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1 and 2 Peter, Special Essay 2

RATIONALE: The following paper is not really a part of the Peter series. However, the next Peter paper will examine some of the evidences we Christians have for our faith. Before sending this paper, I want to give you some insight into the process by which I reach the conclusions that I write into these essays. I realize that many of the things I say are not in keeping with the orthodox thinking of the church, and sometimes are even at odds with the accepted norms in the wider world of Christendom. I do not write these things just to be different, or to appear erudite. I do not claim any great wisdom,
or scholarship, but anything that I write or teach is filtered through a process of personal examination, and only that which makes sense to me will I write. This eliminates many of the things which are simply accepted without question, but which do not seem to me to fit the total picture being presented in the Bible. I ask no one to accept my conclusions, and certainly not to accept them without much personal thought and examination. But I do think these things are important enough to be re-thought, and the faith you have in them should be your own, and not a conclusion borrowed from the past, or from the generally accepted orthodoxy. This is the only kind of faith which will move you, or create in you the Christian personality Our Lord died on the cross to produce. 

Truth Seekers Beware

A popular phrase, coined by our modern ad-men is: "Think outside of the box". I find most of these phrases, by those who bombard us with commercial pitches, to be inane and puerile. However, this one has merit, if you will apply it to our habit of mass response and herd mentality. Very few people are willing to buck the accepted norm, and look at things in a different light from their peers. The individual who doesn't follow the accepted rules and customs, or who rejects the orthodox standard, is usually considered weird, and worthy to be ignored. However, if there had not been such people, in the sometimes civilized history of our world, there would never have been any progress. One of the most debilitating phrases I know is: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". If everyone bought that ridiculous idea, no invention would ever have been completed, no new worlds conquered, and the philosophy of the cave man would be our highest education. Only those who dare to question the accepted "facts", disagree with the common trends, and refuse to be intimidated by the mass mind, ever give anything of lasting worth to the world.

The most dangerous enemy of one who really thinks, and searches for the truth, is subjectivity. We are, each of us, a bundle of memories and past experiences. These are the tools out of which we make sense of our world. They mold our thinking and, too often, our belief in what is right or wrong. Our history and environment are impossible to escape, and most people allow them to determine the standard of truth for them, whether they are conscious of it or not. The most stultifying attitude we can have is that we already have the truth, and need to look no further. Our task, then, becomes protecting it, repeating it over and over, and disdaining all who see things differently.

Therefore, the primary task of one who would really seek greater truth, and who accepts his own fallibility, and limitation of knowledge and understanding, is to find a method by which he can obtain a measure of objectivity. This is a difficult and often painful undertaking. It will often isolate you from your peers, allow your intelligence to come into question, bring doubt on your education, and risk the label of heretic, or, as we said before, weirdo.

If truth is important enough to you for you to risk this kind of political fallout, let me suggest a few things you must do. First, you must be willing to question, without fear, anything you have been taught. This is not to doubt or deny these things, but it is to re-examine them with a critical eye, and with the phrase, "Is this really true?", playing in the back of your mind. Even this move will be met with fierce resistance by those who are comfortable with the status quo. Change is a challenge, and it is painful for all of us. It threatens our security, and, even worse, it demands that we get out of our comfortable chairs of certainty, and think. 

The second thing you must do is to lose all fear of being wrong. If it is difficult for you to admit making a mistake in thought or action, you can never be a successful truth seeker, and objectivity will always escape you. We are not, any of us, pure thinkers. We are existing beings, and our very existence colors our concept of truth. A wise man said, "To err is human". However, if we never risk being wrong, we will never take the high road which leads to greater truth, nor will we ever have the ability, much less the courage, to change the errors we already have accepted.

The world is not comfortable with those who are different. If you insist on "thinking for yourself", and doggedly pursuing the truth, you must be willing to suffer the intellectual isolation which goes with this decision. However, the intellectual honesty which you will enjoy will more than compensate, and the pleasure of discovery is truth's inevitable reward. 

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