As I may have explained after the conversation to which you refer:
I care deeply about truth. In fact, it is not too strong to say that Truth is my God. (God is also Good and Beauty, to complete the Platonic triad; all are attributes of His.) Consequently I do not view truth as something I own, let alone that I can decide, but must search out through rigorous analysis using all available tools, chief among which is Reason, which I am awarding a capital letter because it is a loose translation of the Greek word Logos, the principle of all order and rationality in the universe, whom I also believe is God. Thus, if I believe something strongly enough to preach and argue it, you can bet that I have reasoned it out pretty completely. I have also adopted the personal motto, "If I can't teach it to anyone, I don't really know it," and pursuing that goal has required me to listen better and communicate better with all kinds of minds.
Argument, as I approach it, is a contrapuntal but ultimately cooperative effort by which two (or occasionally more) persons get a better grasp on the truth than they had before. It is not an attempt to exert dominance or control over the other person. I already know the Truth and I am confident in His friendship and help, so I have nothing to prove. All I require from my interlocutors is willingness to cooperate and a similar love for the truth. If, as is often the case, they lack some intellectual tools or skills or factual foundation, I will be happy to provide them.
However, although I can teach anything to anyone, I am not so good at translating into memes or slogans or propaganda. These methods are like the One Ring: the tool of the Enemy, that you can't really use for the good. You can trick people into holding correct propositions or taking correct actions in spite of themselves, but you can't trick people into loving the Truth, without which one has missed the whole point of life.
As to art or music, I am certainly not saying it is categorically evil, but as Plato pointed out (warning of its dangers for this very reason), it is non-rational, and all by itself can lead a person into the irrational, so it must be crafted and used with great care. I am not a great artist by any stretch, so all I can do is make reference to the works of others whenever it may seem to help convey a point.
I care deeply about truth. In fact, it is not too strong to say that Truth is my God. (God is also Good and Beauty, to complete the Platonic triad; all are attributes of His.) Consequently I do not view truth as something I own, let alone that I can decide, but must search out through rigorous analysis using all available tools, chief among which is Reason, which I am awarding a capital letter because it is a loose translation of the Greek word Logos, the principle of all order and rationality in the universe, whom I also believe is God. Thus, if I believe something strongly enough to preach and argue it, you can bet that I have reasoned it out pretty completely. I have also adopted the personal motto, "If I can't teach it to anyone, I don't really know it," and pursuing that goal has required me to listen better and communicate better with all kinds of minds.
Argument, as I approach it, is a contrapuntal but ultimately cooperative effort by which two (or occasionally more) persons get a better grasp on the truth than they had before. It is not an attempt to exert dominance or control over the other person. I already know the Truth and I am confident in His friendship and help, so I have nothing to prove. All I require from my interlocutors is willingness to cooperate and a similar love for the truth. If, as is often the case, they lack some intellectual tools or skills or factual foundation, I will be happy to provide them.
However, although I can teach anything to anyone, I am not so good at translating into memes or slogans or propaganda. These methods are like the One Ring: the tool of the Enemy, that you can't really use for the good. You can trick people into holding correct propositions or taking correct actions in spite of themselves, but you can't trick people into loving the Truth, without which one has missed the whole point of life.
As to art or music, I am certainly not saying it is categorically evil, but as Plato pointed out (warning of its dangers for this very reason), it is non-rational, and all by itself can lead a person into the irrational, so it must be crafted and used with great care. I am not a great artist by any stretch, so all I can do is make reference to the works of others whenever it may seem to help convey a point.
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