Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost is defending that which all must uphold (even those who deny it, for they uphold it by denying it): the law of non-contradiction. But in the process, he takes a swipe at Walt Whitman that has me wondering about the proper limits of rhetorical and poetic language. Is it wrong for a poet to say something contradictory or to be unruffled by his self-contradictions? Does this make him an idiot? Are there times when saying something that is propositionally contradictory or embracing contradiction can still be meaningful ? Joe has a powerful starting point for his annoyance over contradictoriness: an Episcopal priest who claims to be both Christian and Muslim. Surely, this has crossed lines of sanity and truth. But what about Walt Whitman? What think ye? My two comments: (1) and (2).