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PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.
The author explains that a person can win an argument by being offensive (as in bad-mannered) as long as the force of the reasoning cannot be withstood by the opponent. Pirie (2006)(2015: 26).
That being stated the author, wisely in my view, points out that it is easier to win an argument 'if your demeanour is pleasant', (26).
Pirie then uses the good example of salesmen convincing people to purchase goods. (26).
A skilled arguer will often allow his opponent 'a let-out, a graceful retreat'. (26). This allows one to concede an argument without losing face. (26). I very strongly hold to the idea of humbly letting an opponent in an argument 'save face'. There are several possible reasons to do this, but one is to love one's neighbour as self (Matthew 22 and Mark 12), and to love those in Christ (John 15, 1 John) and another is that even as it appears one may be winning an argument, persons are finite and sinful and a very humble attitude in arguing is itself reasonable.
One may have made the better premise (s) and conclusion but is not necessarily completely free from potential intellectual error in that context. Even after the most successful arguments there is always some room for humility and doubt as a finite, sinner.
As well, no argument, thesis or post, for example, is completely exhaustive in presentation.
There is also room within an argument to cease argumentation and take the position of student in order to learn.
Even in the next realm with perfected humanity (1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 21-22), those in Christ will still be finite.
The author states that in winning an argument it is better to appear reasonable than dogmatic. (26). It is more persuasive to readers and listeners. A warning to those that are philosophically, theologically and religiously fundamentalist (ic). The authors explains that the best way to appear reasonable is to be reasonable. (28). Win the argument he states but in a level and civilized manner. (28).
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How to Pray for the Next Awakening
ReplyDeleteDoes God answer your prayers? The old answer was, of course he always does but sometimes/often/usually his answer is No. O. Hallesby has reminded us that the Lord always takes our requests seriously and responds affirmatively to all, though frequently much later and in a way that goes beyond what we asked. Doesn’t that sound to you is just, when it comes to getting from the Lord what you asked for, you can’t really tell?
Records of Awakenings generally say this: that when all those people turned to the Lord so passionately and eagerly, it was totally unexpected—but then we learned about the people who had been praying for forty years. Does that help us as we pray? Knowing that in a few decades our prayers might make a difference?
ReplyDeleteSo how should we believe these words in John 16: 20-24? You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
ReplyDeleteAs he is about to be killed Jesus tells the disciples of their coming sorrow and then their time of great joy (his resurrection? probably his return?); of course after that we won’t ask for anything, we’ll have it all; before Jesus told us that, we never asked for anything either; but right now is just the right time to ask and to receive and to have more joy than ever! Because we already have the victorious and exalted Jesus but in our not yet world we don’t have what else we need? In that big world of redemptive history, right now when we ask we receive and our joy overflows, all because of the way the story of Jesus 1s moving toward its climax!
ReplyDeleteHow do the reality of the risen Jesus and whether our prayers will be answered fit together? I’m using my farm boy experience, when we needed rain so bad and the whole year’s work was going to be lost, so our country church Salem was full of prayer and it rained and my grandmother Liza was the only one to bring an umbrella. To understand all that look at II Chronicles 6: 26-27:
ReplyDeleteWhen the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them; then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel, indeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.
So ask the Lord to forgive your sin, walk in the good way and then it will rain again! Our misery comes from our sin and our help comes when God hears and forgives--and when we “walk in the good way.” Walk in the good way?—if that’s how it works, will it ever rain again? But Jesus promised us “ask and you will receive.” How can that happen? Jack Miller helped us read Paul through the lens of Jesus; that works here. Jesus was in “the good way” and his righteousness becomes ours as we trust him—so now since we’re in the good way with him, ask and you will receive, of course! That’s how Bryan Chapell helps in Praying Backward—say “in Jesus’ name” at the beginning, and then the Lord and you too will be sure your prayer is worth listening to!
Right now is the age of the Gospel of Jesus for us and with us, and why we pray now with joy, knowing the Lord is eager to hear us. Praying for Awakening is our joyful calling. In this Gospel age we pray in faith that the Holy Spirit will bring his loving and powerful presence into this dark place. Then babies in wombs will no longer be despised and their lives trashed, then men and women will flourish in sexual intimacy within their marriages, then the affluent will cheerfully abandon their wealth to welcome desperate refugees, then our being together with different races will mean fascinating variety and never “at least I’m not.” Best of all, then Jesus the Christ of God will be trusted and honored and worshipped everywhere, and our worship will be to him alone and not to how we feel about him.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord wants all that much more than we do. How can this dark and foolish world stand against him and us with him? As silly churches vanish, as millennials decide for either real religion or nothing, especially as we seek and find reality ourselves, what could now stand in the way of our loving Lord granting himself and us with him, a world-wide Awakening? Why not “ask and receive” once again? What must we do?
ReplyDeleteBut if it’s all about Jesus and his complete obedience to the Father, as what makes the Lord’s blessings so sure, rain or Awakening or anything else, why do we need to do anything? Gospel and law, trust and obey, seem hard to put together. In my own life I am so encouraged as someone proclaims the grand love of Jesus—but he says it with so much joy that I know right away that somebody else is about to pounce on him for minimizing God’s holiness! This happens too often, that anger about “too much gospel.” We must work hard on this until we agree together. In Jesus’ final words he prayed that we all should be one even he is one with the Father, so being united on this is something we have to do.
ReplyDeleteThis is what helps me. We are indeed called to trust and obey Jesus—but when we repent, admitting that our obedience has been half-hearted and just plain missing, what do we say to the Lord then? I’ll try harder from now on? Give me another chance? Isn’t it this: O Father, I confess my sin, show me its depths so I can be more open with you, so that I may rely even more only on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, again. Thank you Lord for your unspeakable gift! If we can repent together that way, could it be that we really do agree? Your and my calling is to total radical obedience, but when we fail—then our only hope is God’s grace? So can we trust each other’s judgment on what our people need to hear right now? Isn’t that the repentance prayer we should pray, before we ask for Awakening?
ReplyDeleteWhat is it we should do, as we pray for it? We first need to be very honest with ourselves, do we want to pay the price? Many hours will come out of our lives from newbie believers who’ll need and want coaching in just about everything. As abortions diminish the need for helping those mothers, possibly with adoptions, will go up—are you ready for that? (Look at Jill Page’s everygoodgift.org and see). Most challenging, as the gospel becomes a serious player in our modern world, the hatred level against Jesus and his followers will skyrocket—and your job will be to respond with love! Are you enjoying too much your quiet lives in comfortable places?
Our Lord’s gift of Awakening life will come as we seek and joyfully find the loving presence of Jesus Christ. Since we are so spiritually drowsy, we desire with all our hearts to be wide-awake with our Savior. (You know how a marriage going downhill feels, when there’s nothing more to talk about).
ReplyDeleteHow may we foster being close to the Lord? We pray, and we pray for our praying. O Lord, I come to you now in the name of your Beloved Son Jesus. Remember his faithfulness to you unto death and see me united to him, as you hear me, my Father. Look at me as you look at him. O Father, I am not satisfied to merely describe you and your kindness to me, so come close to me now and show yourself to me, as I seek you in your Word. Yes Lord, Amen.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord comes and talks to us in his Word. In Awakening that will be more certain and clear, but how shall we move toward that right now? For me this is by far the most difficult thing in our Christian world to understand: that believers don’t know how to understand the Word in ways relevant to their lives? that so much preaching doesn’t even try to show us the way? that seminaries don’t seem to make this a priority? that for so many of us describing the gospel seems to be all we want?
ReplyDeleteI ask all that from happy nostalgia for the “good old days” at my seminary. That was when Jay Adams and David Powlison and Ed Welch showed us CCEF biblical counseling and fed it into life-changing preaching, when Harvie Conn and Manny Ortiz and John Leonard showed us cross-cultural missions and how we could jump out of our Western middle-class skins and bring meaningful gospel to anyone, and when everyone in Old Testament showed us how to work with those old cultures to find new layers of God’s truth. I rejoice that so much of that is alive and well at other places, especially where CCEF ministers. (If you want to pick a seminary, look at its counseling program).
ReplyDeletePastoral leadership in working with the Word is what we need. We must pray vigorously for that to return everywhere, that there will be again passion for truth and relevance together, for “exegete the people” along with “exegete the text.” Do we desire that our own minds and hearts be transformed by God’s Word, or are we comfortably content? As we answer that honestly, then we will know where and how we must pray.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord will surely hear us as we pray for his Glory. Our hearts are muddied but the heart of Jesus Christ Mediator, as he prays for our praying, will win the Father’s own heart. Our prayer that his Word will change our lives so that we love him in all that we do is just what he delights to give us. Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have a few friends that are singers...
ReplyDeleteMy good friend, Dean did well at the worship only service this Sunday. We agree however, that there should always be at least some preaching at a full service, even if just for a few minutes. The interesting part of the worship service was when Deaaan (according to his Bulgarian wife) and the back row standing had to do sort of a dance number and sing and dance down the rows to centre stage. Not surprisingly he was the coolest and least expressive one, being a science guy and philosopher, others were snapping their fingers, etc. and he sort of sang and looked cool..But again, he did well...
I did not stick with drumming enough to be like Peart or Cobham, so I will only end up on stage in some academic context...or I have been tricked by someone with very persuasive attributes...
“I have always tried to make room for anything that wanted to come to me from within.”
ReplyDelete-Carl Jung
Problem is human beings have a sinful nature (Romans, Galatians).
ReplyDeleteDesires come from human nature yes, but privation/corruption alters those desires at least somewhat.
Therefore, the desires need to be tested via Scripture and the Holy Spirit.