Believing Errors

Have you ever believed something and found out that it was incorrect? We all have at one time or another; mistakes are common to all mankind. When you discover that you have made a mistake, do you ever take the time to try to figure out how you made the mistake? It is an important exercise in humility and wisdom. Humility because it is humbling to deal with your own mistakes seriously; wise because you can only gain from such a practice.

When you do find out what caused the mistake (a misrepresentation, an errant resource, a lie, etc.), how do you respond if it turns out to be something you saw in a movie or online that you thought was correct but that was nothing more than a fable? I am not just talking about an urban myth, but something that is portrayed over and over and is actually completely wrong (like running and having a fight on the top of a train moving along at 60 miles per hour and not getting a scratch--virtually impossible, in case you did not know).

I am regularly amazed at how many lies people believe because they "saw it in a movie" or "it was in a video on youtube". Being willing to engage in some healthy self-examination of one's own opinions is a healthy thing. We can trust God in all things, and we can trust the Church to reveal the truth of God (even if it takes some time for it to be worked out in the present age), but we should not be so quick to trust ourselves. God is not fallen as we are, and the Church is protected from formally promulgating error; we personally do not share the same grace.

So, I do not want you to "question everything" as it is often said (by those who question everything except themselves!). Yet, I do want you to question those ideas you have that are not specifically grounded in the revelation of God. You never know, you might actually learn something to bring you closer to God!