Open Minds
“A comprehensive world view (or worldview) is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and ethics.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldview)
Recently I’ve noticed an influx of specific thought patterns in society. Perhaps the patterns have always been there and I have been the one ignorant (blissfully) of their presence, but it’s all I can do to shake my head at the irony. In full disclosure, I am a generally conservative Christian, and a literalistic Bible believing one at that, which many people misinterpret but I will explain later in this post. I’m not a Republican, and I believe that world views encompass more than political beliefs, so my political beliefs have nothing to do with this article. The people I have most interaction with are from the northeastern United States…an area rife with arrogance. ;) So some statements may not be true of America in general.
Before I begin, let’s go back a decade. We see the begin of what’s been labeled the “Neo-modern” generation and a sharp uprise in the belief in relativism, with truth based on experience instead of truth guiding our perception of experience. Our country is still coming to terms with the concept of accepting other world views, and perhaps always will be so long as absolutists (myself included) exist. The relativistic “agenda” if you will began with calling all people that were unwilling to accept the possible validity of other world views as “closed minded”, and deservedly so. There is indeed a difference between disregarding a person and what they believe because it is different than yours, and having tested what they believe and coming to the conclusion that they are wrong…I tend to fall into the second category. Believing that someone is wrong but still accepting them as having their own opinion is the key to the difference. To instantly consider the other person incapable of holding an intelligent opinion or to not consider their opinion as a possibility is to be closed minded.
There are many people that fall under the umbrella of my religion that are unwilling to accept any idea outside of their own believe patterns as “ridiculous”, even if from a credible theological source. Testing the new idea and considering it incorrect, or even unfitting to what you know as true is different than blindly disregarding every opinion that doesn’t sit well with you. A decade ago, these people were labeled as “closed minded”, and disregarded as having valid opinions by those who favor relativism. Frankly I don’t care much that those people have been labeled as such; I’ve never been one to disregard opinions without evidence. The result of it though does trouble me.
Fast forward to today. The group of people labeled closed minded ten years ago are now called “right wing extremists”. In an interesting turn of events, somehow politics has taken the place of world view, and all people holding a certain political belief are thought to think the same way. Therefore, all conservatives who are also bible believing Christians are written off as people who know nothing about, nor care about, science or finding truth beyond their religion, also but a single part of a whole world view. The hubris of society has disregarded all people who don’t share their belief system instantly, and without evidence. Sound familiar? It should, the same instant disregard of an entire people group based on certain beliefs are what right wing extremists got called closed minded for in the first place.
The closed mindedness this time has been done in the name of science. If something from religion can not be scientifically proven, it is disregarded as false. Extra-biblical beliefs such as “intelligent design” have done nothing to help this matter as they try to bridge the gap between science and religion in a way that simply doesn’t work, and is easy to attack from a scientific perspective. The message of creation from a religious context has been disregarded in the same way that intelligent design has in general thought, despite their vast dissimilarities. The same measure has been used against the Bible as a whole, claiming that as a document it doesn’t hold scientific weight. Let’s pause on that for a moment…a historical document, more written about and supported than any other document in the world, is disregarded on the basis that it can’t be completely proven with a scientific test. I venture to say that no historical document could, as you don’t measure them by their testability…instead, their reliability and number of accounts. One does not have to “prove” that George Washington existed, it is accepted on the accounts of hundreds of writers and people from that time period that have verified that he did indeed exist, and was the first president of our nation. To require a scientific test of that fact, beyond a historical finding of witness accounts from documents at the time, is ignorant of science at best. Thankfully it’s more “fanboys” than “scientists” that make those claims.
The disturbing part of all of this to me is the response of both sides, and those of us stuck in the middle. In my own belief system, there is room for both science and religion in their own ways. Sure, there are debates about macro evolution, and the story of the beginning of time that rage on in society, but I have enough evidence to support my own beliefs, for creation to receive at least as much credence as the massive improbability that exists in the belief system of evolution. But society doesn’t see it that way…instead, for being a Christian, I am disregarded as incapable of intelligent scientific thought. I am expected to be a conservative republican with absolute views on everything, which I find offensive. My beliefs on economics, politics, religion, theology, faith, sociology, ethics, philosophy, science, and psychology are all expected to fall in line with those of a common religion…just one of many facets to a world view. The common denominator of society has become closed minded to alternative beliefs, so long as any of your belief systems falls in line with those that they’ve formed a prejudice against.
But I suppose that’s just it…we are a nation founded on prejudice and the struggle of it, from slavery to ideas on possession of firearms. Few are willing to listen to the other side, or consider that they might just be wrong. Few are willing to compromise, even if just accepting that the other person is entitled to their own opinion despite the possibility that they are wrong…or that you are wrong. Instead of tolerance being the idea of living in peace with others and respecting the possibility of their views (despite your own prejudice), it has become a mantra of those seeking a singular world view on topics to be shared by all, the case most often cited of ethics. Ultimately, closed mindedness.
I consider that I might be wrong…on many ideas, and many fronts of my own world view. For you to be absolutist that I am wrong on all of them based on one of them, I consider you to be absolutely wrong. Humbleness has become a rare virtue, and one not nearly respected enough…
