When extreme positions seem eminently sensible
I once witnessed a conversation that went like this :
A. There are so many true stories in the world we decided not to expose our children to anything fictional or made-up.
B. So do you think that Jesus knew the sower who went out to sow, and the name of the prodigal son?
Jesus made up stories. The Bible has lots of made-up stories. We can usually tell fact from fiction, though sometimes one does need to ask, "Is this a true story?"
I mention this in connection with two things :
Firstly, the whole discussion of Santa Claus, Narnia, trees, etc...
Secondly, to point out that nobody who belongs to a crazy extreme sect says to themselves "Here I am in this crazy extreme sect." From the inside the sect seems logical and the rest of the world seems crazy.
And here's the scary thing. There's a spectrum. Sometimes groups of people go nuts to a greater or lesser degree, but the people inside the group can't tell...
A. There are so many true stories in the world we decided not to expose our children to anything fictional or made-up.
B. So do you think that Jesus knew the sower who went out to sow, and the name of the prodigal son?
Jesus made up stories. The Bible has lots of made-up stories. We can usually tell fact from fiction, though sometimes one does need to ask, "Is this a true story?"
I mention this in connection with two things :
Firstly, the whole discussion of Santa Claus, Narnia, trees, etc...
Secondly, to point out that nobody who belongs to a crazy extreme sect says to themselves "Here I am in this crazy extreme sect." From the inside the sect seems logical and the rest of the world seems crazy.
And here's the scary thing. There's a spectrum. Sometimes groups of people go nuts to a greater or lesser degree, but the people inside the group can't tell...
Comments
Is that a question or a statement?
And by "telling your children stories", do you mean reading them stories or telling them lies, and would you make any difference between these two things ?