Debate vs. Ridicule

Truck driving gives me a lot of time to think, but very little time to write. It really is better if I keep my hands on the wheel, and actually also if I keep my mind on what I'm doing at the time. Even so, various issues are occupying my mind, and so I will try to share them here, as I am able to make time to write.

One such topic that arose out of a "discussion" on Facebook concerning religion is the nature of debate, especially over Biblical issues. I find that debate on Facebook is rarely really debate. Statements people make are more likely to be rhetoric, wherein the writer is trying to persuade others (sometimes by blunt force trauma) as opposed to truly exploring both sides of the issue. Responses, especially disagreements, are more often ridicule rather than debate, attacking the original statement rather than presenting another side.

For me, this issue has especially shown itself when the topic has anything to do with the Bible or religion. I am conservative, and believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. To me, many comments and responses are hubris; they show signs of liberal bias against the authenticity of scripture, and often are merely acceptance of other liberals' opinions about scripture, not self-formed on the part of the commentator. Most could easily be countered by a simple personal reading of the indicated passages. I would love to detail each of the obvious errors, but I suspect that many respondents aren't really that interested in a conservative viewpoint, merely in their own rhetoric. I have been, and will probably continue to be, limited in time and access needed to discuss the issues, but even if I could sit and write all day (ah! such bliss!), it would still have to be read. I'd really rather people would spend time actually reading the Bible for themselves, but I do love to write, and if something I write makes people actually want to turn to the sources themselves, that will be fine with me.

It does take some doing to understand the Bible well. I've only got 30+ years of personal and corporate study, including at least three years (and counting) of reading the Bible cover-to-cover, plus a few seminary classes. I won't hold myself out as an expert, but I am moderately familiar with most of it. I would recommend reading it personally, rather than relying on others' opinions. It was written so we can know something about God and his relationship to us. And actually, religion is a whole different topic, which I intend to address in future posts.

Purpose

Question of the day: Why do I have to endure these problems? Why can't life just become wonderful and get better from there?

There is a company called Despair, Inc. (despair.com) that gives us a glimpse of the other side of the motivational world. Instead of shiny posters offering uplifting, energizing slogans, their posters use pictures and words to say it like it really seems to many of us most of the time. Why is there a huge motivational industry? Because failure is so prevalent, disappointment is a constant experience, and life does not seem to just want to spontaneously erupt in goodness.
I went looking for Despair again today, having remembered one of their signs. It says, "It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others." Bleak. Depressing. Definitely a call for sympathy, I think. But keep your antidepressants to yourself. I have this amazingly undying optimism (could be a virus, even), and I love to spin all things positive-at least sooner or later. So as I wallowed in the thought that my life is only a warning, it occurred to me that that means someone else might BENEFIT by my mistakes (notice I did NOT say profit; there are plenty of those, too, however). Hopefully at least my children, as long as I am honest and open with them about the mistakes I've made. Perhaps others as well.

Yeah, I'd like to have a storybook life. But I am a teacher to the core, too. I love to share things I have learned myself. So it figures that I'd end up learning lots of "lessons" myself, so that I can turn around and teach others.

One thing I have definitely learned, though, is that people will only learn if they are motivated to do so. People living good, happy, trouble-free lives probably won't learn much from me. Why bother? You only become teachable when you want to be. The thing is that change is inevitable in this life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all figure out ahead of time what lessons we will need to have learned BEFORE we need them? Heh. Doesn't work that way. We don't pursue answers until the question occurs to us. Most of us don't question things when life is going well.

I don't know if anyone will read this any time soon, or any of my future postings, for that matter. But let me offer this. I have two favorite books, and I will recommend rereading them both many times. The first is "The Phantom Tollbooth", the source of this blog's name. It is the story of a young boy who is going through the motions of life, and wondering why he is never satisfied. He is then immersed in a world that has all the "right" motions, but they are very disjointed. He helps set them right, discovering the joy of "rightness" in the process. I bought it in the third grade, and still reread it about every other year.

The second book is the Bible. I went through a reading track that had me read through the entire Bible in a year, and managed to do it three years straight. There are a lot of lessons in there that aren't necessarily relevant to life all the time, but the more you read it, the more likely it is that you will be able to recall the lessons or stories when you need them most. And reading all the way through gives a continuity that can't be attained by reading a verse here and a verse there. I'm trying to get back on track again, doing only the New Testament this year, and hopefully the whole book next year.

Two great sources to learn from others' mistakes and trials. I'll offer what I can as a poor third.