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LEARNING FROM THOSE YOU DISAGREE WITH, TAKE 2

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Interview with the eminent philosopher, Martha Nussbaum:

Name a writer or publication you disagree with but still read.

This strikes me as the most hilarious question, given that I’m a philosopher. Philosophy is all about respectful disagreement, and learning from disagreement. No decent philosopher simply parrots some other philosopher, so there must be disagreements somewhere in every case.

I disagree less with J.S. Mill than with any other major philosopher, but I still disagree with Mill a good deal. Aristotle is insightful on some matters, not so insightful on others. As for Plato, Kant, Bentham, Sidgwick, and Rawls, my disagreements are larger, but still compatible with thinking that in some very major ways they were on the right track. I would not say that about Lord Devlin or James Fitzjames Stephen, but I still teach both, in order to learn from their arguments.

If I didn’t disagree with a philosopher it would hardly be worth engaging with him or her, because there would be nothing to learn.

The entire interview is here:

https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/4/23/15343212/9-questions-for-martha-nussbaum

LEARNING FROM THOSE YOU DISAGREE WITH

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There is an irony of sorts with the quote below.  Greg Boyd, who mentioned it on his Twitter account, is a pastor and scholar.  He holds to Open Theism, a position, I do not.  Boyd wrote a terrific book called The Myth of a Christian Nation.  I recommend it highly. 

Lesson: All of us must be careful to listen and learn from others, even when we are predisposed to write them off.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310267315/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=

“You are truly open minded when, instead of looking for what’s wrong in your opponent’s position, you’re looking for what might be right.” (Greg Boyd)

 

PROXIMITY MATTERS!

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One’s proximity to someone who struggles with whatever (depression, gluttony, etc.) makes one interact in a very different way.
 
One may still not change their overall convictions about the problem, but the problem is no longer simply a problem.  It is a person who is struggling with a problem.
Perhaps our frustration with certain problems belies the fact that we are not close enough to those who struggle with such things!
 

HITLER’S CROSS

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Hitler's Cross: How the Cross Was Used to Promote the Nazi Agenda - By: Erwin Lutzer<br />

Lutzer, the longtime pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, has made an important contribution to our understanding of Nazi Germany.

Hitler’s Cross is a troubling account of how moral decay and timidity results in disaster. And the disaster, as was the case in Nazi Germany, is usually far more reaching than we could ever imagine.

I appreciated this book very much except for the author’s desire to tie Nazi ideology to a certain view of end times. For those who don’t hold to dispensational theology, they might be tempted to write the author off, and thus would sadly miss an important book.

BEING PART OF A GROUP

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“It takes courage to stand up against your enemies. It takes more courage to stand up against your friends.”

(Peter Vardy)

Social context is huge.  It does not need to be determinative. It does seem however to be determinative many times.

I have been in and among many churches and Christian organizations. One question I’ve asked which shows the power/influence of social cohesion is: Name one person who has raised an issue of concern about their respective church, school, etc. and was that person marginalized, fired, or promoted? I get lots of silence.

Sad reality and it is the kind of thing which made Niebuhr cynical about groups, including the church. But the church can and must do better. And I know several pastors who do, so I stay sane!