A Response to Greenbean (see comment on previous article

Greenbean raised an interesting point, which I'm not sure I fully grasped but what follows is my response.

I have not read Freakanomics so read a few summaries; not sure I really get it yet, guess it will have to go on my reading list. It does take me back to my days of studying sociology. I remember learning and the relearning it when doing marriage counseling , that the single most important predictor of marital success was whether your parents were happily married. Through study and experience it does seem clear to me that the most important educational unit is and always has been the family; that is the reason I always required a parent to take a confirmation course with the confirmand so they  could discuss things at home. Communities that do not value education will have poor students; parents who do not support teachers have poor students as a rule. Folk who are raised with poor ethics are more likely to be unethical or amoral. I’ve always supported nurture over nature while not ruling out genetic predilections.

What does concern me today is our nation as a whole seems to produce poor thinkers. We have more data available to us than ever before, which researchers like myself delight in, but that does not mean we process that information well. In contrast, we seem less adept at inductive, deductive, rational, dialectical, and logical thinking. We seem more swayed by one liners and slogans rather than reasoned arguments. But that is primarily antidotal information and should be treated as such. At the same time I felt somewhat suspect of the conclusions reached Levitt and Dubner though they are most interesting. And I do believe that economics, while I tend to argue theory, is deeply driven by psychology; if we think the economy is good the economy will be good and vice versa.

Now let me make this clear, nothing you or anyone says will upset me as a minister. I’m pretty independent in my thoughts and love discussion whether I agree or not. I felt this lack of good airing a views with the purpose of discovering truth is very important. Again, to my dismay, I see little of that today but rather just like minded people reinforcing their personal views. Because of this view I must admit that I have not always been as sensitive to others feelings as I might be because discussion/argument is a method of discerning truth not personal attacks.

I also believe there is never “just one thing” that creates conditions such as crime rate or whatever. There are many intricacies involved and we have a tendency towards reductionism just to try and understand things. Though I do believe there are general principles we discover.

For myself, my lens has been a theological lens for understanding and interpreting the world. That lens includes a belief that there is a kind and unconditionally loving God is who is passionate about our world and especially us in a way that supersedes human understanding. More specifically it is a lens reflected in reformed theology, particularly of thought of John Calvin (who I believe most people misinterpret.)

As to solutions and think there are many, but at root of them is for us to have a great sense of unity and connectedness, and that all problems are our problems and need all our insights to work on solving them. I much prefer synergistic processes rather than competitive or antagonistic processes and believe they are far more effective. But we live in a world that seems oriented more towards competition and seeing each other as enemies or friends rather than just part of the human family.

I am hopeful that the MoveOn movement gathers strength and other groundroot organizations will empower folk to take more responsibilities and action to solving today’s issues.

I remain countercultural as my writings reflect and the model I see Jesus reflecting in his teachings. I think it is also seen in the teaching of the leaders of most major religions and philosophies. I see the Christian, the humanist, the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Taoist, and so on as kindred spirits holding parts of truths we need to share.

I think I went way beyond the scope your question, but that seems the way I do things. I hope I understood a bit of what you were saying.

I guess I still expect divine intervention in human affairs, guiding us on paths that do not self destruct. Therein lies my optimism.