Thinking Hurts

Let’s face it, thinking is painful! It’s inconvenient, time-consuming and just plain hard. Finding time is a chore, doing it is hard, and conclusions can make us uncomfortable.

Time

Critical Thinking takes time–lots of it. It takes your undivided attention. It is not possible to think through a problem while doing other tasks, no matter how mundane or simple the task.

Don’t believe me? Try this, get out an old high school math book and try a word problem. Most do not involve any special formulas, all it requires is thinking through the problem and using basic algebra. Simple word problems is one of the best ways to increase critical thinking. Even in advanced math you still have to do word problems.

As a matter of fact, try this problem:

Forty per cent of the number of beavers is 9 greater than the number of skunks. If the ratio of beavers to skunks is 3 to 1, how many beavers and how many skunks are there?

Easy right. 

Now, try this problem, but turn on the radio to some talk show and when you finish the problem write a brief synopsis of what the radio host said. 

The number of greens exceeded the sum of the reds and the blues by nine. The sum of the blues and greens exceeded 4 times the number of reds by 1. How many of each kind were there if there were 2 more reds than blues?

This is much harder. If you were able to do it at all it is only because these is a very simple question. It is impossible to develop a deep theology or reaction to a cultural phenomenon while distracted. You must give it quality time.

Work

Critical Thinking takes work–hard work. The above examples proved that. It took some effort to complete those problems. Thinking about life takes even more effort. It hurts. Everyone is lazy. It takes discipline and self-control to willingly work hard on abstract ideas. It is easier to mow the lawn than to sit down for 20 minutes or an hour to work out the morality of an issue.

There have been many times, I have seen an issue and thought about writing on it and deferred because, “That would take too much, and I’m too tired. It’s too much work.” If you don’t believe thinking is hard. Take the next ten days and write a one page essay on a moral issue ever day, and you will see how hard it is.

Inconvenience

Critical Thinking is inconvenient. Not only does it take time and work, but when you are done you often find that you have to change your views or lifestyle. You find that you have been incorrect in doctrine, or in practice, or you find people close to you are in error and need to be corrected. This is inconvenient. Correcting yourself or others is never a pleasant process, but a necessary one.

Silas Marner

 George Elliot wrote this book in 1861.  George Elliot is actually the pen name for Mary Anne Evans, but she will be referred to as George Elliot. See the books page for a brief overview of the plot if you are not familiar with this book. 

Silas Marner has two important themes as well as two plots. The first and main theme is that of love for the wrong things. The second is sin will always be punished. These two themes are shown throughout the book in the two coincidental plots.

Theme 2

This theme is less important, so I will address it first. The second theme is that your sins will find you out. George Elliot shows this in a multitude of ways throughout the book, but the three most important ones concern Dunstan (Godfrey’s brother), the church that wrongly excommunicated Silas, and Godfrey himself.

Dunstan is punished for stealing Silas’s gold by drowning. Silas’s church is also punished in similar manner. It is demolished and a factory is built in its place. This poetic justice overturns its injustice. 

On the other side, Godfrey finds forgiveness from his sins. He had gone into a secret marriage and despised his wife. He was courting another woman when his wife died of a drug overdose with his daughter in her arms. Instead of being downcast he was elated. However, he is haunted by his sins and secretly supports Silas who has become his daughter’s father. He also confesses to his wife and tries to adopt his daughter.

The moral of this theme is your sins will find you out.

Theme 1

This is the main theme of Silas Marner and the most controversial for the Christian. The theme is misplaced and appropriate love. The theme itself is not controversial, but what the author considers misplaced and appropriate is. 

George Elliot demonstrates this theme by stripping Silas of every form of misplaced and replacing it with a new love. This happens again and again until Silas reaches a pure, worthy love.

This theme is appropriate in one situation–when Silas is forced to forsake his love of gold and finds love for a child. However, when the full context of the book is taken into account, the theme becomes antithetical to a Christian worldview. The problem is the first love Silas must forsake is the love of God! 

The church Silas was excommunicated from was likely a dissenting puritan church. These churches were for the most part doctrinally sound and practically godly. George Elliot puts the love of a child over and above a love for God. This view may be debatable except for two things. The first being the church was destroyed by the end of the book. Second, Elliot himself left such a church. A little bit of research shows that George Elliot grew up in a Christian home, held these beliefs to be true in his younger years, and abandoned them later in life. He became immoral and denied the truths of the Bible.

The moral of the story is love for people is the highest form of human love and experience.

Rules are Meant to be Broken

Everyone knows the old adage “rules are meant to be broken”. Everyone laughs, but everyone knows you are supposed follow the rules, even when it is not practical. On the other hand, everyone knows that there are times when rules should and must be broken. 

For example, when your child slices his hand to the bone, you speed. When your wife goes into labour, you speed. At war, you kill. When someone is trying to rape your wife, you kill. Everyone recognizes these choices to be morally acceptable.

Why?

But why? Why is it that the cop will never give you a ticket for speeding your injured child to the hospital? Why is it that you will not be put on death row for killing the person that is trying to kill you? Why is it ok to kill your “enemy” at war, but not your “enemy” in the neighborhood.

Because…

it is the lesser of two evils. It is not because the situation allows for a breach in ethics, but because there is a greater moral necessity to save your child or your wife or your nation. It is wrong to kill, but a greater wrong to not kill in those situations.

Albert Mohler in pages 60-61 of his book, Culture Shift, writes,

At our best, we are sinners whose sin contaminates our highest aspirations and most noble actions. As Augustine argued, the Christian soldier may kill enemy combatants as a matter of true necessity, but he can never assume that in doing so he has not sinned. Augustines’ “melancholy soldier”  knows that the use of deadly force against another human being is, generally speaking, sin. Yet he also knows that a failure or refusal to kill can at times be a sin worse both in intention and effect than a decision to kill in order to save lives. In a very real sense, that soldier cannot privilege his desire to be free from the sin of killing another human being over his responsibility to save the lives of innocents.

 So you see the moral dilemma of the thinking Christian and make no mistake it is a dilemma. Some have decided to become complete pacifists. They will not join a war nor will they defend themselves if attacked. This position should not be ridiculed, but should be considered. It shows that they are thinking through the issues. The position that should be troubling is those that do not take the time or energy to think through the issue, so they merely accept the general teaching in their community. 

I used to struggle deeply with the question of the Christian and war. The typical just war argument and using Israel as an precedent for Christian combat made me uneasy because of the clear command “thou shalt not kill”. But after thinking through the issues, I believe that the Augustinian view is correct, that killing is wrong, not killing is worse. This should cause distress for the Christian–sinning should always cause distress. This is the very reason Augustine calls him the “melancholy soldier”. 

We must remember that we are fallen man living in a fallen society where rules exist that will be broken, but as Christians we have hope. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and He is our Righteousness. Amen.

What Should Christians Do With New Media?

This is the final post in a four part series that I have unintentionally stretched over the past month. The previous posts were Intro to New Media, Usefulness of New Media, and Dangers of New Media.

What should Christians do with New Media? Do we look at the dangers and the abuses?Do we withdraw? or instead, do we look at the benefits and the potentials as well as the risk and come to a careful, thoughtful conclusion to engage?

I propose engagement. Whether you like it or not the future is on the computer. I propose thoughtful, discerning use of New Media. While it is still young and in the early stages Christians need to engage and shape the ethics and style of New Media. Christians can withdraw in fear of the potential for abuse, and there is potential for abuse. However, we need to engage other Christians and the culture in thoughtful ways and the best method for this is New Media.

But after you make the decision to engage what do you do?

We glorify God. Period. That’s it. That’s all we have to do. Struggle to glorify God just as you should do in your daily life.

How do we best glorify God with New Media?

1. Focus on Christ

The cross and the resurrection are the most precious truths for the Christian. Point to Christ in all you do. Remember that you are his bond-slave. He has purchased you with his blood.

2. Love Others

You must love those who are your friends and also those that are unkind and cruel. Do good to all people. If you say nasty things on your facebook or blog you will drive people from Christ and tarnish your testimony.

3. Love the Truth

Be passionate about the truth. Check your facts. The most frustrating thing as a reader is misinformation. If you are writing on the internet you have the ability to check your facts. Hold the truth in such esteem that you cannot bear to give wrong information.

4. Defend the Truth

If a person gives wrong information that is one thing, but if they slander someone or worse, misrepresent God then they need to be gently and humbly corrected.

5. Evangelize

New Media is possibly one of the best tools for evangelism. Through New Media you will come into contact with people who are not Christ’s servants. You will be criticized, but you need to be a bold witness for Christ and his kingdom. In both tone and in the explicit topics you cover.

In conclusion, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Dangers of New Media

This is the third post in a four post series on New Media. The two previous posts were “Introduction to New Media” and “The Usefulness of New Media”. The next post in the series is “What Should Christians do with New Media”.



There are two main perils of New Media. The first is the amount of time you give to New Media (or more likely how much time it steals from you.) The second danger is the content of what you allow into your mind.



 Time



New Media is the number one thief of time in the Western World. About three-quarters of college students spend four or more hours a week on the internet and about one-fifth spend twelve or more hours a week on the internet (source).



Spending time on the internet is not all bad. For example, the same study shows that 79 percent of college students think that the internet has improved their education. They use it for social and educational purposes to great advantage.



However, at what point do you stop? 12 hours? Is that really the best way to use your time? What about people? I realize that some of that time is being spent on social networking sites, but there is a difference between talking to someone in the flesh and over the computer.



The word that comes to mind is self-control. 



Some suggestions:

•  Limit yourself to a reasonable amount of time per week or per day and do not exceed that limit. 
• On Facebook (or other sites)- limit yourself to conversations with people, and abstain from endless customization.
• On reading- limit the time you spend reading. If that means trimming down, then read only the best and most edifying material.
• On listening-multitask. Listen while you drive or workout or clean the house.
• Remember that time is precious. You will never get it back. Use it so that you may glorify God.

Content

 

Everyone knows the dangers of pornography and careless Facebook/MySpace usage so I will not belabor the point here. There are more dangers than sex on the web. 

 

Your mind reads all things through your paradigm or worldview. This is what makes you say that one thing is wrong or repugnant and another thing is right or beautiful. What you put into your mind affects your worldview. If you do not guard it carefully, a secular mindset can invade your way of thinking.

 

The word that comes to mind is discernment.

 

Some tips:

• Get accountability. Have your parents or a peer see all that you see.
• Do not be anonymous. Anonymity allows people to say things they would never say otherwise. 
• Read and listen to Christ glorifying things.
• Study the Bible in proportion to the time spent on the internet. If you spend a half hour on the web spend an extra 15-30 minutes in devotions.

Finally some questions to ask yourself:

1. How much time do I devote to New Media?
2. Do I spend more or less time with real flesh and blood people? 
3. Am I efficient or wasteful of the time I spend using New Media?
4. Do I produce or consume any material that I would not want the person I most respect to see?
5. Do I clearly display Christ in all of my interactions?