Anger in Public Discourse, Rules
of Engagement
By Mark Earley, Prison Fellowship President
From "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson,"
April 17, 2007. Reprinted from www.breakpoint.org.
I recently ran across the insightful article below from
Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley. It was another great reminder
of why we at RMCA tirelessly pursue the ideal of a Christian classical
education, and why teaching grammar, logic, and rhetoric is key to fulfilling
our mission to equip students to impact their world for Christ. Classical
education is not just a good idea, it’s an essential one. If we
are to restore civility in a culture that is increasingly uncivil, we
must begin with students who are prepared to engage the world of ideas
in a winsome and persuasive manner. For we must all remember that ideas
have consequences.
--Brett King, RMCA Headmaster
As I mentioned on yesterday's broadcast about Peter
Wood's new book, A Bee in the Mouth, anger has become the new norm for
public discourse today. Just think about any arguments you have had—or
heard—lately about the war in Iraq, global warming, gay "marriage,"
or abortion.
Clearly, our nation and our culture are polarized. Discussion
and debate have been replaced with yelling and demonizing. We Christians
cannot retreat from the public square. We are called to speak the truth
in love. But how do we engage others in a world where sound bytes compete
and angry rhetoric is the order of the day?
As I have thought about this cultural trend, I have been
reminded of a famous speech by Dorothy Sayers, "The Lost Tools
of Learning," presented at Oxford in 1947. In it, she discusses
the three pillars of a classical education: fact-gathering (or "grammar"
as it is referred to), logic, and rhetoric.
We can apply this classical way of learning to our own
discourse: Gather facts, apply logic, and then use effective principles
of communication. Thankfully, there are a number of Christian classical
schools across the country teaching kids exactly this.
But this does not get us quite far enough in this postmodern world.
How do we engage with others who may have tossed logic to the curb long
ago?
For starters, we might look to Jesus Himself as a model.
Throughout His ministry, Jesus engages in conversation by probing people
so that they examine themselves. How does He do it? He asks them questions
of His own: Why do you call me good? Whose image and word are stamped
on this coin? Who was the neighbor to this man? Some eighty-two questions
of Jesus are recorded in the book of Matthew alone.
Take a look, for instance, at the story of the woman caught
in adultery. The Pharisees come dragging a woman before Jesus to put
Him between the rock of the Mosaic Law and the hard place of a public
bloodbath. Stewing in their anger against Jesus, the Pharisees asked
Him what they should do with the woman. Jesus could have responded in
anger. Instead, He stoops and scribbles in the sand, creating a silent
moment in a volatile situation.
Then, knowing that this teachable moment has more to
do with exposing the Pharisees' hearts than the heart of this already-exposed
woman, Jesus says, "If anyone is without sin, let him be the first
to throw a stone at her." It's an implicit question: Who among
you is sinless?
Jesus was not merely trying to win an argument, nor was
His main goal even diffusing anger. He was trying to win the hearts
and minds of those who might listen.
The Pharisees had come with an agenda, and their anger,
like the anger of so many around us today, was merely a symptom of a
deeper problem. Of all people, Jesus could have shown a judgmental attitude.
Unlike us, He is, after all, a righteous judge. But instead through
a humble heart, and an implicit question, Jesus gently exposes the real
issue.
You know, if our priority is winning over our opponents,
instead of merely beating them in an argument, God can give us grace
to do the same as Jesus did.
