I'm totally biased.

The word "bias" has negative connotations with a lot of people.

 

But it's just a fact of life. Acknowledging our biases is an important part of spiritual awareness.  

 

I have biases... we all do... even if we like to pretend we're objective.

 

But when it comes to dealing with our biases balance is crucial.

 

Just look at the news these days.

 

Or, don't. You'll be happier if you don't watch it.

 

Seriously. Not even joking.

 

Reporters used to try to be objective. They never were, of course. Because even when you are deciding to tell a "story," or report the news, you're selecting the facts you think are most relevant. Your biases (whether you're aware of them or not) play a role in that.

 

If you're telling a story, whether you're a news reporter or just retelling a few events to friends, you decide which facts "fit" what you think the story is... and which one's don't matter...

 

For example, you might witness something you want to tell someone about. Our senses pick up thousands of data points in the process of witnessing any event. Does the smell in the room matter? What about the color of the carpet? The sweat on a person's brow? Those are details we might witness but could decided to include or exclude based on whether we think they're relevant to the story we want to tell.

 

But someone else might see the events from a different perspective. They might have a different story, a way they think the events were significant that doesn't reflect the story you told. They might fixate on the sweat on the man's brow because it fits their story, but it might be irrelevant to your version of events.

 

The point is that bias isn't a bad thing, necessarily, it's just a part of human experience. What's important is that we recognize our biases, how they serve us well, and also how they might be limiting our perspectives.

 

Bias isn't usually malicious. Though, I suppose, it can be. The danger comes when we ignore our biases and pretend our perspectives are total, objective, truth.

 

Because there are other people with other biases (that they probably aren't totally aware of either) who also think they are reporting total, objective, truth.

 

Now, I'm not saying there is no such thing as objective truth. I'm saying that we aren't (as human beings) built to consume things objectively. We are subjects and always see things from our subjective perspective. We consciously or subconsciously suppress (or minimize) from the "story" of events, or the collection of facts, whatever details don't fit into the "narrative of truth" in our minds.

 

It happens in the news. 90% of what the "talking heads" say about the "other side" is skewed... because we tend to see other people through the lens of our biases... when the "other side" is using totally different biases/presuppositions about what's good, right, valuable, true, etc...

 

Religion and spirituality isn't immune from human bias. Because anything humans are involved in necessarily comes with bias.

 

Which is another way of saying we approach everything from a perspective. That doesn't mean there aren't other equally valid perspectives that might make the same topic/issue/subject/object look very different.

 

Different perspective doesn't necessarily mean different substance. It doesn't have to be a conflict. Yes, there are some perspectives that are mutually exclusive. But a lot of times what we think are substantive differences are really just perspectival differences.

 

Be gentle as doves. Wise as serpents. (Matthew 10:16). Now, that statement (from Jesus), uses a couple metaphors that don't really work well in a modern context. In Jesus' culture the serpent was a symbol of both deceit (depending on how you were evoking the image of the serpent) but was sometimes also as a symbol of wisdom.

 

The "serpent" was sort of like how we think about owls. Snakes aren't really wise. They have reptilian brains. Neither are owls, for that matter. They're bird brains. :)

 

But the point is we shouldn't be quick to "bite" and sink our venom into people... we need to temper that with a dove-like gentleness. At the same time, we shouldn't be so "gentle" and soft that we're naive, that we don't exercise wisdom in our effort to pursue what's good, wise, and true.

 

So, for the sake of full disclosure, here are some of my biases. You might share some of them, or have very different presuppositions.

 

That's okay.

 

Because when we're aware that we're seeing something from a perspective/bias... we can step outside of that perspective and begin to consider different points of view without necessarily violating/ignoring/leaving the perspective that works for us. 

 

I grew up in the church. There was never a time when I didn't have faith. I know, some people have a different perspective on that. They think I had to make a decision at some point. I disagree, but that's just another perspective. What you might call a "decision" I'd simply call an awareness of the miracles that the Holy Spirit had been working in my heart my entire life.

 

Most of my biases come from a Protestant (more Lutheran than Calvinist) background.

 

But some of my favorite theologians (and spiritual mentors) are Catholic and Orthodox theologians. Some are evangelicals. A large portion of my Ph.D. dissertation was based on the theology of Martin Luther (the 16th Century German Reformer, not the Civil Rights activist) so his thought/theology has had an impact on mine. In fact, I have the American Edition of Luther's Works on my shelves. Right here, beside me.

 

But my dissertation also engaged the writings of Pope John Paul II in (mostly) a favorable way. These two figures (though separated by centuries) were more complimentary (in the themes I was engaging, namely their views of the human creature's origins in Genesis) than you'd think.

 

I even glean some wisdom from philosophers and (heaven forbid) pick up a little insight on occasion from people who follow different religions.

 

I don't have to subscribe to someone's entire worldview in order to appreciate truth and wisdom when I hear it... no matter who it comes from.

 

Because charity demands that we only examine/consider/evaluate other people's views from their own perspectives... 

 

... because if we force our bias onto their thoughts, ideas, etc., we aren't really examining their views.

 

That's how we build strawmen. And anyone can win a debate with a strawman.

 

You can't accurately evaluate your appearance in a fun-house mirror.

 

Your hips might not lie - but those aren't your hips in that mirror. You might have a big head... but maybe not that big.

 

That's sort of the way we often look at other people's views. As if the reflection (distorted by our biases not theirs) was true to what they represent.

 

When we are using the lens of "our biases" to look at what other people think, we're not really considering their views at all.

 

And even if we aren't distorting things grossly... we might just be examining a snap-shot. A partial perspective that doesn't represent the whole picture of someone's position/thought/views/whatever.

 

Photographs are two-dimensional. We don't always look our best in photos. Sometimes they don't capture our best angle.

 

My wife is a photographer, so I know how that works. If I take a selfie of myself I look like an ogre every time.

 

But my wife knows how to get the right angles and to capture me in the best light.

 

That's what we need to do when considering other people's perspectives. We need to gain the skills (sometimes that means asking more questions) and the charity to capture/consider their viewpoint in the best light.  

 

And we need to be stubborn about it.

 

Because it's easy to fall back into the business of building and tearing down strawmen.

 

Just imagine... how much better would our world be, how would our governments and churches function (they'd actually function) if we stubbornly put other people's views in the best rather than the worst light? 

 

 

This reminds me of the way that Martin Luther explained the "thou shall not bear false witness" commandment in his Small Catechism:

 

We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything. 

 

 

It's the Christian duty to assume the best intentions of others. To put the "best construction" on everything they say, not a "spin" that makes them look worse than they are, or distorts their positions/views/actions.  

 

And it's good advice even if you aren't a Christian. Because trust me, you'll be a lot happier when you're focusing on the best in other people rather than fixating on their flaws.

 

All of this means that there's no room for arrogance when we are discussing spiritual matters, studying the Bible or any other spiritual text, or even when having dialogue with people about social issues (or any other kind of issues, really).

 

Because one part of the equation is that we are all imperfect beings.

 

I might be wrong about anything. There isn't a human being who walks the earth today who isn't wrong on a regular basis.

 

There are people who refuse to admit it. Because a lot of people are oddly scared of being wrong.

 

But here's the thing. God doesn't care about what you think as much as you think. He cares a lot more that you're thinking about spiritual matters... that you're seeking... than that you have all your thoughts perfectly right. 

  

We need to remain pliable and teachable. That doesn't mean we let every wind blow us around like a bramble in the wind. It doesn't mean we don't have convictions. But at a certain level, even when we're confident in what we believe, we should be as willing to be proven wrong just as we hope people we disagree with might be when we're discussing our differences.

 

Not everyone we talk to will have that kind of humility. They'll dig in their heels, refusing to admit the possibility that they're wrong. But we don't have to mirror that attitude.

 

That's precisely what leads to unnecessary conflict. It's an attitude that's even started a war or twenty through the centuries. People have died because the human ego is scared to death that it might be wrong.  

 

That's how serious this is.

 

My identity isn't threatened by the possibility of being wrong. That's because my identity isn't a result of what I think. It's not based on my past-actions either.

 

You are more than your thoughts. You are more than your deeds. 

 

What's left, then, you ask?

 

My identity (and yours) is what God says about me (and you). He says we're loved... and he wants to call us His children, adopted through the merits of the Son of God who shares his divine Sonship with us.

 

That's an identity I can root myself in.

 

So I don't have to be afraid that my thinking might be askew from time to time. It doesn't change me if I discover I'm wrong. And if it does change me, FANTASTIC! Because that kind of growth is in wisdom... and we all could use a little more wisdom.

 

For the Christians here: anything I say in these e-mails (I'm not perfect) should be tested against what Scripture teaches. At the same time, I encourage you to be open-minded about your interpretations of the Bible. I've found (through the years) that dozens of interpretations I was certain I had right were totally wrong. 

 

Even after I'd spent years studying the original languages (Greek/Hebrew) I often found that some of the most basic assumptions I brought to the Bible had skewed my interpretations from the start.

 

Even after having been working with the original languages of the Bible for more than twenty years, and getting better at working in those languages all the time, I discover things I've interpreted the wrong way all the time. On an almost daily basis.  

 

Now I don't know your background. But what I do know is that if I can still be wrong after studying so long, with all the best tools at my disposal, and still be well-grounded after discovering I'm wrong... you're probably wrong about a few things, too.

 

And it's not a threat to who you are or your eternal security to admit that. 

 

That happens to all of us at some level. It doesn't matter if you know Greek/Hebrew, or what translation of the Bible you use.

 

It's okay. It's all a part of the process of learning and growing. The Scriptures come from a context far removed from our own (in terms of culture, language, and time) and also deal with subject matter that by definition transcends human understanding.

 

It makes sense that we'll get some things wrong. It's all a part of the journey.

 

The willingness to acknowledge when we're wrong is a prerequisite to Spiritual maturity and growth.  

 

It's so important that the next e-mail I send to you (tomorrow) is all about how wrong I often am... 

 

Talk to you tomorrow.

 

Blessings always,

Judah