Another lingering reflection, this time following up a bit on my Change Your Mind post earlier this week:
It seems that one of the more significant influences in the change-your-mind issue is religion. We often feel a sense that because of something in this domain, changing your mind is a bad thing. Holding on to something, under the premise of truth, is idealized.
But numerous passages in the Christian New Testament Scriptures seem to describe something quite like the necessity of changing your mind. Some have even noted that changing your mind is at the base of repentance; in other words, if your don't change your mind your mind you can't repent. The emphasis with repentance often focuses on behavior changes. But, what drives behavior changes? How you think about things.
Several examples come to mind, including the parable of the rich young ruler; Peter's vision with Cornelius; Jesus' admonition to Nicodemus — "You must be born...again"; passage after passage where Jesus says something like — "It has been said...but, I say...". And, then, there is the whole context for the his parable about new and old wineskins.
Changing our minds is hard, often even painful. It pulls on the tension between holding on to things (especially ideas) and letting go of them. It is reinforced by our desire for control, predictability, certainty.
And, these kinds of things often end up at odds with something like...faith. — trusting in something, especially in the context of the many tensions we feel in life. What am I trusting in? What I believe in or Who I believe in? Sometimes, often surprisingly, that can be a big difference.
Finish here....
