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Enemy of the Truth – Inconsistent Thinking
Enemy of the Truth – Inconsistent Thinking
Inconsistent thinking is a constant enemy to the truth, one we all face. One weapon of this mental failure is the lack of information. But if truth is told, here comes another constant – we will never have all the information. So, what’s the solution? Gather enough facts to decide “beyond a shadow of a doubt” – to use legalese as an analogy. Inconsistent thinking doesn’t necessarily come from just a lack of information, but rather a lack of information to contradict a judgment we already have reached. If we only collect facts on one side, that is still a lack of information. Notice this exchange between a Jewish rabbi and an atheist:
Rabbi Izel Harif, the noted sage of Slonim, was visited by a worldly young man who fancied himself a firm atheist. “Before one can accept or reject a philosophy, be it theocratic or not, and before one can believe or disbelieve in any given subject matter, he must first be familiar with the main thesis,” the rabbi said. “Do you agree?”
“Of course,” the young cynic agreed readily.
“Then let me ask you, have you mastered the Torah?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I have mastered it. I read a little of the Bible when I was preparing for Bar Mitzvah, but that was years ago.”
And the Talmud?
“Oh, come now, Rabbi! Nobody reads the Talmud anymore!”
“Then how about our great philosophers?” Rabbi Harif persisted, his eyes glinting. “Have you studied, for example, Maimonides, Ibn Gabirol or Moses Mendelssohn?”
“I never heard of them.”
“My dear fellow,” sighed the rabbi, “you are not familiar with the Torah, you know nothing of the Talmud, and you never heard of our Jewish philosophers. Yet you have the temerity to call yourself a disbeliever. Young man, you are not an atheist you are an ignoramus.!” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Humor, pp.60 61).
While there are atheists who have “read” the Bible, we must ask this additional question – If inconsistent thinking can come from a lack of information, and a lack of information which can contradict a desired conclusion, can it also come from a lack of fairness regarding oppositional information? Yes.
Inconsistent thinking is multilayered. That’s why we must always be on the watch against this enemy that lives within our minds.
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