There is a famous legend in Buddhist folklore in which the Buddha compared philosophical preoccupation with settling the matter of God’s existence to a man shot with a poisoned arrow. Before the man can allow the arrow to be withdrawn and the wound treated, he insisted upon knowing who shot him, what sort of poison was in the arrow, and what kind of medicine would be administered.. The man died before the questions were answered. Buddha concluded that in the same way, people need to be rescued from the burdens of suffering, craving, and ignorance, no matter how the issue of God’s existence fares among the philosophers. (William E. Reiser, Into the Needle’s Eye, Notre Dame, Ave Maria Press, 1984, p. 31)

Now the Buddha was right, but the legend suggests another truth. Debate and argument, pr…