Osler's Razor

Life has a way of humbling us. Some of the things I was most certain of turned out not to be true, of course. And along the way, I found that I had told people things with utter certainty that were not certain at all. For example, I was an absolutist during the Reagan era. I believed, and told people, that everything Reagan did was destructive and from bad intent. I was wrong about that. Would I vote for him now? Probably not. But I do see that he was smarter than people gave him credit for and that while he took advantage of things like racism for political advantage, he also made some choices that turned out to be wise-- like choosing a moderate woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, for the Supreme Court.

The picture above is taken from just above a hidden window in my parents' house. It nearly always has a curtain over it, as shown here. I remember thinking that this is the way we see the world God created: as through a glass, darkly, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians. 

Giving up the idea of mastery of everything has been a good thing. That intellectual humility has made me a better listener, a better scholar, and a better person (though I am still prone to getting pretty judgmental about things sometimes). 

About that window, too...

Notice that it does not let us see and understand everything on the other side. Yet, at the same time, it diffuses but doesn't block the light coming in-- that beam is strong and real and comforting. We don't have to act like we are God to know that there is a God. The first premise of what I know is this: There is a God, and it isn't me.

# posted by Mark Osler @ 1:00 AM