Category: Polemics

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote an excellent article called “The Decline of Controversy.” He gave the Center permission to publish it in From the Housetops magazine. His major point was that false ecumenism and religious indifference were undermining the art of religious disputation. The good old days of vibrant argumentation were being replaced by soulless dialogue. The more controversy declines the more truth becomes relative.

Polemics can be called the art of disputation. It is more than debate; it is animated debate. By its very nature polemics is meant to be a stimulating exercise, which fortifies the mind by establishing the reasons that support the truths we believe in. And one way to do that is by exposing the fallacies of the arguments used to support false doctrine.  With liberals and Protestants, polemics employs arguments based on the authority of scripture and tradition. But the polemicist may also utilize contrast in exposing doctrinal or moral fallacies. Whatever tools are used, charity is the balm that softens the opponents hearts so that they may listen to or read arguments rather than ad hominems.