"The problem isn't that Johnny can't read.
The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think.
The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is;
he confuses it with feeling."
Thomas Sowell
Ah, the African American intellectual Thomas Sowell has much of contemporary society pegged doesn't he?
A few years ago I watched the children's cartoon film Inside out. It supposedly dealt with the conflicting thoughts going through the mind of a young girl and her struggle to find meaning and connection. The film even showed the arena of the conflict as being her brain - inside her head. However, it struck me after a while that what was going in in there had nothing to do with thought or rationality. In fact everything depicted as a thought was actually an emotion: Joy, anger, sadness, fear or disgust.
I mentioned this to some friends and was surprised to find that they hadn't picked up on the distinction. But how much does this reflect our society's inability to separate feelings from thought? Can we discriminate between the two? Can we dislike distasteful intellectual positions - such as those currently afflicting our culture as Dr Durie pointed out in my last post - while still holding sacrosanct the value of people who may hold those positions?
It seems to me that quite a lot of us have lost this ability to discriminate. Some of my recent posts may be criticised as being to poignant, too direct in the wake of the recent suffering of our Muslim friends. However, when will be a good time to discuss these things? Additionally I have noticed over time the "power of first story". If all we are given to contemplate after the tragedy are comforting bromides regarding Islam we might start believing them. Feelings begin to take hold. In short order we may find ourselves unable - unwilling - to reason about the difficulties of Islam.
So I offer the following video from our friend The Apostate Prophet for consideration. As a Turkish Muslim raised in Germany and as someone who became quite a zealot before rejecting Islam for atheism he has a lot to offer us. He has an unusually sound grasp of Christianity compared to many atheists I've heard.
This is a useful clip for those who want to find out how many of our Muslim friends think and what Islam teaches about Jesus Christ. No, we don't worship the same God. No, we don't both love Jesus the same.
It will clear up some confusion.
And we really need that.
At least I think so.
A few years ago I watched the children's cartoon film Inside out. It supposedly dealt with the conflicting thoughts going through the mind of a young girl and her struggle to find meaning and connection. The film even showed the arena of the conflict as being her brain - inside her head. However, it struck me after a while that what was going in in there had nothing to do with thought or rationality. In fact everything depicted as a thought was actually an emotion: Joy, anger, sadness, fear or disgust.
I mentioned this to some friends and was surprised to find that they hadn't picked up on the distinction. But how much does this reflect our society's inability to separate feelings from thought? Can we discriminate between the two? Can we dislike distasteful intellectual positions - such as those currently afflicting our culture as Dr Durie pointed out in my last post - while still holding sacrosanct the value of people who may hold those positions?
It seems to me that quite a lot of us have lost this ability to discriminate. Some of my recent posts may be criticised as being to poignant, too direct in the wake of the recent suffering of our Muslim friends. However, when will be a good time to discuss these things? Additionally I have noticed over time the "power of first story". If all we are given to contemplate after the tragedy are comforting bromides regarding Islam we might start believing them. Feelings begin to take hold. In short order we may find ourselves unable - unwilling - to reason about the difficulties of Islam.
So I offer the following video from our friend The Apostate Prophet for consideration. As a Turkish Muslim raised in Germany and as someone who became quite a zealot before rejecting Islam for atheism he has a lot to offer us. He has an unusually sound grasp of Christianity compared to many atheists I've heard.
This is a useful clip for those who want to find out how many of our Muslim friends think and what Islam teaches about Jesus Christ. No, we don't worship the same God. No, we don't both love Jesus the same.
It will clear up some confusion.
And we really need that.
At least I think so.
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