http://www.whitehorseinn.org/blog/2012/09/08/christian-character-and-good-arguments/
This article probably says what I've been trying to say better than I could say it.
I'm guilty on this one, but I see a TON of it here at CyB:
All in all, taking the considerations of this article to heart will make you not only a better poster, but a better Christian. We don't understand just how detrimental our methods of argument are to winning the lost or even winning our brothers and sisters further into the faith.
This article probably says what I've been trying to say better than I could say it.
It’s not just what we say, but how we say it, that matters. Peter reminds us to be “always prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Pet 3:15-16). We have to be ready with arguments and reasons, but we have to give thought also to how we present them.
I'm guilty on this one, but I see a TON of it here at CyB:
Closely related to these fallacies is the all too familiar slippery slope argument. “Barth’s doctrine of revelation leads to atheism” or “Arminianism leads to Pelagianism” or “Calvinism leads to fatalism” would be examples. Even if one’s conclusion is correct, the argument has to be made, not merely asserted. The fact is, we often miss crucial moves that people make that are perfectly consistent with their thinking and do not lead to the extreme conclusions we attribute to them—not to mention the inconsistencies that all of us indulge. Honesty requires that you engage the positions that peopleactually hold, not conclusions you think they should hold if they are consistent.
All in all, taking the considerations of this article to heart will make you not only a better poster, but a better Christian. We don't understand just how detrimental our methods of argument are to winning the lost or even winning our brothers and sisters further into the faith.