Good and not-so-good skepticism…
Sep 25th, 2009 by ljkim
God has no problem with skepticism. Even the oldest Scriptures say that people ought to be skeptical about “prophets”… And doubting Thomas the disciple, far from being chastised, was given what he needed to believe and as a result of his skepticism helped set the record straight for many other skeptics. So skepticism can be good. However…
Skepticism can also be not-so-good. There are radical skeptics who don’t think there’s enough evidence for the Holocaust. There are also more mainstream skeptics who think global warming is a myth, and that trying to do anything about it is the worst thing a country could do. There are seemingly rational people who disbelieve anything the mainstream news media says about the president, where he was born, about the future of death panels and health care, etc. The funny thing about skepticism, is that if you’re just skeptical enough, you can also be skeptical about the evidence presented to refute your skepticism! It’s all part of a conspiracy!! And in the (twisted) logic of radical skepticism this is quite sound.
Anyone who could think it through might begin to suspect that if one were to apply this radical skepticism to every part of life – you couldn’t be sure of anything, really. That this skepticism is often selective toward the things that one has other reasons to not-want to accept. Skeptics are prone to be skeptical about opposing points of view, but not one’s own. Radical skeptics are never radically skeptical about their own skepticism…
There is a sense power that comes from saying “I just don’t believe it.” “You haven’t proved anything to me.” It puts the skeptic in the judge’s seat, however humbly, and makes every contrary argument beg for a hearing while claiming a sort of open mindedness. It puts all the burden of proof on the opposing viewpoint and none on the skeptic…
But Jesus says rightly, that those who truly seek will find… And in our time, anyone who honestly wanted to know about the Holocaust, or Global warming, or where the President was born… or about God – can know… Because the truth is out there if you want it…
On the other hand, I come across many many skeptics who can’t find the time to discuss Scripture, or come to church, or read and discuss a book, or get the courage to ask a question during Q&A – to which I’d have to ask: are you really searching?
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