Not only that; but, there is no reason to make an enemy of everyone we disagree with.

Premise: Another function of a forum is to share blessings and thereby uplift one another.

Blessings are not arguable! if you are not uplifted you have no right to spoil the blessing for someone else.

If you disagree with something someone shares as a blessing start another thread to discuss your thoughts.


Premise: Basic rules of grammar and syntax are not debatable and and definitions are debatable only within established lexical rules.

Otherwise we are not speaking the same language.


What I have set forth are a few rules of formal debate that are universally accepted in formal debate.

Since a forum is not formal debate there is no way of enforcing them here but we can each agree to impose them on ourselves.

I never responded to this when you posted it. I really do like it, but thought few would ever get that's what I'm supposed to do out of it, so it wasn't going to work.

That said, you also said something else a few days ago that I've been thinking about. Something along the lines of "if it's about people/us/us-centered, than it's not worth learning. If it is God-centered than it is." (Not exact quotes, but something along those lines, and all related to who to listen to for teachers of the Bible.)

Been thinking about that for a few days too.

(If nothing else, at least you know you say things that make me think... a lot.)

It seems to me, that would work better for debates on this forum. Because, you're right, most of it is people centered.

Only problem left is almost every time you say something it either takes me a few days to digest it, or I can't (digest it/get it.) You're a bit like Posthuman -- above my brain level most of the time, but I can get some of it here and there.

You talk a lot about grammar issues. I am below monoglot. I can only speak in English and I have trouble with even English grammar.

But this was to let you know I have been thinking about what you say, even got to make sense of it eventually, (and deep down I'm hoping this raises this topic back to the top again, since I am very tired of how often this forum comes down to cross-talking instead of real communication.)

 

[Blain]

I never responded to this when you posted it. I really do like it, but thought few would ever get that's what I'm supposed to do out of it, so it wasn't going to work.

That said, you also said something else a few days ago that I've been thinking about. Something along the lines of "if it's about people/us/us-centered, than it's not worth learning. If it is God-centered than it is." (Not exact quotes, but something along those lines, and all related to who to listen to for teachers of the Bible.)

Been thinking about that for a few days too.

(If nothing else, at least you know you say things that make me think... a lot.)

It seems to me, that would work better for debates on this forum. Because, you're right, most of it is people centered.

Only problem left is almost every time you say something it either takes me a few days to digest it, or I can't (digest it/get it.) You're a bit like Posthuman -- above my brain level most of the time, but I can get some of it here and there.

You talk a lot about grammar issues. I am below monoglot. I can only speak in English and I have trouble with even English grammar.

But this was to let you know I have been thinking about what you say, even got to make sense of it eventually, (and deep down I'm hoping this raises this topic back to the top again, since I am very tired of how often this forum comes down to cross-talking instead of real communication.)

Real communication? That reminds of the time I asked my friend if he wanted to hang out and he was like yea sure thing what is your skype? I was like ............seriously?

 

[Speak2Me]

Basic Premise: The Bible is the absolute standard of truth and ANYTHING that contradicts it is a lie or an error.


Premise: One function of a forum is to attack ideas to see if they can withstand a challenge.


What should happen is that the attacks are directed exclusively at the ideas and NEVER at the people who hold them or seek to test them. Otherwise we ignore Jesus' command to love our enemies. Not only that; but, there is no reason to make an enemy of everyone we disagree with.

Premise: Another function of a forum is to share blessings and thereby uplift one another.

Blessings are not arguable! if you are not uplifted you have no right to spoil the blessing for someone else.

If you disagree with something someone shares as a blessing start another thread to discuss your thoughts.


Premise: Basic rules of grammar and syntax are not debatable and and definitions are debatable only within established lexical rules.

Otherwise we are not speaking the same language.


What I have set forth are a few rules of formal debate that are universally accepted in formal debate.

Since a forum is not formal debate there is no way of enforcing them here but we can each agree to impose them on ourselves.

I agree with you especially about staying with the topic and not talking about the people. I just posted in another thread where a person was trying to get the author of the thread to name names. To me that's asking for trouble.