Absorbing Information Uncritically

One thing I hope to do in the near future is put together a few solid posts on the concept of faith and science and the debates that go on, but before I get into it, I feel there are a few key issues I need to address BEFORE I enter into the debate. One of those issues is the danger of absorbing information uncritically. That is, believing something is true merely because you were told something!

The issue

Whether you know it or not, you've likely dealt with this issue many, many times; and you might not have noticed! A common example is when someone makes a poor judgment of someone else, and spreads a rumor either knowingly or unknowingly. Most people will accept the rumor as true by nature of people saying it. The same is often true when it comes to watching TV, or partaking in some other media. While it is often important to trust what people are telling you is indeed trustworthy, since no one has time to investigate everything they are told, it is also important to evaluate and ask about anything you are about to make a life decision upon. The apostle Paul, for this reason, devotes a significant amount of his writing to the concept of false teaching (it can be found in every one of his books with a "2"), and to referencing Old Testament writings (1 Cor. 15, among others) in order to communicate that what he was saying had substance and grounding in previous writing about God, and that, while he was teaching for the right reasons, many were teaching for the purpose of profit (1 Tim. 6:3-5, Tit. 1:10-11), and others for political reasons (Acts 11: 1-3).

This is an issue that persists today. In my work with unbelievers, especially on the Internet, I have had to deal again and again with people who make very vast claims about religion and about Christianity in particular, yet when confronted, often show that they are merely rehashing something they read from a friend, or a website, but rarely do I deal with people who bring forward questions directly about the Bible. The same problem is true with a number of Christians I know who will very quickly say "The Bible says..." but do not say where in the Bible their claim is in fact said! Indeed, at the table mentioned in previous posts, I come across these two cases more than any other case.

An example

The question is, then, what do we do? I would like to begin with a lesson in thinking critically, by telling a common riddle in my ministry:

Imagine a barrel of water, which is on a scale. The barrel and water in it weigh 500 pounds. I add 5 1-pound fish into the barrel, but the weight does not increase. Why? The scale is accurate, water does not splash out, and for the more creative, there are no gravity vortices.

Stumped? Here's the answer: I lied, the scale does not record the increase in weight because I fixed the scale at 500 pounds. If you remember the law of conservation of mass, one of the single most important laws in physics and engineering, you know that adding the fish means you are putting mass into the system, and since the scale isn't going anywhere, that means weight must also go up. Yet my campus minister and I have stumped hundreds of science and engineering students by saying over and over "the weight does not go up." We can even talk people out of the right answer by pretending that we know what we're talking about.

What to do?

Based on this, you should think about doing two things. First, seek what is true. We are very fortunate in that God has blessed us abundantly by making the Bible the most available book in the world, and there is no better place to start. It goes without saying that prayer is of critical importance also, I very firmly believe that prayer is an excellent way to communicate with God and grow in faith. If you also have an interest in the "faith and science" debate, I would also suggest taking time to sit down and rationalize for yourself how you can understand the world with both components. At this point, I would not suggest looking for canned answers from the Christian or any other community on the matter, since you do not always know the motivation of the writer. Once you have an idea and an understanding, it would be worth comparing what you've found against other's ideas. If there's a mismatch, and you're thinking of changing your ideas based on what you read, ask why. Think about it. If you think you've found a new understanding, then ask yourself what is new about it, and why. In so doing, you will not only be able to give an answer for what you believe (in this case, on the faith and science debate), but also, the answer will not be a canned answer, but an answer coming from genuine understanding.

Over time, you will be able to understand a broader and broader array of issues, something I am just beginning to experience myself, and will be able to answer more questions in increasingly difficult situations. Also, you will begin to notice (and should look for) what seem like canned responses that do not have much understanding behind them, both from Christians and from others. In the same sense, the more you understand, the more you notice that statements like "faith and science are opposed to each other," and, "religion is illogical/irrational" do not hold the same weight that they seem to now. At some point, you may even be able to recognize questionable teaching within Christianity as well, thereby helping you to grow faster, and to help others grow by pointing it out.

While this does not encompass every part of the Christian life, being able to think critically about information laid before you is very important in both identifying false teaching, and representing Christianity to others. I hope this has helped you to gain a little more understanding of the concept.

Michael