By Matt Friedeman
January 30, 2006

(AgapePress) - A new study from Emory University informs us that emotions are what count the most in the matter of forming political opinions, with reasoning and truth trailing significantly in importance. Magnetic resonance imaging reveals that the emotional centers in the brains of strong partisans "light up" when confronted with ideological messages.

So?

So, like it or not, those of us who value truth need to learn a thing or two about the perception of our issues. Case in point: Recently, at the state capitol in Mississippi, pro-life forces brought in an expert on embryonic stem-cell research and cloning. The expert dutifully and professionally presented his report, solid and important. Then the opposition trotted out ill people and adults with diseased children who, of course, wept and plead the necessity of stem-cell research to save their lives.

Word is that even the pro-lifers on the committee were moved to defeat legislation to ban cloning and the like. Remember -- this is Mississippi, one of the reddest of the red states and the buckle of the Bible belt. But the testimony of an expert was no match for emotion, and even stalwart pro-life committee members failed to remain absolutely firm on a position on which the United Nations has already taken action (banning cloning).

We are suckers -- for tears, for emotion, for the stuff that tugs at the heart.

Cultural conservatives are not the only ones frustrated with the situation. Imagine if you were concerned with rationality on the "idiot box," otherwise known as TV. "Television is the most perfect democracy," frustrated TV news anchor Aaron Brown said in a recent speech. "You sit there with your remote control and vote." The remotes of the living rooms of the nation move from channel to channel when serious news plays, but when the coverage turns to scandals surrounding the runaway bride or Michael Jackson, "there are no clicks then," Brown said.

Feel Mr. Brown's pain.

Few of us will ever have to impress an audience from the studio side of the television set, but all Christians are called as apologists to make Truth known to observers. If we think that better arguments will carry the day, we are fooling ourselves.

And yet, truth must not be abandoned for sake of cute illustration.

Maybe a tip or two from Jesus would help. He was a man of serious truth, which He frequently conveyed through riveting parable. His listeners said He taught "with authority" and He flummoxed opponents in debate.

We can teach our precepts and tell our stories with similar effectiveness.

The major party of conservatism in this country wants to be known as the "party of ideas." Not good enough, any more. Ideas must ride tandem with things like tears, laughter, vision, and hope, that can be demonstrated in a word picture or in the lives of the communicators. Whether making a political case or not, Christians must be people with a testimony, with a compassionate tale to tell, with compelling emotions to accompany our well-crafted arguments.

I have a relative who once pounded the table and said, "If people would only listen to me!" They wouldn't, though his statements of truth were correct. He was dismissed because he was a man without suffering trying to convince everyone of the answer to their suffering. Remember the old story about Kagawa at Harvard? After a lecture, someone turned around and said "Kagawa -- he didn't say much today, did he?" To which the quick reply came: "When you're 'dying on a cross,' you don't have to say much."