[Ottofire]

"When in the service of Mother Church, any response, as long as it uses words, is a refutation of those who are not part of Mother Church."

My church right or wrong? I agree this is a problem.

When a dialog cannot be made and both sides just throw ad hominum or I am right you are wrong attacks, then we are wasting our time.

Debate does not actually get anywhere either, in my experience, as those on either side are already to emotionally attached to their ideas. Only occasionally will a debate spur real reflection on the opponents position away from the emotion. It is those that have not made up their minds that debates can effect.

Is it possible to get a dispassionate debate on something so tied to the human emotional response as religion is?

[Religion Moderator]

Is it possible to get a dispassionate debate on something so tied to the human emotional response as religion is?

My two cents: yes it is, as evidenced on this long-standing thread.

If you wish to carry on such a debate, IMHO AlbionGirl would be an excellent correspondent. She is a contributor on that thread as well.

[AlbionGirl]

Is it possible to get a dispassionate debate on something so tied to the human emotional response as religion is?

No, hence the Reformation.

C.S. Lewis so hated the enmity between Christians that he wrote of the Reformation, that issues which required the deliberation of Godly and fair-minded men, in order to keep the schism from occurring, was pretty much lost before it even began.

And, you can see in the early polemics of the Reformers a real sense of betrayal, and oddly enough, while that sense of betrayal was hot, unity was possible, once it cooled, unity became nearly impossible.