against their opponents on the Christian Right?

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Does "against their opponents on the Christian Right" refer to "(arm secularists) against right-wing Christian political factions"?

Context:

While this book is intended for people of all faiths, it has been written in the form of a letter to a Christian. In it, I respond to many of the arguments that Christians put forward in defense of their religious beliefs. The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularists in our society, who believe that religion should be kept out of public policy, against their opponents on the Christian Right. Consequently, the "Christian" I address throughout is a Christian in a narrow sense of the term. Such a person believes, at a minimum, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that only those who accept the divinity of Jesus Christ will experience salvation after death. Dozens of scientific surveys suggest that well over half of the American population subscribes to these beliefs. Of course, such metaphysical commitments do not imply any particular denomination of Christianity. Conservatives in every sect - Catholics, mainline Protestants, Evangelicals, Baptists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and so on - are equally implicated in my argument. As is well known, the beliefs of conservative Christians now exert an extraordinary influence over our national discourse - in our courts, in our schools, and in every branch of government.

- Sam Harris: Letter to a Christian Nation

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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 498 • Replies: 12

View best answer, chosen by oristarA

@oristarA,

Yes.

and in this case, "arm" means inform, prepare, fore-warn.

1 Reply

@McTag,

I disagree McTag. The word "arm" means "to provide weapons to". The weapons being proided are metaphorical weapons-- information and arguments.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

You're disagreeing with your own opinion then?

1 Reply

@McTag,

No, I am disagreeing with your opinion. And now I am disagreeing again with your opinion that our opinions are the same.

The fact that the word "arm" is referring to the provision of weapons is an important part of the definition. Your definition is missing any mention of weapons. This is why I disagree with it.

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@maxdancona,

I got to "inform", and you got to "information", but via "metaphor".

I assumed "metaphor" would be recognised by any and all, so I cut to the chase. You took the longer way round. But they are not materially different imho.

1 Reply

@McTag,

I am trying to help an English language learner, McTag. I am not looking for a fight.

For an English language learner it is important to understand that the definition of "arm" involves a weapon. Sure, in this case the weapon is "information", but with out talking about a weapon, the definition is wrong. The only reason that "arm" in this case means "to inform" is because it was set up that way by the context. The word "arm" rarely means this... if without context you said "we need to arm the secularists against the Christian Right", no one would think you were talking about "information".

There are many examples of this. I might use the sentence "While drinking her coffee she spilled the hot liquid on her lap". In this specific case "liquid" refers to "coffee", but to say that the definition of liquid is coffee is just wrong.

There is no need to take this personally. I disagree with you on this point, and I explained why I disagree with you. So what. Oristar can read both of our opinions and learn.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

I don't disagree with too much of that, and I am not taking anything personally.
I too enjoy helping foreigners with the language, and would only point out that in my opinion OristarA is a good deal more sophisticated than many would expect. I don't think the basis of this metaphor would escape his attention, which is why what I wrote is not too literal. I thought that unnecessary.

I was reminded of the imagery in many Wesleyan hymns; "Soldiers of Christ arise, and put your armour on.....". In that hymn, there are dozens of metaphors like that, all readily understood by congregations of ages five and upward not to be taken literally. At least I hope so.

0 Replies

@maxdancona,

How many times have you seen a phrase like "Armed with this knowledge, he felt confident in pursuing his complaint"?

It's quite a common usage , imho.

1 Reply

Well guys.
Thanks for paying attention to this question that I asked.
Now the question has been well solved.
Isn't it better to move along? We all have better things to do. Do you agree?

1 Reply

@McTag,

This is saying that in this case, knowledge is a weapon. Again the key is to understand that the word "arm" is "to provide with a weapon".

The word knowledge is irrelevant, in fact this usage could use many different nouns.

Armed with a large stack of chips, he is ready to move on to the next poker table.
Armed with Windows 10, he will be more productive.
Armed with Ajax (I've a feeling of cleaning power).
Armed with a fanatical devotion to the pope ....

Graffiti artists are armed with a spray can, and writers are armed with a pen....

You can really be armed with anything that can be seen as a metaphorical weapon. "Knowledge" is only one of those things.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

Don't worry Oristar, McTag and I are obviously enjoying this... or at least we are getting something out of it (or else we wouldn't continue).

Don't worry about us, if you are finished here there is no need for you to stick around.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

Forewarned is fore-armed.

I done tole ya Ori is smart.

My wife's choir is practicing this song:

...Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land

0 Replies

against their opponents on the Christian Right?

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