Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Learning and Humility

Learning should be connected with humility. Often learning and humility are not connected.

The reality is the universe is far larger and more complected than individuals can grasp. We all rely on others' expertise everyday. Even experts have more to learn.

Ultimately in any discipline we learn we should realize our limits. It is only our pride, not our learning, that would lead us to any conclusion other than our great limitations when we learn.

If we study science the universe is far larger than we could imagine. Economics has many truly complex problems. In theology we meet the most difficult to grasp thing overall: God.

God is bigger and more complex than we could imagine. Many theologians grasp onto the humility of Jesus. Turning the other cheek and the tenderness in the man. Others grasp onto the activist Jesus who fought against evil in the world.

You see both are correct. In God we find elements which fit beautifully together, but on the surface seem antithetical.

You see as we study God we find that tenderness and severity are compatible. We find many things in God that surprise us.

It is our personhood which is lacking. We are not the complex people we think we are rather we are quite simple because our sin makes us simple.

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