If you don't want to know, why ask the question?

Tweet

People see the clerical collar on me, and they ask me questions. Sometimes they really want to know something, and sometimes they want to argue or prove me wrong about something they think I believe. What is interesting to me is the assumptions people make-in some weird day, Biblical studies seem to be a large subject that some just assume they know a great deal about, and they think that others who have formal education in that know nothing. Sometimes I think people need a reality check-the Bible has been around for a long time-there are things we don't know about it-and to assume that it is shining like a new light on our eyes alone and our interpretation is correct and no one else even things about it is... Well, it's insane. Really, it is delusional and narcissistic. To be sure, there are times when people can be wrong-as I stated over and over again, there are things we do not know, and many assumptions we sometimes have, both about religious and non religious subjects, are sometimes mistaken. Even great, mainline and accredited scholars can at times cross the line into...well, let's say, wackyness...or let's say that sometimes really smart people can make really stupid statements. But if one is going to ask the question, sometimes my immediate thought is do you really want to know? If you do I can point you in the direction of Historical commentary, scholarship, and it will be indepth and accredited...but the simple truth is, a lot of the time, people just don't want to know because in their minds that is it and how it is. Sometimes this doesn't affect a person's life that much, but if part of a person's life work is to prove everyone else wrong...well...then they may have wasted a bulk of their time arguing an assertion which is simply erroneous when in fact they could have perhaps spent it doing something that would have benefited themselves a little more...or at least caused them some stress. At the end of the day, the choice is theirs to make or not...but they can't really be surprised when others don't take their assertion seriously or claim that others are wrong for not accepting their claims about God or that because they disagree with them they are ignorant. This could be applied to any facet of life, and frankly, deals with emotional maturity and humility, and in any subject.