The US at one time was the only nation on the earth that had an atomic bomb. But in 1949 Stalin and Russia got one.
President Truman had a decision to make. What should the US do now? Bomb Russia? Ban the bomb? Truman decided to call a bunch of scientists together to see if there was any possibility of building a larger bomb.
Their answer: Yeah, we could, but should we?
Truman’s doctrine here was called Escalation Dominance.
The concept holds that the United States can best contain conflicts and avoid escalation if it is dominant at each successive rung up the “ladder of escalation,” all the way to the top rung of nuclear weapons.
Whoever has the biggest weapon can use it as a threat to force other nations to back off. But to effectively use this threat, you have to keep going up the ladder to more powerful weapons.
This term, Escalation Dominance, reminds me of arguing theology, or anything else for that matter.
Both sides state their claims. Both disagree on the Bible passages. Both disagree on the proper interpretation or definitions. Stalemate.
“You need to talk to my pastor. He knows this subject better than I do.”
“Your pastor? What does he know? You need to read Doctor So-And-So, he has studied this for 20 years and has written four books on the subject.”
“Yeah, well, you need to read Doctor This-And-That, he has studied this subject for 34 years and has written seven books.”
“Pssh, you should listen to St. DeadGuy who wrote 1,650 years ago and shaped all theologians.”
“What? That’s nothing. Early Church Father WhatsHisName knew a guy who knew Paul and practically wrote the first ever commentary on Romans.”
“An English speaking ignoramus would trust him. If you knew Arabic and the writings of WeirdNamedGuy of WeirdNamedPlace, who used to change the Apostle Paul’s diapers, then you would truly understand.”
On and on it goes. It’s the argument from Authority. In essence, “My dad is bigger than your dad.”
This probably isn’t true all the time, but for the most part, if you begin quoting people in your arguments, you’ve probably entered Escalation Dominance territory.
Your desire is to bring out the Big Guns and silence the moron. It’s too bad people have more respect for degrees, prestige, and honors than they do simple humble dependence on the Spirit.
So, what happened with Truman’s Escalation Dominance theory? For many years both the US and Russia built bigger and more bombs than the other guy. I suppose it worked, since we’re all still here. At the same time, there is still tension between the US and Russia, and now also with a few other nations who escalated their weapons too.
Escalation Dominance doesn’t ever really solve a conflict. When it comes to the Bible, either you know what you’re talking about or you don’t. Resist the urge to one-up each others authorities into infinity. The argument is already over. You’ve reached stalemate.
Let it go.
anti-itch meditation 