Social media has again got my head spinning and my frustration
aroused. Here are a couple of thoughts
on this icy February morning:
1.
Why do we
think that if someone is wrong about something, they are wrong about
everything? Today I have seen again
comments pointing out that Martin
Luther and John Calvin did not accept heliocentric theory (the idea that the
Earth and other planets orbit around the sun).
I could give more examples of people of the past who had great
contributions to human knowledge, but seem to have a glaring blind-spot in some
area of their thinking. Are there things
that if you are wrong about disqualifies everything else you have ever
said? Apparently so in our culture. However, there has never been a person who
was right about everything. Never. Einstein and Darwin and Galileo and Lincoln
(to name a few) are currently held in a place of esteem in history. Maybe because they got a lot of things right (or maybe the scientific process hasn't shown them to be wrong - yet)
that society currently values, but it certainly doesn’t mean that they are immune to
errors in their thinking.
2.
Why are
we so arrogant to believe that we are right about everything? All of humanity believes that they are right
in the way they think. It was true in
the past and still true today. We don’t
see our own blind-spots – this is probably why they are called ‘blind-spots”. We are steeped in our own culture and it is
often easy to see the mistakes of others, especially those who found themselves
in another culture and time. “How could
anyone possibly believe that the Earth was the center of the solar system?” we
ask, and millions of other similar questions.
We believe we are so enlightened, so smart, so beyond our
forefathers.
Again, when in the history of mankind has anyone been right
about everything? And why do WE think we
will be any different? It is true that
we continue to make new discoveries about things that we have previously not
understood, but we also find evidence that points to new theories and
conclusions. Rather than be grateful for the shoulders we stand on, we scoff
and ridicule. How do we forget that Luther and Calvin and all were human beings
like you and me?
We all hope to make a mark on this world – to leave a
meaningful contribution to human knowledge or well-being. Do you long for the good works God prepared
and allowed for you to do to be torn down and trampled because our offspring
realize that – gasp – you were a fallen human being who made mistakes in other
areas of life and thought? We are human –
just like Luther and Calvin and Darwin and Einstein. Can we extend to these the same grace that we
wish to receive from others – both now and in the distant future? Can we learn from the brilliance and mistakes
of these and others who have gone before us? This approach would be a welcome change and a vast improvement.
