Have a conversation with a Baptist about “grace”

You’ll have to let each other know what you think it means. The dictionary would be a horrible way to do that.


Have a political discussion with your friend from the opposing party about what a “right” is or what “patriotism” is or should be.

You’ll know what the words mean, but if you can’t accept that these central terms may mean different things to the person you’re talking to, you’ll never get to an understanding and you won’t be able to disagree effectively.

You could make another lampooning reference to what it “must be like”, but you should be able to understand what I actually meant now and see that it’s true on its face.

Understanding clearly the nuances of central terms is essential in an argument.

Everyone who studies or has to practice professionally with argumentation with the goal of convincing or making something clear to another party knows this.