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“The Simplest Solution…”

Since growing up on a farm years ago, this writer has tried to maintain an attitude of “simplicity” toward life and it’s problems. I’m reminded of a news story about a woman in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who received a letter in the mail. After opening it, the woman set the letter down on the table in front of her. Suddenly, as she watched, the paper on which the letter was printed began to change color, from white to yellowish to dark brown. The woman was horrified. Was the letter treated with something dangerous that was catalyzed by contact with the air? Could it be some kind of biological or chemical weapon? By opening it, had she exposed herself and perhaps others to an act of deadly terrorism? Immediately, the woman dialed 911 and the Edmonton fire department dispatched its hazardous materials unit to the scene. The Haz-Mat team swiftly descended on the woman’s house and cordoned off the surrounding neighborhood. Chemical experts in protective suits and masks entered the house to examine the paper and determine the extent of the danger – only there wasn’t any danger. Without realizing it, the woman had spilled coffee on the table prior to opening her mail. When she rested the letter on the tabletop, she covered the coffee splatter, which quickly soaked into the paper. The color change she witnessed was nothing more than the harmless stain of an everyday beverage.

A Principle Of Logic

There is a principle of logic commonly known as “Occam’s Razor“, after William of Occam (sometimes spelled Ockham), who first defined the principle. In essence, Occam’s Razor says, “The simplest solution that satisfies all of the facts is usually correct.” Let’s apply the principle of Occam’s Razor to the situation of this poor lady in Edmonton. If one opens a letter, sets the paper down on a table, and the paper begins to change color, what could this mean? The simplest answer is, there was something on the table, and it’s now on the paper. This lady, however, did not utilize this principle. Instead, her mind leapt to an extremely unlikely possibility (?) that evildoers had impregnated her mail with a deadly chemical or biological agent as a terrorist action. Could she have been right? Certainly it was possible. We know such things have happened in the recent past. But wouldn’t it make more sense to investigate the more obvious answer first, before summoning the Haz-Mat crew?

Making Application Of The Principle In Bible Study

People often do with the Bible what this woman did with her coffee-soaked letter. Rather than accept the simplest understanding of its plain-spoken teachings, they jump to the most far-out, unreasonable conclusions. For example, When John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1), why would anyone try to argue that the Word (Jesus – John 1:14) was not God? When Jesus says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (John 15:5), why would anyone suppose He meant that the “branches” describe an elaborate network of fundamentally different denominations? When Peter says, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), why would anyone think he really meant “be baptized because you already have remission of sins”? When Jesus describes the fate of the disobedient as “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46), why would anyone think He meant they would cease to exist and not be punished eternally? When Paul writes to Christians, “You have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4), why would anyone then say, “But Christians can’t fall from grace” ? and then refer to the false teaching of “once saved, always saved”?

Conclusion

On rare occasion, a letter that changes color might constitute a terrorist attack. However, more than likely, it’s just been dropped in coffee. The simplest solution is usually the correct solution, especially with regard to the plain truths of God’s revealed word (Nehemiah 8:5-8; cf. Habakkuk 2:2).