When I view certain situations I often hear we must find a middle ground or similarity. But when dealing with truth, life, or death we must be cautious in this area.
James 1:8
King James Version
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
The middle ground fallacy argues that a compromise between two extremes must be reached to satisfy a situation.
Example of Middle Ground
Joe says the sky is pink and Liz says the sky is blue, so they should really just compromise and say the sky is purple.
https://www.logicalfallacies.org/middle-ground.html
Early American colonists tried this with Great Britain in the prospects of slavery. Many in the northern colonies started to progressively push against it including Benjamin Franklin, in a 1773 letter to Dean Woodward.
" a disposition to abolish slavery prevails in North America, that many of Pennsylvanians have set their slaves at liberty, and that even the Virginia Assembly have petitioned the King for permission to make a law for preventing the importation of more into that colony. This request, however, will probably not be granted as their former laws of that kind have always been repealed."
Then the Revolution occurred and it took until the Civil War to abolish slavery. Why? It was a hotly debated topic much like immigration is today. Congress had those who proposed and condemned slavery but many held the middle ground. They held the middle ground due to many reasons. Knowing it was evil, they feared the states would never unite under a constitution and they feared becoming like Europe with many different countries on one mainland. (Europe with its many tyrants and wars) They feared civil war and if it occurred too soon, it would destroy the country. They feared the Southern Democrats.
For example, Southern Congressman Preston Brooks savagely beats Northern Senator Charles Sumner in the halls of Congress as tensions rise over the expansion of slavery.
On May 19, 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, an ardent abolitionist, began a two-day speech on the Senate floor.
Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina, who had a history of violence, took it upon himself wielding the cane and entered the Senate chamber. Brooks then attacked Sumner at his desk, which was bolted to the floor. Sumner’s legs were pinned by the desk so he could not escape the savage beating. It was not until other congressmen subdued Brooks that Sumner finally escaped.
It took Sumner 3 years to fully recover.
The 1800s cancel culture in full swing. Many remained in the middle due to fear. It eventually led to a Civil War anyways but only because more and more people were being encouraged to act against slavery. It took people like John Adams or Senator Charles Sumner and the pastors of the Second Great Awakening that occurred around 1801. It was in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, where American Methodists made anti-slavery sentiments a condition of church membership.
The lesson from history concludes that there are issues that can never be compromised or have a middle ground. We even defended others on this principle of not wavering on the importance of liberty like WW2 or the Korean War.
Today we have topics like elective abortion the evil act of murdering millions of children based on the majority of reasons that are not life-threatening. This is no middle ground issue. There is no common ground. This is one example of many.
James 1:8
King James Version
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
The middle ground fallacy argues that a compromise between two extremes must be reached to satisfy a situation.
Example of Middle Ground
Joe says the sky is pink and Liz says the sky is blue, so they should really just compromise and say the sky is purple.
https://www.logicalfallacies.org/middle-ground.html
Early American colonists tried this with Great Britain in the prospects of slavery. Many in the northern colonies started to progressively push against it including Benjamin Franklin, in a 1773 letter to Dean Woodward.
" a disposition to abolish slavery prevails in North America, that many of Pennsylvanians have set their slaves at liberty, and that even the Virginia Assembly have petitioned the King for permission to make a law for preventing the importation of more into that colony. This request, however, will probably not be granted as their former laws of that kind have always been repealed."
Then the Revolution occurred and it took until the Civil War to abolish slavery. Why? It was a hotly debated topic much like immigration is today. Congress had those who proposed and condemned slavery but many held the middle ground. They held the middle ground due to many reasons. Knowing it was evil, they feared the states would never unite under a constitution and they feared becoming like Europe with many different countries on one mainland. (Europe with its many tyrants and wars) They feared civil war and if it occurred too soon, it would destroy the country. They feared the Southern Democrats.
For example, Southern Congressman Preston Brooks savagely beats Northern Senator Charles Sumner in the halls of Congress as tensions rise over the expansion of slavery.
On May 19, 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, an ardent abolitionist, began a two-day speech on the Senate floor.
Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina, who had a history of violence, took it upon himself wielding the cane and entered the Senate chamber. Brooks then attacked Sumner at his desk, which was bolted to the floor. Sumner’s legs were pinned by the desk so he could not escape the savage beating. It was not until other congressmen subdued Brooks that Sumner finally escaped.
It took Sumner 3 years to fully recover.
The 1800s cancel culture in full swing. Many remained in the middle due to fear. It eventually led to a Civil War anyways but only because more and more people were being encouraged to act against slavery. It took people like John Adams or Senator Charles Sumner and the pastors of the Second Great Awakening that occurred around 1801. It was in Cane Ridge, Kentucky, where American Methodists made anti-slavery sentiments a condition of church membership.
The lesson from history concludes that there are issues that can never be compromised or have a middle ground. We even defended others on this principle of not wavering on the importance of liberty like WW2 or the Korean War.
Today we have topics like elective abortion the evil act of murdering millions of children based on the majority of reasons that are not life-threatening. This is no middle ground issue. There is no common ground. This is one example of many.
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