No, it’s not a typo in the title. Lately I have been wondering if we have lost the right to question things. When ideas are questioned anymore, people are frequently defensive and almost violent in their responses.
We could be talking about politics, faith, rocks, art, music or wildflowers. The subject matter doesn’t seem to matter. I cannot help but feel that somehow a person’s desire to question has itself been called into question. I’m not sure how else to express it, but I know I’ve felt it.
What is it that causes violent verbal reaction to the most honest inquiries? Have you ever curiously pondered something aloud only to be immediately attacked? I am trying to get the bottom of this way of thinking.
It’s like people don’t want us thinking. They don’t want us challenging the way things are going, or what someone said about a particular subject, or the way leaders represent themselves in public, or anything anywhere.
Here’s a twist, though: if it is popular to question a certain something, then it is OK. I see this at work in particular with current political thought and religious expression. My wife and I were talking last night about the polarized parties in the American government. Everything is extreme.
— If you don’t support abortion, you’re right wing bible bashing fundamentalist.
— If you support welfare to some extent, you’re a psycho lefty liberal who secretly wants to oppress minorities.
— If you admit to doubts about God, you’re a back-sliding, struggling believer (or are you?)
— If you call culture into question, or probe deeper on an issue, people take their ball and go home, or resort to name-calling
We seem to be questioning questioning. It’s fashionable, even "intellectual." Why are we so strongly opposed to the questioning these days? I thought it used to be a virtue to seek the truth, to weed out the bad thinking from the good. What do you think? Or am I out of line to even ask? 🙂
I’ve wondered the same thing. I’ve never been afraid to question anything–it’s how I learn. It’s how I get to know people. It’s how I make decisions. It’s just how I operate. Sometime, maybe even most times, I never ask the question out loud I just begin to seek the answer. I used to think that that was how everybody ‘did it.’ … But not anymore. I am shocked and dismayed at how little questioning is going on in our society.
Thomas Jefferson said it well, “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear. ”
God gave us a brain and the ability to reason and think. I believe he expects us to do it.
V,
I think that more and more people don’t want to offend others with their ideas for fear of social rejection. Rejection isn’t a great feeling especially if I get my self-worth from what others think about me. I’m guilty of this. What is also lacking is an interest in working to back up what we believe or stand for. Very few of us (myself included) will take time to work on apologetics (defense of the faith). If I’m able to “give a reason for the hope that is within me” then that will need to be a weekly effort (I Peter 3:15). But with only 168 hours in a week, Smallville to watch, leaves to rake, politicians to support, p90x to do – who takes the time (sarcasm here).
Thanks for the reminder to not only not stop questioning but to make it a priority.
There’s a clever camera shot at the beginning of David Lynch’s movie “Blue Velvet.” I don’t recommend watching the entire film, however. It is DEEPLY disturbing and subversive. That be said, the opening shot is capturing the idyllic facade of suburbia…flowered porches, nicely accented trim on the houses, lush and greenly mainicured lawns. Then, the camera takes the viewer beneath the surface into the underbelly of the fresh sod to observe ugly maggots and worms gnawing away at the root system. The film then launches into a sadistic expose of human depravity, but the point is made well. Down beneath the surface is a bunch of wretched filth that gives us the true picture. My experience is that human nature resists “questions” because of the threat to our sense of cock-sure certainty. It’s a fine line between sincere inquiry and cynicism, but if one is “right,” one ought not be afraid of questioning. I just “lent’ forty bucks to a friend who I am certain will spend it on crack tonight. Questions? I have many. Answers? I have a few. Applications to other people’s lives…I have none. I only know that I have to obey the Lord in the simple yet challenging disciplines of my daily life. I ask God to keep me in the place of humility where I can voice my concerns and questions with a TRUE spirit of willingness to adapt as He requires. Still, I have a lot of questions.
Hey Chad,
Having grown up in church and a Christian school, it never seemed okay to question serious things. As you said, if we questioned something about if God existed or even the way God did/allowed something, we were greeted with: “if you are questioning that, you should question your salvation.” It almost feels as though others are saying, “well, obviously, my faith is better than yours.” This has made me feel pretty low at times, and even to this day, I sometimes catch myself feeling guilty about questioning something.
My wife and I are youth leaders at my church and something that we try to continually tell our kids is: “It’s not wrong to question something; it’s wrong to not seek out the answer.” We still emphasize that faith IS important, but it doesn’t mean that if we question something we don’t have faith. Seeking the answers will, in my opinion, strengthen our faith.
Ralph, I really appreciate your response. We should not be in the process of training anyone that there is a varsity and a JV Christian. The faith of a Christian is, as you say, strengthened in the discovery of truth. Sometimes it is strengthened simply through the process we take during the discovery! So many of the lessons in life that I THINK I’ll learn when I get the answers to the questions I ask, I actually end up learning during the asking/seeking.
Thanks for sharing, bro, I’m glad you stopped by and shared your thoughts!