Aug 27 2008
“Is it worth debating with the truly faithful?”
Recently I was reading an argument online in which an individual raised the question “Is it worth debating with the truly faithful?”
This is a wonderful question and I would love to discuss it.
I should mention the context of ‘truly faithful’ in this quote is meant to apply to blindly ignorant religious practitioners; the type that you find it impossible to reason with (IE “There is no truth but the bible, so why talk about anything else?). For the record, I feel, that truly faithful people realize that they make certain religious assumptions, and as so can partake in genuine intelligent dialogue.
However for the sake of argument let’s talk about close minded religious practitioners ones that take the stance “There is no truth but the bible, so why talk about anything else?”.
When you argue with these people, you’re more than likely going to get reason, logic, and argumentive prose shoved back in your face. They will spit at your words, while preaching their own. They argue on their terms with their rules (similar to the card game ‘I Win’ in Big Daddy). This stresses people out, which is understandable.
Personally I love arguing with these people, but not for the reason I love to argue with others. When I argue generally I do it in an attempt to find the truth, but when I argue with people whose goal is to simply convince me I attempt to find holes in their argument.
Think of it like practice for serious conversations. And if you’re lucky you may even convince them to examine their own reasoning later. Its very important to be flexible enough with yourself that you can be confident when arguing with these people and not to be overwhelmed with frustration.
Its all psychological, with chip after chip you can eventually breakdown that wall and learn something about yourself while doing it. I have had many of these experiences in my life, some with success and some without. However all were meaningful in terms of me understanding more and more about good argument and contradiction.
What do you think, or as well what experiences have you had that relate to these situations?
For the blog post that inspired me indirectly to write this click on this link .
4 Responses to ““Is it worth debating with the truly faithful?””
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Not A Member? Register for Free!
It depends. Debates can be used to sway the opponent, or to sway those watching. If it were just me and a “truly faithful”, I wouldn’t bother. If by debating I can reveal my opponent’s argument as baseless to the audience, it would be “worth it”, since at least you’ve convince someone, if not your opponent of who is “right”.
I find it interesting to debate with the faithful, not to convert onlookers or the faithful themselves. but rather to strengthen my arguments and library of knowledge on the subject. it keeps you thinking and on your toes.
I’m glad that you are raising this question and discussion. I think that it depends a lot upon what you believe about truth. If you’re someone who doesn’t believe in ONE truth and is arguing with someone who believes in ONLY ONE truth then that alone is a huge stumbling block. And yes I agree, rather frustrating. But as someone who has been in many of these arguments, I would say that the biggest frustration is a result of the former being so frustrated that the latter (the ONE truth believer) cannot see past the idea of having one truth.
If a “faithful person” cannot have a discussion with someone of different beliefs because they think there’s is the only way then I’d say that person is selifsh. Buf if you’re having problems talking to a “faithful person” because they cannot see or understand your side because they believe in one truth you cannot hold that against them. If I believe 2 + 2 = 4 I’m gonna argue to the death that it is 4 because in my mind there has to be one truth about this and it has been proven to be 4. If my views about faith, love, life, etc. have been proven to me then I will defend them in the same manner.