"The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps" Proverbs 14:15
There was an article floating around Facebook this past week about how archaeologists had found the remains of an army at the Red Sea. I saw it posted by a few of my friends, but upon examination of the article it was clear that it was apart of a satirical news site. Many people were tricked into believing what this news site told them. It's easy to guess what happened, Christians were so excited about prospect of there being more evidence to biblical accounts that without a second thought they quickly shared the news site. If they had taken a few extra moments to verify, then they would have been spared the embarrassment of thinking a false site was speaking truth. It happens to us all, and perhaps more than we care to admit, and it is easy to do with the amount of information and the ease and speed one can communicate their thoughts. It takes roughly 5 seconds to share an article(depending on your internet connection of course) and have your thoughts known for all the cyber world to see. The one problem that I see with this, is that it has created an environment that produces more emotionally charged responses rather well reasoned conversations. People see something and post a reactions without taking the time to really think about what they are saying and or what are they really responding to. May times people can be responding to the emotion they felt while reading or watching something, rather than the content of whatever they read or consumed. Let me give you an example in my own life. When I read about the shooting that took place in Oregon, I was upset. I was upset about the loss of life, I was upset because the killer targeted Christians, and I was upset because I knew all the various ways this story would try to spun. If I had written something then and there it would not have been helpful to the situation. To be honest I at first wanted to blame those who constantly bash Christianity and accuse them of creating an anti-Christian atmosphere in which this killer was cultivated. Thankfully I stopped and did some more research, and learned more about the killer. I learned that there might have been some mental problems there, and there was a deep longing to be known, or famous. I am feel more confident to give much more reasoned response to this then my first emotional reaction. Another example would be the situation with Kim Davis. So many people responding out of emotion either for or against her, and/or her actions rather than taking the time to truly think about the situation. When act purely on our emotions we are no longer thinking critically, and so we become vulnerable to all kinds of deceit. This has long been a problem in Christianity which is why it is possible to have so many false teachers in the faith. Their words fill us with emotion and sound so good, but if we were to really consider what is being said and how it fairs against God's word, we would find these false teachers wanting. It is important that believers follow the wisdom in this proverb and give thought to their steps, not simply reacting to what happens around them. This is also true when it comes to internet sources which lead me to another issue for many today. Many people have a lack of discernment when it comes to sources. For example, most college students ca tell you that Wikipedia is not a reliable source in terms of papers. The reason being is that at least of time of this post it can be edited by anyone. With the internet, some time, and a little knowledge of to write, one can make complete nonsense sound like well researched thesis to one who does not know any better. It is important that one seeks to find balance sources from which to read from, sources that offer their view, plus an accurate presentation of an opposing view. Unfortunately many articles will only ever offer a straw man of what an opposing view thinks, and so this means one will have to read many things if they wish to be informed. This strikes right at the core of our being which wants to express our views right away, and maintain a sense of righteous indignation against our opponents, but the wise Christian holds their tongue until they can give a meaningful answer.
There was an article floating around Facebook this past week about how archaeologists had found the remains of an army at the Red Sea. I saw it posted by a few of my friends, but upon examination of the article it was clear that it was apart of a satirical news site. Many people were tricked into believing what this news site told them. It's easy to guess what happened, Christians were so excited about prospect of there being more evidence to biblical accounts that without a second thought they quickly shared the news site. If they had taken a few extra moments to verify, then they would have been spared the embarrassment of thinking a false site was speaking truth. It happens to us all, and perhaps more than we care to admit, and it is easy to do with the amount of information and the ease and speed one can communicate their thoughts. It takes roughly 5 seconds to share an article(depending on your internet connection of course) and have your thoughts known for all the cyber world to see. The one problem that I see with this, is that it has created an environment that produces more emotionally charged responses rather well reasoned conversations. People see something and post a reactions without taking the time to really think about what they are saying and or what are they really responding to. May times people can be responding to the emotion they felt while reading or watching something, rather than the content of whatever they read or consumed. Let me give you an example in my own life. When I read about the shooting that took place in Oregon, I was upset. I was upset about the loss of life, I was upset because the killer targeted Christians, and I was upset because I knew all the various ways this story would try to spun. If I had written something then and there it would not have been helpful to the situation. To be honest I at first wanted to blame those who constantly bash Christianity and accuse them of creating an anti-Christian atmosphere in which this killer was cultivated. Thankfully I stopped and did some more research, and learned more about the killer. I learned that there might have been some mental problems there, and there was a deep longing to be known, or famous. I am feel more confident to give much more reasoned response to this then my first emotional reaction. Another example would be the situation with Kim Davis. So many people responding out of emotion either for or against her, and/or her actions rather than taking the time to truly think about the situation. When act purely on our emotions we are no longer thinking critically, and so we become vulnerable to all kinds of deceit. This has long been a problem in Christianity which is why it is possible to have so many false teachers in the faith. Their words fill us with emotion and sound so good, but if we were to really consider what is being said and how it fairs against God's word, we would find these false teachers wanting. It is important that believers follow the wisdom in this proverb and give thought to their steps, not simply reacting to what happens around them. This is also true when it comes to internet sources which lead me to another issue for many today. Many people have a lack of discernment when it comes to sources. For example, most college students ca tell you that Wikipedia is not a reliable source in terms of papers. The reason being is that at least of time of this post it can be edited by anyone. With the internet, some time, and a little knowledge of to write, one can make complete nonsense sound like well researched thesis to one who does not know any better. It is important that one seeks to find balance sources from which to read from, sources that offer their view, plus an accurate presentation of an opposing view. Unfortunately many articles will only ever offer a straw man of what an opposing view thinks, and so this means one will have to read many things if they wish to be informed. This strikes right at the core of our being which wants to express our views right away, and maintain a sense of righteous indignation against our opponents, but the wise Christian holds their tongue until they can give a meaningful answer.
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