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Consider The Source

The information that we gain through reading (whether it is from the printed page or from a computer screen), comes into our minds through our senses. In a sense, we are all sponges, soaking up raw materials of knowledge in all our waking hours.

However, there is a problem with this process. We can be fooled on two levels. First, we can be mistaken about the sensory input we take in. We have all had the experience of being incorrect about something we “thought” was true. This happens when we fail to think correctly, as when we allow emotion to overrule reason.

Ignorance is the state of affairs wherein people believe false things to be true. Ignorance is a result of being incorrect about the facts associated with a matter coupled with faulty thinking. It is the partnership of factual error and absence of logic (cf. Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:18-27) .

In avoiding ignorance, we need to be certain about the raw material of knowledge that we take in. This ranges from things like the carpenter’s simple but profound rule of “measure twice, cut once” to understanding the perspective of the folks that teach us, give us the news and preach to us.

Let’s consider the classroom. If we were studying history in college, we would want to know where our teacher is coming from. For example, if he is a Marxist historian who believes in economic determinism, we want to know that. We can still learn from such a person, but we need to know how that particular teacher looks at the world.

It’s the same with watching television news. What are the preconceived notions of the speaker or writer? We cannot properly process the information they provide without knowing if perhaps there is an agenda at work. We need to instruct our students to ask this key question: “Where is the writer, speaker, teacher, or preacher coming from?” In other words, we need to consider the source of the information presented.

Many folks fail to apply good old common sense, and as a result, become dupes of those who set out to practice deception. These principles have application in all manner of public discourse, including the classroom, politics and the media.

Nowhere is this principle more important than in religion. In the Bible, God has provided all we need in order to know His truth about our spiritual lives (John 17:17;  2 Peter 1:3). The Bible is the only repository of revealed, specific, and absolute truth about how to live a life of faith (Romans 10:17).

God teaches us how to think in two ways. First, the world around us is testimony to rational process. Things work a specific way. Gravity is what it is, not whatever somebody wants it to be. That’s the way thought is to be, logical and rational. Second, He provided in the Bible examples of people thinking as He wants us to think. Romans 1:18-32 is a perfect example of God using His creation and the biblical text to show us how to correctly think.

When we think about our spiritual life, let us remember to examine both the source of the information we are thinking about, and how we are thinking about it (Romans 12:2; Acts 17:11). Are we getting our information from a televangelist, who is also asking for our money, or are we receiving our information from a careful contextual study of the Bible?

Dear reader, the source from which we get our spiritual information does makes a difference. Are we thinking only with our emotions, or with our mind? How we think does make a tremendous difference in how we perceive information. And what difference does that make? It is simply the difference between right and wrong according to the standard of God’s word (John 17:17; cf. Psalm 119:142; Psalm 119:151; Psalm 119:172).

Regarding spiritual matters, let’s seriously consider the source of our information and think about it very carefully (John 8:32; John 12:48; John 17:17 cf. Ephesians 5:11-17 ASV; Ephesians 3:1-4 ASV). It could very well mean the difference between eternal life and eternal damnation (Matthew 25:31-46).

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• Is The Bible Really The Word Of God?
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