Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)

I love this passage from the prophet Isaiah. It specifically details Yahweh calling the nation of Isreal to repentance. I find the opening line in the old King James version captivating. “Come now, let us reason together”.

The dictionary defines reason this way:

The power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly rational ways.

Merriam-Webster Dictonary

The ability to comprehend and think in rational and orderly ways is a skill that is losing popularity and being replaced by out of control feelings. It is incredibly vouge to allow our emotions to overrule reason. I think of an incident that happened on the Bill Maher Show (As discussed in Don’t Burn This Book) between actor Ben Affleck and writer, thinker and atheist Sam Harris. One segment of the show was a conversation on some of the radical ideas of Islam. Sam Harris was attempting to criticize dangerous ideologies found amongst radical jihadists. Instead of having thoughtful dialog Affleck throws an emotionally filled temper tantrum derailing the whole “conversation” and calling Harris names (you can watch it here).

Emotions are important but they are not always reliable. Just because I feel a certain way, that feeling does not negate truth. I think of some of the more uncomfortable teachings of the Bible, such as let’s say, hell. I often hear ” I feel a loving God would never send anyone to hell”. While the doctrine of hell is challenging and often misunderstood, just because I “feel” a certain way does not give me the authority to ignore or remove portions of the scriptures I don’t like (Thomas Jefferson already tried it!). Every system of belief has a source. The Holy Scriptures serve as that source for Christianity.

In the year 2016, the Oxford word of the year was “Post-Truth”

Post-truth is an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’.

Emotion has become the primary litmus for truth. Not objective facts, not the scientific method, not reason but emotion. What I feel becomes my truth. When this is taken further division and polarization run rampant. If you don’t feel the same way I feel then you are wrong and I have the right to call you all kinds of names, which feels more like the behavior of nine-year-olds rather than thinking adults.

So what do we do about this? How can we reason together? Let me offer 3 suggestions.

Listen with the intent to understand not formulate a response.

Often, in conversation most people are not really listening we are formulation our response or rebuttal. Reasoning asks us to listen so we can understand a perspective, even if we don’t agree with it.

Be open to the possibility you might be wrong.

Oh the horror of admitting we might be wrong! I never want to admit that I am wrong but the truth is I am wrong all the time. Say these three words with me: “I…was…wrong”. Doesn’t that feel better? Coming to the place in which I can say those three words has freed me the need to be something I am not…perfict.

Allow other views to help you grow as a person rather than staying stubbornly stuck.

I love to read books by authors I disagree with. It makes me a better person and a better thinker. Discovering views on issues that are different from yours can help you grow intellectually and allow you to have a learned understanding of why you believe what you believe.

So…”Come let us reason together”.

It happened again today. I was casually glancing at social media and I witnessed a “facebook fight” between middle-age adults acting like sixth-grade bullies.

I don’t like to debate and argue, I am not good at it, and I don’t enjoy it. However, robust discussion and healthy exchange of competing ideas is an excellent thing. We make each other better when we can have reasoned conversations around dissenting viewpoints.

Back to the childish social media slapping contest. Nothing was solved, people were angry and a bit of humanity was lost. Is there a better way? Can we disagree and not resort to name-calling and dehumanizing? Yes, it begins by asking ourselves these questions:

Do I really know what I am talking about or am I simply offering an uninformed emotionally-driven opinion?

We are losing the ability to think critically. We get our information from biased sources, unreliable outlets, social media bites, and groupthink. Before we enter into a debate or shut someone down do the hard work of research and fact-finding. Look at multiple sources from different points of view. Don’t limit your study to those who support what you already believe, but expand your horizon which increases your ability to think deeply.

Are my comments helpful to the discussion or are they passive-aggressive (or just plain aggressive) cheap shots?

Dave Rubin writes:

[We have] replaced the battle of ideas with a battle of feelings, while trading honesty with outrage.

Dont Burn this Book p.2

If the aim is to hurt someone you no longer have a healthy exchange, you have a brawl.

Am I ok with someone disagreeing with me?

You have the right to disagree with me AND I have there right to disagree with you. Just because I disagree with you I am not going to call you an idiot, evil, hater, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist, or whatever words are popular these days to label and diminish, in turn, I don’t want to be labeled any of those things either.

If I can’t handle someone disagreeing with me than I lose my credibility.

Is it possible I might be wrong?

I am not always right, and neither are you (I know what a shocking statement to make). Over the years I have changed my mind on lots of things. Some of the most humble grace-filled words we can say: “I was wrong”.

Let’s have tuff conversations, listen to each other, respect each other, and lay off the name-calling, it just makes the name-caller look foolish and pushes us further apart.