You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy

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.