Lie #17 – We Understand Everything

from Helena Sorensen Aman:

Lie #17: “We understand everything.”

I learned in church that because Christians understand the Gospel (Let’s be honest. That’s already an overstatement.), Christians understand everything. Conversely, people who are not Christian don’t understand anything. At the very least, their failure to adopt a Christian worldview means their knowledge, experience, and insight are tainted. One manifestation of this thinking is the compulsion to make everything Christian. Neuroscience cannot be neuroscience; folk wisdom cannot be folk wisdom. If we recognize that it’s true, it has to be Christian, with accompanying Christian terminology and supporting Bible verses. To admit otherwise would be a confession that non-Christians know something we don’t, and that will not stand. It creates an obnoxious, grabby sort of faith that insists on claiming everything as its own. Another manifestation is the drive to support only Christian businesses and organizations. We want our books and movies to be Christian, but also our T-shirts and toenail polish. There’s a strange sense that we might be better off if we insulated ourselves entirely, ignoring all differing perspectives and removing all external influences. We are more afraid of what’s “out there” than we are of the very real possibility that the crazy in here might grow unchecked. This lie is also demonstrated by the urge to put quick, definitive labels on people so we know *before listening to what they have to say* whether they are trustworthy or not. People aren’t people. They’re messages, ideologies. Threats. Which brings us back to Lie #7 (“Fear is foundational.”) and Lie #4 (“Talking beats listening.”), and links directly to Lie #18…