Fill in the Blanks

However, even when we base beliefs on specific Biblical texts we don't all agree on what we are reading. Have you ever wondered why there are  so many religions, and so many denominations WITHIN those religions? How could this be? If we are all reading the same text, the Bible, wouldn’t we all believe the same thing? The problem is, we have a limited text. There is much that is NOT in the Bible, so we must “fill in the blanks”. 

Most “core beliefs” are based on what is NOT in the bible. Therefore, how we fill in the blanks determines some of our basic doctrines. Belief in a rapture, for example, is based upon very limited, non specific text. It is a relatively new belief that was not part of Christian theology before the 1800's.  It gained popularity in Christianity in the 1950's, and more recently with the popular "Left Behind" series.

How do "new" beliefs get started?  Through our reason and judgment we develop theories and doctrines. Then we find supporting texts that will “prove” our doctrines, and continue to build more theories based upon the ones that we have “proven”.

The more that we build on our original premise, the more of an investment we have. Yet, all of our development is based on how we filled in the blanks to begin with. Or to put it another way, we base a lot of our beliefs on what we make up.

Seeing is Believing

A few years ago on Hoshanna Raba in Jerusalem, we attended a lecture given by Rabbi Gold on this subject.  He talked about the phrase, "If I hadn't have seen it I wouldn't have believed it". And said the opposite is even more true, "If I hadn't have believed it, I wouldn't have seen it".  Our view of reality is based on our beliefs we have BEFORE discovering the facts.  Regardless of how clear the facts are, we often refuse to see reality in any other way.

 

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