Think for a moment about something you believe that other intelligent, rational people would not believe. (For this exercise I chose my Christian faith.) Now think about the best arguments that others would use to show that your faith is misplaced. Do you know those arguments well enough that you could use them in a conversation so that those who hold contrary views would be convinced you clearly understood their position?
I began thinking this way back in the 80s when I had a Bible study every week in a military jail. When I would meet the prisoners, they would all confess their faith in God and Jesus Christ. However, I suspected that their faith, if it was there at all was fairly shallow. So, I would begin
to argue that their faith in Jesus was misplaced, and I began to talk about the most powerful arguments against the faith. After a couple of weeks, the soldiers were confused. They knew I was a Christian missionary, and after three or four weeks they would say something like, “You have done a great job showing us why the Christian faith cannot be trusted, yet you believe it. Tell us why?”
This led some soldiers to get honest and admit they didn’t really believe in God, but they said it because it was the right answer in jail. I told them if there was a God, He would value their honesty more than any “right answer” and they should always be honest about what they believe. Other soldiers became genuinely interested in my answers and became believers.
I did not use this technique as some kind of reverse psychology. I did it because I really wanted these young men and women to think deeper about what they believe. Too often we “know” what we believe, but do not carefully investigate alternatives. While this may leave us confident in our own beliefs, it leaves us unprepared for conversations with others who have a different opinion. It may also lead us to holding on to beliefs even when the overwhelming evidence is opposed to it. I have often asked my Christian friends to articulate the reasons that intelligent people would give for not believing in Jesus. Most feel like it is betrayal to admit that there are any rational reasons for rejecting the faith, and they reject any serious attempt to articulate why anyone else would reject the faith. I believe, deep in my bones, that Jesus rose from the dead, that He is my savior, and my best life is to understand His will for my life and DO it! However, I know there are excellent reasons why some might reject faith.
I just finished reading The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t by Julia Galef. The book
was excellent, and I learned some great tips on how to be more open to others to disagree with me. I want to be open to what others think, because on any given idea I could be wrong, and I would rather follow the truth than error. I am not a Christian no matter what. If there was convincing evidence that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, I think I could leave the faith. But so far, I have not read or heard anything convincing. Galef’s observations about how our beliefs become part of our identity, and why it feels so good to believe with certainty that we are right (even when we are not), were insightful. Toward the end of the book, she describes an ideological Turing test suggested by economist Bryan Caplan. She writes, “It is a way to determine if you really understand an ideology: Can you explain it as a believer would, convincingly enough that other people couldn’t tell the difference between you and a genuine believer?”
This is what I was trying to do back in the 80s in my prison Bible study. It is what I try to do now when I hold some political or theological view and I wonder why others don’t share my view. It turns out that when I really try and understand another’s point of view, I may change what I believe, but I usually discover that the belief I hold is not as simple as I once thought it was, and I am now forced to hold my belief with more humility.
I have been disturbed recently by friends and colleagues who know for sure they are right and are unable or unwilling to take an ideological Turing test. They are so sure they are right they will argue, scream, and change churches. This is damaging to relationships and the kingdom of God. Because most of my friends and colleagues are Christians, I am most disturbed by their unwillingness to acknowledge that on any given issue they may be wrong because the issue is complicated, and they don’t have all the information available. However, I am just as disturbed by my atheist friend who proclaims, “I’ll never change my belief.” A good atheist could be missing out on the best possible life, how would they know if they didn’t investigate the alternative?
In our current social climate, there are so many people who are certain they are right. I find it refreshing to talk to people who are willing to admit there is a lot they don’t know, who are looking to know more, and who are willing to admit they were wrong and are pursuing the truth even when it is uncomfortable. I have recently met two of these people in Cheyenne. One is our surgeon, Dr. B, and the other is our oncologist, Dr W. These two doctors have spent much of their life in school, yet they are always learning more, and they will quickly admit there is a lot they don’t know. They encouraged us to seek a second opinion, admitting that a big research center may have some better ideas than they do on how to treat the cancer we are fighting. I find their humility refreshing. I understand why it would be hard for doctors to have a humble attitude, and I have met many who seem completely devoid of any humility at all. I am sympathetic to doctors who seem to be arrogant, I don’t want to be judgmental. I imagine it would be frustrating to spend most of your life in school and then have a patient who spent an hour on google and then think they know as much as you do.
I don’t like living in a world where so many important ideas are unclear and uncertain, but that is the world I live in. I am confident that convincing myself that things are clear and certain when they are not is no way to live. My prayer for you today is that you think about some of your most important beliefs and do the ideological Turing test. You probably won’t change your mind, but you will probably be more compassionate to people who think differently–and as a bonus, you’ll be a better conversationalist.
