Understood. Not trying to single you out, those just tend to be examples of how an argument can go that seem... insignificant to me. As soon as the word "generation" was being thrown around, I knew there was going to be back-and-forth over how many years constitutes one. The conversation could easily lead to us getting worked up over that, which could be avoided in the hopes of us discussing something more concrete and relevant.
Same thing with metaphors like the polar bear one... we could keep tacking on qualifications that seemingly make the metaphor more appropriate, when we could instead be furthering our understanding by talking about the topic at hand in its own terms. Someone will start screaming something like "but what if the polar bear had rabies??!?!" and I just have to roll my eyes and ignore the conversation, because nothing is really being said.
So, I do understand the importance of an actual "generation" experiencing peace throughout their lifetime, but asking "Has there been peace during any generation in the ME since the death of Muhammad?" begs for there to be an unnecessary discussion over what a generation actually is.
Believe me, I appreciate all the insight of this thread. It's eye-opening for me on many levels. I'm just trying to keep it away from lowbrow bickering.
