There are no innocent readers

Posted on August 2, 2006 by me

… there are no innocent readers anymore. Each overlays the text with his own perverse view. A reader is the total of all he’s read, in addition to all the films and television he’s seen. To the information supplied by the author he’ll always add his own. And that’s where the danger lies … Arturo Peres-Reverte, The Club Dumas

There are no innocent readers. We may think that we read the Bible and take away from it what is plainly there; but do we? Can we read, for example, one of Paul’s letters to a first Century church, without somewhere in the back of our mind understanding that they occupy a building such as the ones we attend, or that they have an organization similar to what we know, or hold services of a similar nature to ours? Can we read the Old Testament and understand what it was like to live without the presence, or even the direct influence, of the Holy Spirit?

We may try, and think we do a mighty fine job. And perhaps, given the fact that we are “polluted” with extrinsic information and experience and interpretation, we do. But, maybe we don’t. Maybe we assume too much, jump to too many conclusions. We trust the Holy Spirit to speak to us, and I believe that He does – but, we know for a fact that the Holy Spirit doesn’t prevent us from error. Remember, we’re not perfect, just forgiven… (that was sarcasm, in case you missed it).

And what about those of us who claim to “hear” from God directly? Can we even hear what the preacher says, and walk away with a correct impression of what he said? We’ve all played the rumor game, where you sit in a circle and pass around a bit of information, which ends up completely different than what was originally said.

I’m not mentioning this to make us feel hopeless and dejected, but to merely point out that we need to keep in mind what is called “interference,” the other information and noise that makes us not be innocent readers and hearers. It’s just a fact; we do see through a glass darkly. It’s scriptural…

We read and hear with our individual and cultural filters in place, and it takes work to photoshop the information back into a reasonable likeness of what was really said. Discussion is probably a good way to recognize and deal with our filters, as long as we are discussing with those with a different set of filters (otherwise we just justify our common filters). When we talk (or blog), we display our filters, not only to others, but to ourselves. That’s why I do this…

So, know this: you are not an innocent reader. But then, neither am I.

Posted in My Own Personal Religion | 1 Comment

The problem with Horatio

Posted on July 31, 2006 by me

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – Wm. Shakespeare, From Hamlet, Act I, Scene 5

In this oft-quoted line, Shakespeare has encapsulated the problem with those who would recomend a life based on reason, to the exclusion of faith. He probably didn’t intend to make this point outside of his play, but the point is still made, that you cannot reason that which is outside of reason. (This point has also been made based on Godel’s Theorum, but that’s for another day.)

This, of course, doesn’t stop people from trying to reason away faith. Just the other day, I nearly bought a book recently released in trade paperback, entitled “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, And The Future Of Reason,” By Sam Harris. (I should add that the paperback edition is much more attractive than the hardcover.) From a moment’s look at it, I pretty much figured out all he had to say, but considered reading it anyway. However, I decided to read a few reviews first, and I am glad I did. Essentially, the reviews confirmed my first impression.

Harris has a philosophy degree, currently working on a doctorate in neuroscience. According to reviewer Robert Hambourger, the book is “an open appeal for religious intolerance.” Essentially, Harris is anti-faith, proposing that a life based solely on reason would end terrorism and other evils. He is not only against religious extremists, he believes that religious moderates are dangerous, because they can make faith sound reasonable, thus, it’s harder to destroy. He is apparently okay with Buddhism; as it turns out, he is himself into meditation…

There were some, obviously, who liked the book. From the comments, it seemed that most who liked it were themselves looking for a reason to “not believe.” However, here’s an exerpt from Publishers Weekly: “In this sometimes simplistic and misguided book, Harris calls for the end of religious faith … Harris’s book generalizes so much about both religion and reason that it is ineffectual.” Another reviewer commented that the book sounded like a throwback to the Enlightenment, saying nothing new.

The Bible would call Harris a fool. I would simply say, echoing Shakespeare, that there are more things in Heaven and earth than are dreamt of in Mr. Harris’ philosophy. Perhaps even more simply: if you don’t have any faith, you have no basis for understanding faith.

In considering the argument for reason (I am, by the way, a proponent for reason, and would probably agree with Harris on some of his points about religious fundamentalism), it occurred to me that this really isn’t an argument for reason at all; it is, in essence, just another argument for faith. Rather than faith in a god of some sort, it is an argument for faith in reason itself, and more specifically, faith in the human ability to think rationally. It doesn’t take much to see that man’s ability to think rationally is flawed, and no real sign that evolution is helping us out any in that arena.

So then, the issue is not faith versus non-faith, it is faith in a deity against faith in man. Reason is not an alternative, it is essential in understanding the issue and seeing truth. Harris may have only proven that not only does he misunderstand the essence of faith, he doesn’t understand reason either.

As God himself has said, “come, let us reason together.” There are more things, Horatio (and Harris) than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Posted in Random Thoughts, Reviews | 2 Comments

Ask a prophet dot com

Posted on July 29, 2006 by me

I had a brainstorm the other day, with thunder and lightning and even a bit of hail; synapses were firing all over the place! I had been thinking of how much fun it would be to do an advice column, especially if you could just make stuff up, and have people believe you anyway.

At some point during the brainstorm (maybe it was when the tornado hit), I began thinking of the web and its possibilities, seeing as how the Ask a Ninja thing is so popular.

Then, it hit me; the best of both worlds, with a spiritual twist: askaprophet.com! I checked, and was shocked to find out that this is one of the 5 dot-com domain names that haven’t been registered yet. It’s still available! I certainly can’t be the first guy to think of this.

This is how it would work: someone in very desperate need of having someone tell them which end is up would contact you via the website with a typical advice-column pseudonym, like “Messed up in Memphis,” and you could respond either through text or video (“ninja” style) with a word from God, especially for them. What better way for people to hear from God?

This isn’t really a new concept; I’ve heard of church groups setting up “prophetic” fortune-telling booths at carnivals and shopping malls, so it’s obviously acceptable to the “personal prophetic” crowd. It’s just a new slant.

I’ve also come up with a new prophetic gimmick you could use for “in person” appearances: the Ezekiel Wheel! It’s a typical “wheel of fortune” only the slots contain prophetic passages from the Old Testament. The visitor spins the wheel, and gets the Scripture that was obviously meant for them. (You could even do it for “suggested donations” to fund youth trips, and so on.)

This is such a great idea, I really don’t know why someone hasn’t thought of this before. In fact, I’d better go and register the name before someone reads this and beats me to it …

Posted in Humor and/or Sarcasm | 2 Comments

Don’t worry, be happy?

Posted on July 28, 2006 by me

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

-Paul, Letter to the Philippians

So, what’s the deal with Paul, anyway? He sounds like he should be walking around in a Calypso shirt singing, Don’t worry, be happy. It seems that in Paul’s writings, you can find something for everyone. He calls the Galatians stupid and rants about wanting to do terrible things to a few teachers he doesn’t agree with. To the Corinthians, he has lots to say – and has been branded as a misogynist and anti-marriage as a result. Now here, he comes off like someone straight out of the 60’s: “peace, be mellow.”

Today, anyone who preaches “think nice thoughts” gets nailed by the “serious” Christians. Don’t they? Remember Norman Vincent Peale? Bob Schuller? And what about Joel Osteen? Are they really “Christianity lite” or do they really have something to say? (I confess, I have made fun of Bob, too – we used to call the Crystal Cathedral the “Crystal Lite Church.”)

In this day of war, secularism, evil post-modernist philosophy & strife, it’s not always popular to tell people to rejoice that their glass is half-full, and to pray that it gets filled even more. After all, if people are happy, they can’t be controlled by guilt. They may not even feel compelled to tithe, or to sit through another boring, “do more, try harder” sermon.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is somewhat different than many of his other letters, as this one was not written to correct – if anything, it was just a letter to friends and financial supporters. We might even suppose that this letter reveals the “real” Paul, or perhaps, Paul in a moment of peace.

I’ve always liked Paul, in his various personas, but I think I am especially fond of this one, who, when at the end of the day and his battles have been fought, can say with all sincerity, “Rejoice. Don’t worry, be happy. Give your worries to God, and relish God’s peace. And, think happy thoughts.”

Posted in Random Thoughts, Spiritual stuff | 3 Comments