Welcome back to yet another religion prequel. Stay with me now. This is the fun stuff.
When having an argument, you would assume the premises that are offered would be true, and therefore no effort would be made to support them. But just because the premises are assumed to be true doesn’t mean that they are. If you think the premises may be false, you can challenge them and ask your opponent to support them.
I still remember the day I first discovered Mystery Science Theater 3000. I was sitting in front of the TV, vigorously changing channels like most everyone does when they’re watching TV. My channel-surfing stopped on an episode of The Mystery Science Theater Hour, a syndicated two-part version they made for those of us not dapper enough for a full-fledged cable subscription.
Arguments are found in the interactions we have with friends and acquaintances every day. There are the occasional knock-down drag-out arguments of those who despise one another, and the more frequent everyday exchanges that occur without most people even thinking about it. After all, an argument is merely the expression of one’s point of view on a subject with evidence given to support it. A discussion of opinions, if you will.
I was once talking to a serious Christian I used to work with who heard some of my songs. He liked what I had done, and was in awe of what must be the power of God that came through my music. “There’s no other possible explanation!” he said. To which I replied “No, the explanation is called practice. The explanation is that I’ve been playing the piano since I was 4. The explanation is that I’ve been working on music my entire life. This isn’t something that just happened yesterday.” Then he just looked at me and walked away.
