Posted on by Abe Austin

The Subject of Debate

People love to debate theological differences. Members of different Christian denominations argue the fine points of their faith, members of different religions argue about the true nature of God, and members of different belief systems will argue about the nature of reality or whether there even is a God at all.

It’s a bit of an interesting concept, given that all of these are truth claims, and the truth is immutable. It cannot be defined or changed by the debate; it just is what it is. Truth is unassailable. Even if someone wins a debate arguing against the truth, the truth remains the same and the debater still remains wrong.

Thus, debates about the truth are merely an exercise in opinion, with nothing of substance altered by the outcome. So, what truly is being contested in these sorts of debates? What really is at stake? Only the image and ego of its participants.

Is it any wonder than that these debates so often become emotional and heated? The passion with which many argue suggests that they realize that in reality is their own intelligence and reason that are on the line, that if they cannot prove their point then they have been beaten personally, even if their stance was the correct one.

For this reason, I believe that much of debate is a vain and shallow exercise, one that says much about the participants, and little about the underlying truth.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Solemnity and Joy- Ecclesiastes 7:6, Doctrine and Covenants 88:69

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.

Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you; cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you.

COMMENTARY

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool
Cast away your excess of laughter far from you
Thus far we have considered the worthiness of both joy and solemnity, the different times that call for each. It also seems worthwhile now to mention the inappropriate application of each. Today we will look at inappropriate laughter.
There is nothing wrong with being happy, enjoying a moment of good feelings, smiling, laughing, and pleasantly being with those we love. But I’m sure we can all think of situations where others or ourselves have taken it too far. Consider, for example the screeching, forced laughter of someone trying to get everyone to look at them at a party.
That behavior reminds me directly of this verse from Ecclesiastes. It is an older expression, but the crackling of thorns is in reference to how throwing thorns on a fire would result in an immediate and loud blaze, which quickly consumed all of its fuel and then died out without providing any lasting heat. It was flashy, but it was worthless for heating whatever you had in the pot.
True joy means something, it bubbles out in warm laughter that has a real depth beneath it. But raucous screeching has nothing of substance behind. It comes only from a place of desperate vanity. It flashes, it crackles, it calls for attention…and then it evaporates into emptiness.