Powers of reason
Your correspondent Mr Ken Bridgman (“Still flummoxed”, Opinion, November 22) is looking in the Bible for answers, and once again it should be pointed out that holy scripture needs to be studied with care and discrimination.
Jesus often spoke in parables, and in Matthew chapter 13, for example, he explained some of his parables to his disciples in private. He guided them to look below the surface and learn.
The Bible contains many paradoxes, which could be taken as inconsistent.
Unfortunately, a large number of church-goers are taught to believe everything that is in the Bible quite literally, and that it is wrong to use reason.
But ‘reason’ is given to us to use, as is our ‘will’.
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So by pondering and reasoning, the paradoxes can be unlocked and understood.
If one has been told from childhood through into adulthood that it is dangerous to think, it takes courage to employ one’s reasoning powers. I sympathise with anyone in that predicament.
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Thirty years ago I made the ‘leap’ myself. It opened exciting doors for me and insights which give much joy.
Miriam Brown
Sidmouth
