I would hope that anyone who has experienced any significant measure of the grace of God would be able to agree that the phrase “fight fire with fire” isn’t really the sort of thing we hear Jesus saying. I would hope that we’d be more inclined to fight fire with fire extinguishers. To pour oil on troubled water.\u00a0But, I wonder, is this enough? Might it be that one person’s “fire extinguisher” is another’s “fire” or, at the very least, the other’s “water cannon”? Might one person’s oil on “troubled waters” be another’s oil on a “raging blaze”. Recent escalations in the disagreement between a number of prominent (on social media)\u00a0Christians seem to suggest so.<\/p>\n
Want to know what I’m talking about? Have a look<\/a> at what Adrian Hilton<\/a> is saying about Jayne Ozanne<\/a> and vice versa. But, for goodness sake, don’t join the fray!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I want to make two observations about this conversation. First, we are not being careful enough in our use of language and actions. Second, we’re descending into tribalism.<\/p>\n I try (and sometimes fail) to make it a rule in discourse to adopt the most charitable interpretation of what other people say and do1<\/sup><\/a>This principle is sometimes referred to as “Hanlon’s Razor<\/a>“<\/span><\/span>Language and actions<\/h2>\n