Remember the old school days, and the arguments you would get into on the playground? Rarely were they full of well-reasoned and rational discussion. Usually, they would very quickly devolve into personal insults.
“You were out!”
“I was not – you dropped the ball!”
“No I didn’t!”
“Yes you did!”
“Yeah, well you’re stupid!”
And it only got worse from there.
Our arguments today aren’t much different. We’re just better at insulting those who disagree with us.
And the same is true now as it was then. Once you decide to go that route, there is really no point in continuing to talk. You’re not going to come to a rational understanding, nor will you persuade the other person of anything. Except maybe the fact that you can be a jerk.
The term often used for this is “ad hominem” attacks. It’s a Latin phrase meaning “to the man,” and it means to attack one’s opponent directly, maligning them instead of their argument.
It’s easy to understand its appeal. It’s a way to get around having to deal with the other person’s case. If you can discredit them, you can dismiss whatever they say. It’s the easy way out. It’s also lazy, and something we all can be guilty of.
And it’s a shame, a lost opportunity. A good debate can lead to each person learning something from the other. Provided the discussion stays focused on reasoned and respectful arguments.
If you’ve already made up your mind, if you won’t come to the table to respectfully debate, if you’re only interested in calling your opponents names to get your way, you’ll fare no better than the kid on the playground.
We think better of you. That you’re open-minded enough to consider another point of view without assuming the worst. And even if you disagree, that you can do so by a reasoned approach and not through name-calling.
We’ll also point out this tactic when we see it being used in the public discourse. Let’s call it the 8-year-old argument. It’s what a child does when he’s out of ideas or fears he’s losing the debate. You don’t have to look very far to find it. Unfortunately, it’s way too common in our day.
And important to note is that even if you hold opinions and worldviews different from ours, we see you as human, just as we are. You are made in the image of God, He loves you infinitely, and therefore, you are worthy of respect.
We’ll do our best to persuade you away from ideas that we see as harmful. But no matter the subject, you aren’t our enemy. There is an unseen enemy of our souls, who seeks to destroy us through deceit, confusion, and hate.
Let’s pursue the truth together, even when we don’t agree.
