Many people tuned in to the recently held Creation vs. Evolution debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham. This post is not a critique of the debate or a defense of one side or the other. (It is frustrating that Ken Ham is thought to represent the view of all creationists, but that’s for another post). In the aftermath of the debate, I went back and watched other debates in which Christians participated. I watched both “in house” debates (Christians vs. Christians), and debates that featured a Christian vs. a non-Christian.  I was incredibly frustrated by the majority of what I watched and would like to make a plea to all Christians who debate publicly and to those who  discuss tough issues with friends, co-workers, and the like. It’s simply this:

Arrogance is a trait shared by Christians and non-Christians alike, but for Christians it violates the most basic principle that Jesus instructed us to follow, “love your neighbor as yourself”.  Arrogance and love cannot exist in the same argument. Arrogance is the opposite of love and treats others and objects to be defeated.  In a letter to a church in Ephesus, early theologian and church planter Paul, wrote that speaking the truth in love is a mark of maturity that we should all seek to be growing into more and more (Ephesians 4:15). Truth is not a hammer with which to shatter arguments and people, it’s an antidote, given in love, in hopes that it will be embraced to reverse the damage of our broken world. So, please stop the pithy insults, personal jabs, and laughing at the presumed ignorance of your opponent. Those things have never changed anything or anyone and never will. Instead, in the words of Sarah Bessey, “Let’s sit here in hard truth and easy beauty, in the tension of the Now and the Not Yet of the Kingdom of God, and let us discover how we can disagree beautifully.”