Some Healthy Ignorance

I like things that make us question our own sense of superiority. Things like mysteries and challenges to the commonly accepted societal beliefs are enjoyable to me. No, I do not believe in "aliens" from other planets (at least not the sentient kind), but it is fun to think that without the Church making an authoritative statement, we are left without a clear conclusion on something.

There are so many things in this category I do not have room to list them. Think of Bigfoot, time travel, aliens, and geocentricity. It is easy for us just to dismiss each of these things as science fiction and the superstitions of the unlearned, and then someone comes along and points out a piece of evidence to make us think that it is not as clear as we used to think. In one way, I hope and pray that we never figure out if the Loch Ness monster really exists (or the chupacabra, etc.); that way we can be left uncertain.

One of my favorites is ancient technology. There are actually quite a few details to point out that people thousands of years ago had a technology far advanced from what has been recorded in history -- no this is not some made up tale, there are numerous books that lay it out clearly (but they are ignored by college professors and the popular media). It is not a matter of whether we believe these things or not (in one sense, it does not really matter). It is more a matter of having something to keep you humble.

In this "scientific age" that we live in (which is actually very un-scientific!) the temptation to being prideful about our knowledge is overwhelming. We have amassed so much knowledge that we begin to believe our own imaginations that we know more than anyone else. We need things that keep us humble. We need things that tell us that we do not know everything. We need to be told that much of what we consider to be solid fact (outside of dogmatic revelation, of course!) may very well be overturned in a decade.

This is good for our souls. It is a healthy thing for us to be happy for what we know, and at the same time submit all of it to the Lord for His examination. "Lord Jesus, we have discovered this, if it is actually correct, help us to see it; if it is wrong, help us to reject it". How many people with a Ph.D. (in anything) ever say something like that? It would do us well to learn to make that attitude a part of our daily self-examination. Remember, the Lord promises to humble those who exalt themselves, and exalt those who humble themselves.