The waves of information crash, seeking to drown me. Everyone is passionate. Everyone has a different opinion. And the anger and the fear and the intensity are so strong and so overwhelming that sometimes I just want to put my fingers in my ears: I don’t care. I can’t know anything for sure so just shut up.
But disconnecting isn’t going to help the cause of Christ or humanity or my own soul.
Why do I believe what I believe? There has probably never before been a more important time to ask this question.
I am committed to finding truth. How do I discern what to read, who to trust, what to think? Here are my thoughts.
- My worldview is always, always the beginning.
Where did we come from? What is my purpose? What went wrong with the world? How can it be fixed?
I took those questions by the throat and wrestled with them for a number of years before I settled on the worldview presented in the Bible. And how I answer these big questions filters down into how I answer all of the smaller questions. But those big questions have to be answered first.
Here’s an important clarification: Using a biblical worldview to form my opinions is vastly different from cherry picking Bible verses. Individual verses can say anything you want them to say, which is crazy dangerous. It’s like giving a sheriff’s badge to a six year old. Lots of authority, absolutely no wisdom.
For example, when someone writes that 2 Corinthians 3:18 is telling Christians we shouldn’t wear masks during a pandemic, that’s, well, abhorrent. The Bible actually doesn’t say anything about masks. But it does have a lot to say about the role of government and how to love your neighbor. Connect those dots, and I can form an opinion on the matter. But that’s way different than pulling out some random verse and making it say what I want.
This means I must know the Bible. All of it, and really, really well.
- I must ruthlessly scrutinize my own bias.
The temptation to believe what I want to believe is ridiculously strong. This is a problem. I have to ask, Do I want to believe what makes me feel safe and merry and smug? Or do I really want the truth?
Do I believe this because I am simply afraid? Or because it feels lofty to be rebellious? Am so I disgusted by the messenger that I don’t want to consider the message? Or am I just too ticked off to consider an alternative?
My emotions can be so strong that they assure me that they are definitely, definitely right. When actually, my emotions don’t really give a rip about facts or evidence. So I’ve got to be ruthless with them. I’ve got to give them some space and stand back a bit and give them the evil eye. Do you really know what you are talking about? I chide. Usually they don’t.
- I must ruthlessly scrutinize my sources of information.
I’m not Catholic, but sheesh, it’s really easy to find a Pope. I might find one in a pastor, or a politician, or a particular news source. Whenever I believe whatever that person says without question, then I’ve created a Pope. It feels safe. But it’s not.
So I can also swing wildly to the other side and decide that I’m not going to trust anyone but myself. But that’s stupid, of course, because I am one person out of 7 billion so the amount of information I am able to hold is about as big as my pinky toe.
Experts matter, so we shouldn’t throw out the experts. I need them, because there’s no way I can become an expert in epidemiology or jurisprudence or biochemistry, even with my buddy Google.
But even experts have bias. So what do I look for in the experts I listen to? Humility. Hands down. Are they willing to admit when they have been wrong? Are they looking to give serious consideration to the other side? Are they eager to follow the evidence and not just what their followers want to hear? This is a big deal.
- I must be comfortable with AND.
I can believe that pesticides or vaccines have done a tremendous amount of good for the world AND I can believe that they cause harm as well. America’s Founding Fathers were capable of great good AND great evil. Technology is a blessing AND a curse.
My worldview invites me to believe the world is beautiful AND broken. I can hold these truths in tension; they can be equally true without contradiction.
This means that I recognize that many things are not black and white, but on a spectrum. Instead of saying the COVID vaccine is sent from heaven or from the pit of hell, I need to find out where I am on that spectrum. Having a conversation with someone who is on a different place on the spectrum is much more productive than having a conversation with someone who insists it is “all good” or “all bad.”
Another example: I’ve been hearing a lot of this– If you are critical of Critical Race Theory, you are a racist. If you vote Democrat, you are a baby-hating communist. But this shuts down decent discussion. When we hide behind our fortresses and hurl insults, we will never get anywhere. It leads to wars, not growth. We don’t learn, we just get angry.
There is some truth in every worldview, even the ones I disagree with. I need to look for that truth and find common ground. Otherwise, how can I ever hope to win hearts? How can I hope to contribute to a just, thoughtful society? How will I ever grow as a person?
Is it possible there is more than one right answer? For some things, yes. The Bible speaks to this (Romans 14). There is room for us to agree to disagree, learn from each other, and love each other.
- In all things, grace.
Truth has a tendency to rise to the surface. It’s not usually necessary to form an opinion immediately. There is much wisdom in listening before speaking; I can wait until I’ve heard more information. I can hold loosely to ideas that are not in direct contradiction to my worldview. I can remind myself that time and evidence have often shown me that I am wrong.
And when I do realize that I am wrong, I must have the humility to admit it. We all are works in progress. If we are to be learners, then we must recognize our frailty. May I not hold onto an idea simply because my pride won’t let me be wrong.
That doesn’t mean I stop my quest for truth, but it does mean that I have an equal quest for grace.
Interested in exploring worldview further? Read this.
Steve
Well said Amy, I enjoy your writing style as well.
Steve
emilylycklama
I LOVE this! Thank you.
Cathy
Amy, this is excellent! Thank you.
Bev Morgan
Love this. May I share?
amy.medina
absolutely! Please just make sure to include the link.
Mark
The elephant in the room is… sin.
Few in the mainstream ever mention it. Unfortunately, many churches do not mention it, either. Some say it became extinct long ago.
Each person, every one of us, from the far Left to the far Right and everywhere in between, would do well to look at himself or herself for a moment.
As we point our finger at someone else, we need to see the three fingers pointing back at our own heart. None of us is without fault. If every person (again, from both Left and Right) took a breath, stopped, repented of pride, repented of being so sure of being right, repented of the fact that our resulting behaviour was not always loving, or caring, or truly tolerant… then healing would be more likely to take place in contrast to continued division and strife. We could then live with the “and” that Amy mentions. We could move forward cooperatively, with a semblance of unity.
Hearts are hard, and some are very hard. Scripture says that an unseen evil power rules this present world, and that he simply does not want hearts to soften, or peace to prevail. No way does the Evil One want any of us to look at those other three fingers.
But, thanks be to God that he offers new hearts to those who do look at themselves, and who seek Him. Heart transplants are indeed possible.
Any hard heart needs to die and be replaced. That death has been accomplished on our behalf by Jesus, who died for us, in our place, and who in His resurrection offers a new heart. With fresh hearts, we all (from Left to Right) can move forward in the minefield of this culture, embracing a path to peace, and while not finding full peace in this life, we can walk side by side with a confident hope in a future peace, with full and everlasting peace found perhaps only in a new earth.
It occurs to me that one way to think of “sin” is as an acronym for “Seriously In Need,” with the greatest need being for a new heart.
hp7285katgmail
I did feel that this article gave me pause to realize there is always Truth when we seek it and find a common bond with everyone, Democrat or Republican. I’m praying that our politicians will seek the truth and apply it to their lawmaking for the benefit of their jurisdiction who they serve. This is not a perfect system, but we must trust the Lord to give us the means to keep in check the selfish desires that tend to err against God’s absolutes.