Build Steel Men, Not Straw Men: Understanding Others Fairly
A practical Christian study of “Build Steel Men, Not Straw Men: Understanding Others Fairly,” with clear application for faith, relationships, and everyday life.
Build Steel Men
Play the original Excel Still More episode here without leaving the article.
The principle
You've shown respect for one another, you've listened, you understand exactly where they are coming from, and you have made an intellectual and thoughtful argument and won them over. And you actually get to change, learn, grow, and get better by abandoning a previous position.
Everything I just said in the last 90 seconds, listen to try to understand a position different than their own, actually try to have intellectual conversations on the topic, and have a real expectation that change can come out of it, including the real possibility that that change may be needed in them.
The deeper lesson
It is certainly something that a lot of people, genuinely good people with the ability to learn and a willingness to be humble, have actually been employing for a really, really long time, and it will operate under the term build steel men. Maybe the best way to explain it is to talk about its opposite, a term that you probably have heard.
Let me tell you a little bit about my history with that term, and then we will define it and work our way towards the steel structure.
What it changes
Then, once you step back over to your side of the argument, you are no longer just some hard head pushing his ideas, you now have a formidable opponent that you can see, and you begin to present your arguments against a stable foe. If at that point you are still able to make a great argument, like let's say it's a Bible argument and you were genuinely listening, and you truly try to get what they are saying, and you absolutely work on their behalf in putting passages together, then you come back over to your side and you say, All right, my turn.
And if you are then able to overcome their position, you can have confidence that you aren't just spouting what you've always wanted to believe, you've truly proven it.
Live it today
Basically, Bruce Reeves spent four hours arguing that Jesus is in fact coming again in the clouds one day, and Mr. Neubauer spent four hours arguing that Jesus already came in 70 AD in judgment and there is no coming in the future.
Now I have preached some straw men sermons on that topic before, where I grabbed some random quotes by the 70 AD guy that sounded pretty ridiculous, threw a few Bible passages at it, and won the day.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Where do I see the problem or opportunity described in “Build Steel Men, Not Straw Men: Understanding Others Fairly” in my own life?
- 02What Scripture or spiritual principle in this study most needs my attention?
- 03What one specific change can I make this week to put this teaching into practice?
Prefer listening?
The original episode player is available near the top of this article, so you can listen without leaving the page.