Blind spots

I have always been fascinated with blind spots. We all have them, and don't notice. How amazing that our brains can figure out ways to work around them. The real and metaphorical challenge to our perception of the truth has always stuck with me.

What other blind spots do we have? Some of them are personal. People who seem to have a huge blind spot covering their interaction with others. You know the type--the person who seems incapable of picking up the signals that he/she is talking too much.

I wonder if our professions or associations sometimes come with attached blind spots. Academics are almost taught to assume that they are smarter than those without the advanced degrees. I wonder if Americans are so taught to assume their own superiority and the superiority of their institutions that the very idea that their elections might need monitoring never even dawns on them. It is in the blind spot and, though right in front of them, is invisible.

And I have been musing the issue with the church. I remember when Jimmy Swaggart was caught with the "escort," it seemed clear that he was so convinced that he was above such sins. Does the church encourage such belief? Surely the teachings of Christ caution against such arrogance. But many church people strike me as a bit smug--kind of assuming that while they are far from perfect, they are a little above non-Christians or non-church goers in the moral department.

A few conversations recently have almost confirmed this. A friend and I had a conversation last year about the connection between morality and faith. This friend argued that Christians who maintained a personal relationship with God could not help but make better decisions. Another person restated that argument just the other day. The first said that the personal relationship with God meant that a Christian would be "led" to better decisions. The second said it was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

One danger of this is that it tells Christians that they are more moral simply because they are believers. Or it tells them that if they are better Christians (better at practicing the quiet times and bible reading and prayer regimes) then they are more moral. I am afraid that for many, that simply means that they start with that assumption in mind and do not ask themselves the hard questions. Is that voice inside me the Holy Spirit or is it my own desires and beliefs?

In practice, I have seen people of faith who truly believe that the environment is not a moral question--and in fact, they are not interested in issues of poverty or social justice. People who find their own racism in the Bible, or find justification for their wealth and privilege there as well.

Don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting that Christians are more prone to bad thinking than others. In fact, they might be more moral on some things. Nor am I saying that they are more prone to self-delusion. That seems to be a very common error for all humans. But I wonder sometimes if the language of the church has failed to encourage critial thought of our own motivations, and asked followers to engage in the broader moral questions of the day--with a critical and humble mind.

Off to contemplate my own blind spots....