“Arguments tend to be focused on facts and logic…. A person presents arguments in the hope that someone else will have their understanding or thinking altered as they consider the arguments…. Narratives, on the other hand, tend to be focused on personal stories and experiences. … Increasingly, the discourse in our culture is bereft of arguments but filled with competing narratives.” - Ben Edwards
“…assigning motives to actions is hardly a godly thing to do. These “discernment” guys generally seem to regard themselves as having a nearly infallible insight into the minds and hearts of those they bite and devour.” - SBC Voices
“Managing social media for a large Christian organization, I see Christians shine the bright light of the gospel and mercilessly eviscerate others online every single day. I fear many of us have fallen into feedback loops created by algorithms intended to generate engagement, and have lost sight of our calling to be known by our mutual love (John 13:34–35).” - TGC
Main points:
In the midst of controversy, it’s often hard to tell what problems have been created and what problems have merely been revealed. Whatever we might say about problems the election and impeachment of Donald Trump has created, it has certainly revealed some!
“Known as ‘Golden Rule 2020: A Call for Dignity and Respect in Politics,’ the prayer campaign [began November 3], as it marks exactly one year before the election. Golden Rule 2020 was part of the Revive Civility project, which is overseen by the University of Arizona’s National Institute for Civil Discourse.” - Christian Post
“Two in 3 Americans with evangelical beliefs (66 percent) believe being civil in political conversations is productive, with 22 percent dissenting and 12 percent not sure…While 58 percent say they tend to believe those who disagree with them have good motivations, 54 percent say when they disagree with someone politically, the other person tends to take it as a personal attack.” - BPNews
“Union Seminary’s actions deserve criticism; confessing and praying to plants is full-on paganism and should be named as such. But deserving criticism and even denunciation does not supersede Jesus’ commands to speak and act charitably nor undo Paul’s admonition found in Ephesians 5 where followers of Christ are commanded to ‘walk in love, as Christ loved us.’” - John Ellis
“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.
“… by using presidential rhetoric more to praise cooperators than to slay perceived enemies, the next Oval Office inhabitant should re-inspire a sense of shared identity and common purpose.” - Washington Examiner
“Bandying terms like ‘cultural Marxist’ and ‘racist’ around simply as a way of avoiding real argument is shameful and should have no place in Christian discourse.” - Carl Trueman
