Engaging in Public Discourse: Part 1

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. School, work, writing, reading, French studies. All seem to get in the way of posting stuff to this blog.

Well, here I am posting something I find fascinating.

Over the past two days, I have engaged in a dialogue with a friend of mine. He's Christian, I am agnostic. Therefore, we approach the subject of homosexuality from two different angles. Yesterday, he posted a blog that addressed the issue of homosexuality and how Christians should approach the issue, based on teachings found in the Bible.

This post has led to, I believe, a productive dialogue, highlighting the possibility that public discourse doesn't have to involve antagonistic rhetoric, like the kind found in public discussions of "hot-button" issues, like the kind found in modern American political discourse.

Therefore, I'm posting our dialogue for all of you to see because I found it intellectually stimulating, and I'm curious to know how others might view this discussion.

Scott and I consider each other friends, which means we see each other as human beings. And that, I think, is a great place to start.

*Fair warning, this post requires a bit of reading.*

Scott's original post can be found here.

Now, here's my response.

Scott:

Me: (This response required some research on my part.)

Scott responded to this comment on his blog: here.

I have yet to respond to Scott's most recent post. I plan to, but there are only so many hours in the day, and while I do find the subject fascinating, I will need more time to compose a response.

Nevertheless, I want to preserve this dialogue before it lost among the multitude of Facebook posts. I think we handled ourselves well. We may not have completely satisfied each other's aims, but I think we've come to a common ground. Despite what some may think, reaching a compromise is not so bad a thing. In fact, I think it only makes use stronger as a society.

Thoughts?