In the scholastic system of education of the middle ages, disputations (in Latin: disputationes, singular: disputatio) offered a formalised method of debate designed to uncover and establish "truths" in theology and in other sciences. Fixed rules governed the process: they demanded dependence on traditional written authorities and the thorough understanding of each argument on each side.
Medieval disputations
Inter-faith disputations
A significant category of disputations took place between Christian and Jewish theologians in order to convince Jews to convert. Christians believed that only the refusal of the Jews to accept Christ stood in the way of the Second Coming.
