We carry presumptions with us because of how and where we were raised, our educational training, our ethnic or religious background or any number of other cultural experiences. People assume that because we have a certain education we are an expert in that field. They assume because I have a legal education and belonged to the Virginia State Bar for over 30 years that I can handle their legal predicament, or because I was raised as a Jew, I am fluent in Hebrew, have been to Israel and can answer any question about the Old Testament.
Unfortunately, most of what I know I learned from Jeopardy or by Googling it and reading Wikipedia posts on the subject. Here at the Passion Play there are many Biblical Scholars, past or present Pastors, but very few people who have been raised in a Kosher Jewish home, so I field a lot of questions on the Old Testament and Jewish topics. As with the law questions, I have to admit that in most cases I don't remember, don't know or will get back to them later with an answer. Sometimes the answer I find from the Internet triggers a memory, but most times I have to admit that "I didn't know that" and while it may be true, it wasn't part of my upbringing.
It certainly is convenient to have a Smartphone, not have to consult an out-of-date encyclopedia, or run to a library and find the answer in a book or archived news clipping. Information is so accessible and easily verified. We always used to say that we need to learn something new every day or we haven't lived each day to the fullest. I can't believe how many things I did today that I have never done before, things I learned for the first time today and how much more comfortable I am with the life we have chosen to live and the path we are following as we get closer to the anticipated "well done" and our eternal Home. The world has changed, we have been changed and the best is still to come. No room for "I didn't know that" in that.
Sent from my iPad
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