Excellence should be able to demonstrate itself without appeals to authority or qualifications. Let those who claim to have authority or expertise demonstrate it by their conversation and teaching. The apostle Paul demonstrated the standard: "... but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.” 2Corinthians 4:2. …
Tag: public debate
The success and failure of Gentile Christianity
I wrote a blogpost on The failure of Gentile Christianity. This has been misread by some people as 'Gentile Christianity has failed'. The wish may be the father of the thought because there are some Christians who misread the Bible and conclude that things will simply get worse and worse. Misreading and misunderstanding is common …
Continue reading The success and failure of Gentile Christianity
Responding and replying, but not answering
Modern discussion and debate is full of unanswered questions. Prime Minister's Questions, First Minister's Question and BBC Question Time produce many examples of questions that are ignored and not answered. People respond, but they do not answer; they reply, but they do not answer. An answer addresses the question, but the person responding may reframe …
Bullies and cowards
Bullies and cowards have something in common – they cannot win an argument. Poor debate is very common but poor arguments are just as common. So what do people do when they have a poor argument? They browbeat their opponent, they ridicule them, they miscall them, they prejudice the impressionable against them, they cancel them, …
The prejudice of offence
Some of the most prejudiced people are those who take easy offence. How is this so, and so what? This is very relevant in our politically correct era when those in public life and on social media are busy taking offence at their opponents' opinions. So what is the connection? Both prejudice and offence are …
Impoverished conversation and free speech
Misunderstanding is common in conversation, but what really impoverishes speech nowadays is the subjects that are off-limits. Political correctness has made everyone aware that some topics are off-limits and even particular words have now been banned. Free speech is under attack but let us notice that it began long ago with the supposed rule for …
The absence of evidence
The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. The subject of evidence is in the news because of President Donald Trump's claim of voting fraud in the recent US Presidential election. The Biden camp rejects Trump's claim by saying that there is no evidence for electoral fraud. Even the BBC has repeated the …
The poverty of modern debate
The poor level of modern debate is not only a reflection upon our poor educational system, but it shows the spirit of the debaters and the standards in public life. Our poor educational system The inability of public speakers to define their terms, to interact meaningfully with opponents without misrepresenting their views, and their inability …
Lies still matter and always will
It seems that in our ungodly society some lies are more tolerable than others. The resignation of Damian Green is a case in point. Damian Green resigned as First Secretary of State after he was found to have made "inaccurate and misleading" statements about his knowledge that pornography was found on his House of Commons office …
Donald's Thoughts 