Falsehoods

Have you ever heard this one? NASA was running their computer simulations of objects in space and, amazingly, discovered a lost day that, of all things, corresponds to the day that the sun stood still in Joshua's time.

It's a fun notion. NASA has these computers that map the locations of heavenly bodies so they know where and when to put their space ships. The idea that science finally validated a miracle is a nice one, and this one sounds so lovely that it has been repeated over and over as fact ... even though it is manifestly nonsense. No amount of math or science can trace backward to find a missing day. It's just not possible without sufficient data points, and we don't have the required data points.

How about this one? Have you heard about the time that Albert Einstein confounded the atheist professor who was proving that if evil exists, there is no God? He demonstrated that, just as cold is the absence of heat and darkness is the absence of light, evil is the absence of good and, therefore, evil does not exist and God does. How nice to have such a brilliant man on our side, eh? Of course, the story isn't true. There is no evidence anywhere that Einstein was involved in this type of brilliant maneuvering of a hapless atheist professor. It's an urban legend.

The truth is that we are often told things that aren't true. Hillary Clinton, for instance, was told that she was named for Sir Edmund Hillary. Of course, that's not possible, since she was born 6 years before anyone had ever heard of Sir Edmund Hillary. Still, that's what Senator Clinton was told, and that was what she believed for a long time. We are all told things that aren't true and we all believe things that aren't true. The trick of it is 1) recognizing the possibility that something we believe may be false, and 2) figuring out when that is the case.

Have you considered the possibility that you might have some false beliefs? I have. In fact, the beliefs of which I am most sure are the ones that fought their way into my life tooth and nail. Some things I hold dear came to me contrary to my own positions. I defended my beliefs against them. I pushed them away. I went to war. Eventually, the sheer bulk of evidence and logic overwhelmed me and I was forced to surrender to a truth I hadn't expected. You see, those are the most sure to me because, well, I didn't want them. Today, of course, those are some of the most blessed beliefs I hold, offering me the most comfort and solace and strength. Do you hold false beliefs? Do you look for them? Do you expect them? Do you know how to recognize them? Or will you hold to them regardless? Something to think about ...