You're Not As Crazy As I Think by Rauser Randal;

Author:Rauser, Randal; [Rauser, Randal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2014-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Truth Is Worth an Argument

Picture a couple celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. At the reception the master of ceremonies notes with great admiration that in all their years the couple have never had an argument. You would probably assume that this is the mark of a great marriage. But what if they never had an argument because they have never talked about anything more substantial than the weather? And what if they had actually decided never to move their marriage beyond the shallows of trivial talk for fear that they might actually disagree about something and end up arguing? Surely we would never consider a superficial marriage like this as something to be emulated. We would want to tell this couple that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with argument: indeed, argument is often the very path toward truth in a marriage as much as in our basic understanding of reality and interaction with others.

If we are to make sure that this point resonates as it should, we should say a bit more about the notion of argument. This is important, for I suspect that many people share with that couple married fifty years a rather narrow conception of argument as that unfortunate occasion when people get angry, clench their fists, and raise their voices. But, in point of fact, there is no essential connection between anger and argue. The verb to argue comes from a Latin word meaning “to make clear” or “to demonstrate.” Even more interestingly, the word derives its root from arg, meaning “to shine.” So the essence of argument is found neither in anger or aggression, nor for that matter in obfuscating rhetoric or clever sophistry. Rather, in its lofty essence, to argue is to shine, to demonstrate or make something clear to another. It is the admission of significant disagreement on a particular issue and the attempt to make clear why we hold the view we do with the intent of persuading others to hold the same view. (Sometimes people have another motivation for arguing: to make themselves look smart and their opponent dumb. That is a rather less noble motivation.) In addition, since we have rejected the marginalization of the other as stupid or wicked, we assume that the other person is aiming at the same noble goal.

Recently I published a journal article critiquing the views of a fellow Christian. This prompted yet another Christian to e-mail me, not to take issue with the content of my argument, mind you, but rather to protest the very notion of criticizing a Christian brother. The assumption seemed to be that Christians should show an outward harmony much like the couple married fifty years that had resolved only to talk about the weather. But this certainly was not Jesus’ attitude. He never passed up a good argument whenever an important issue of truth was at stake. At the same time, he never treated argument as an end in itself. Rather, argument was always the tool to allow the truth to shine forth.

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