Reflectiveness

I just started reading Daniel Taylor's book, "The Myth of Certainty". I was initially reluctant both to order it and to read it, because, quite frankly, I thought it would be a bit pedestrian. So I was pleasantly surprised after reading the first chapter to find it very intriguing. I hope the rest of the book is the same.

In the first chapter he talks about the phycology of belief: why we believe -  not as one might expect from such a book - what we believe. The other thing he talks about is what he calls the Reflective Christian.

Reflective Christians are those of us that wonder why we believe certain things, those that can see other points of view, those that think there's more than one way to skin a cat, those that probably - but not necessarily -  have a blog about such things ☺. It was good to read that chapter, because as a reflective christian you often feel like your crazy. You hear people talk and you have all these thoughts going through your head that don't agree with what everyone else is saying. You are often -  at least it feels that way - standing on the outside, looking in. Speaking of thoughts: it can also be exhausting, because your mind is constantly going, constantly analyzing the pros and cons of a particular concept or idea, constantly searching for answers. As mentioned in previous posts, it is probably why I watch too much TV sometimes; I just want something mindless to distract my brain for a bit to give it a rest. As discussed in the chapter, it's not that reflective people are more intelligent than others, it's just that some people are, and some aren't.

Why all this on the psychology of belief? Because it helps to discover that you may not be crazy. If you get out of step in a subculture you are often subtly made to feel if not crazy, then guilty, or stupid, or anything else that will pressure you back into the pack. And these feelings heighten if you assume that everyone else believes what they do for unimpeachable reasons, while your difficulties merely evidence your own weakness, recalcitrance, or bad manners. 

 Sometimes that may be the case, but often reflective people are out of step because they sense that something is not right. They may be confused themselves, but they should be listened to. God has often used those with troubled hearts to speak to their society and to call His people closer to himself.

So, whether you know yourself to be, or suspect you might be, or think you might have a bit of reflectiveness in you, this might be a good read.

I'll let you know.