Captain Heimlich ....

"You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing." Isaiah 42:20 "
I'd forgotten this until looking through my ipod, but I doubt the person I performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on will. If WBC allows people who are 'without thinking theologically' to be commissioned 'without thinking theologically', TSA in the UK has more than a few problems. There are people who approach theological thinking in the same way that Kenny approached his baked potato. For some unfathomable reason people do God the discourtesy of forgetting to chew. Forgetting that they have been created with a brain to think, they swallow down whole chunks and then wonder why they start to choke on what Robert Jay Lifton calls thought terminating cliches.

What is amazing is that for some they'd rather continue going red in the face, blue even puce. Morisy quotes Gwend Griffith-Dickson as a possible reason.
High levels of emotion tend to knock out a persons, especially a young persons, critical faculties. With high levels of emotional arousal it becomes difficult for people to 'process', ie to hear without reacting, information that counters their perception.pp 47
For others they catch your eye and between gasps communicate they need help. A quick heave ho and it's time to revisit what should've been chewed on in the first place!!

The kingdom of God and its values is worthy of thinking rather than a thoughtless approach. The Bereans in Acts 17:11 are known for their thinking and openness.

"And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth."

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Gordon, It is all too true to say that far too many are not interested in thinking theologically. Seems they preferr to leave it in the too hard basket and wonder why they are biblically and theologically illiterate and incompetent. May be this year new batch of cadets will be different. Wayne
1:43 AM
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