Barrows Vs. Shaku And Dharmapal An Argumentative Analysis

Barrows vs. Shaku and Dharmapala: an argumentative analysis John Henry Barrows and Soyen Shaku represent more than just two religious luminaries having a good-hearted debate. Their deliberation at the late 19th century Parliament of Religions represents the East versus the West, modernity versus tradition and rhetoric versus logic. It’s difficult to take a side on which religion is superior indefinitely because Barrow’s full argument is not in the passage and Shaku is helped a little by Angarika Dharmapala, it is possible, however, to juxtapose Barrow’s arguementative skills in â€Å"Words of Welcome† to Shaku’s and Dharmapala’s skills in their argument for Buddhism. Upon an in depth analysis of both passages, it is clear that Shaku and†¦show more content†¦It’s clear from the statement â€Å"Christendom may proudly hold up this congress of faiths† that Barrows takes pride in the fact that Christianity is the religion that made the conference possible (128). He furthers this poi nt towards the end of his speech by saying that, â€Å"the arms of human brotherhood had reached almost around the globe†, hinting that the â€Å"human brotherhood† would not have been possible without Christianity (129). Barrows’s message of Christian superiority doesn’t end with this one idea though. Barrow’s strongest argument for Christianity comes in the form of a comparison to America, or rather the success of America. Barrows makes the argument that America is a Christian nation, not in the way that the government and the church are the same, but in the way that historically Christians like â€Å"Columbus and Luther† and the â€Å"pilgrims† helped make America into the country it is today. He goes on to say that â€Å"America owes so much to the Christian college and Christian school† meaning that Christian education laid the foundation for his â€Å"jubilee of civilization† that people all around the world flock to (128). In the midst of all of Barrows’s rhetoric and eloquence, his logic may seem sound, but once the rhetoric is removed we see a typical logical fallacy in his speech. Essentially, without the rhetoric, Barrows is using the logical trajectory: Christianity is one of the foundations of America, America is successful, and therefore Christianity must have made