The title of this series of articles is “eye openers” — things that are hidden until one’s “eyes” are opened to them. Once the eyes are opened, the truth becomes clear and we may have a paradigm shift. While “paradigm” is not a new word to the English language, until recently it has mainly been used in academic circles. Currently it is receiving more frequent use in everyday speech to describe one’s overall view of a subject into which one integrates new pieces of information.
Paradigms don’t affect the facts, just how we understand the facts. If our paradigm, or overall view, in a given area is incorrect, we often misinterpret the relevant information we are receiving. Furthermore, we sometimes form our model, or paradigm, on insufficient data. If our paradigm is incorrect, especially in matters affecting eternal life, it is vital that we shift it to a correct overall view. For example, Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, had his eyes opened to the reality of Christ’s resurrection which turned his paradigm upside down. With this new paradigm guiding his understanding, his eyes were opened to previously hidden meanings of many Old Testament passages, which he expounded in his letters.
This introductory article is intended to give you an idea of what paradigms are and how they arrive in scripture. A few secular examples may help clarify the idea before turning to biblical examples.
- The blind men and the elephant
John Godfrey Saxe wrote the following funny, yet perceptive, poem about six blind men “looking at” an elephant. It illustrates the development of an overall model from partial evidence.
The Blind Men and the Elephant
A Hindu Tale.
I.
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.II.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”III.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, “Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ‘ tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”IV.
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”
V.
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”VI.
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”VII.
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”VIII.
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!Moral.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
From The Poetical Works of John Godfrey Saxe
Imagine the embarrassment for these blind men if their eyes were opened and they could see a whole elephant. Each of them would undoubtedly have a paradigm shift — unless, of course, he was too hard-headed and proud to admit his obvious error.
- Wrong road map
Suppose you have the wrong map to a city. You’re in Baltimore, but someone has given you a map of Houston which has been mislabeled “Baltimore.” You are having a hard time integrating the “data” of the city into the paradigm of the “map.” Changing your behavior, like going faster, or changing your attitude, like thinking positively, will not help at all. Nothing short of changing maps — by either getting a new one, or creating a new one of your own — will help.
This example, and the ones that follow, were taken from the first chapter of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey.
- The center of the universe
Ptolemy had claimed, “The earth is the center of the universe.” And the scientific and religious worlds believed him. Then Copernicus discovered, “The sun is the center of the universe.” You would’ve thought that thinking men would have agreed. But it took a long time before the new paradigm was accepted.
- Picture of two women
You’ve seen the picture of the two women in one — one of the women is very old and ugly, the other young and beautiful. If you don’t see them both, you might make the same mistakes the blind men made looking at the elephant.
- A subway ride
Everyone has had the experience of being upset with someone for his behavior, assigning the worst of motives, only to discover that the true cause is something far more endearing. The discovery is usually quite eye opening, and you feel about this ” big.
Imagine, for example, that you’re on a subway. Everyone is minding his own business. The ride is quite peaceful. Then a man gets on the subway with his kids. The kids are very disruptive. The man seems oblivious to their misbehavior. Finally, you’ve had enough so you turn to him and ask him to do something about them. He seems to wake from a daze to say, “Oh, I’m sorry. We just came from the hospital where their mother died an hour ago. I guess they don’t know how to deal with it any more than I do.”
Your view of this man and his kids suddenly becomes very different than it was a second ago. Now, instead of wanting to rebuke the man for failing to discipline his kids, you want to know what you can do to help this grieving family.
- A ship in the fog
Finally, there’s a famous old story about a ship in the fog. They see a light in the distance and the captain says to signal for the other ship to change course. The response comes that the ship should change course. The captain sends, “I’m an admiral commanding a battleship — you had better change course.” The reply comes, “I’m an ensign commanding a lighthouse — you, sir, had better change course.”
These stories each carry the same idea. People process facts using their currently accepted paradigms. Some-
times, changing the paradigm is essential to a deeper, often truer, view of the world.
Scriptural Examples
Well, as you know, there are a lot of examples of “eye openings” in scripture. Here are some of the more obvious examples.
- Jacob (Gen. 32)
Jacob thinks he is wrestling with Esau, but it is really an angel. Jacob’s eyes are opened to the truth: God, not men, has been controlling the events in his life and he has been pushing against the angelic influence. How often do we need to be reminded of the same lesson?
- The Egyptians (Exo. 12)
After having refused to let their Jewish slaves leave for so long, now, with the death of their firstborn, the Egyptians are finally eager to have them go.
- Balaam (Num. 22)
Balaam, who had beat his ass for stopping (actually, for saving his life), has his eyes opened to see the angel, prompting him to confess his sin.
- Elisha’s servant (II Kgs. 6)
Elisha’s servant has his eyes opened to the true spiritual facts -God’s angelic army was encamped round about Elisha.
- Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9)
Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting the ecclesia because he thought that they were heretics who believed in a false Messiah. Saul views himself as the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent. He is exceedingly zealous of the traditions of his fathers. Then he sees the resurrected Christ, and immediately realizes the errors of his ways. Ananias, who had to have his own paradigm adjusted, was sent to Saul so that he might receive his sight, scales falling from Saul’s eyes.
These scriptural examples provide good exhortations for us — often, we need to have our eyes opened so we can better understand God’s Truth.
Coming Into The Truth
For example, our coming into the Truth may require a difficult paradigm shift for us, no matter what our previous background.
From outside Christianity
If we come from outside Christianity, one might argue that the Bible can be made to mean anything one wants it to mean. Just look at all the churches, each claiming to teach the Bible, but all teaching different things. Once you start reading and studying the Bible, you see that it has a unified message, and that message is not being taught. The Bible is seen to be inspired by God, containing the way of salvation. Not only will you have to give up your humanistic ideas — “It doesn’t matter what you believe; just be good,” you will also have to change your way of life, giving up how you used to spend your spare time, maybe having to change careers, etc. It is not easy to leave Sodom behind.
From within Christianity
If one comes from within Christianity, the shift might be even more difficult. For example, one’s belief system tells him that he has an immortal soul that will go to heaven or hell upon death. This bias influences how one understands the Bible. It will not be easy to see how this paradigm is causing one to wrest scriptures to prove man-made ideas. One does not read the Bible to find out what God says, rather to adapt His words into one’s preconceived system.
The Truth is very different. We do not possess an inherently immortal soul; we are mortal creatures who must seek after immortality. Hell is the grave. There is no consciousness in death. The Kingdom of God, which will be established in the earth, is the inheritance of the faithful, who are deemed righteous and given eternal life. No man has gone to heaven except Christ. The wicked are cut off; they perish forever; there is no eternal torment.
Changing from a well-established church to a small group like the Christadelphians might bring mocking from friends and families. It is not easy to leave traditions behind.
From a Christadelphian family
If you come from a Christadelphian family, you will still have to have your eyes opened. You will have to develop a maturity of your own. The Truth is not just an academic or social thing, rather it is something you must believe and live. You must not take it for granted — it is something to be treasured.
On the other hand, it is not to be accepted because you were taught it by your parents or grandparents: you read the scriptures daily for yourself to establish the first principles for yourself. You must make it part of you, not just an extension of your parents. You must keep the good traditions, and leave the bad ones behind. This is not always easy.
For Our Learning
We need to learn from the Bible examples of men, like Paul, who were trained in the Old Testament, but had their eyes blinded to key principles of the Truth. They read with a veil over their eyes. God blinded them.
Same verses made clear by a new paradigm
Once Paul’s eyes had been opened, he expounded the mysteries (from the word meaning to close the eyes) of justification by faith, the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, and many other first principles. His evidence was from the Old Testament.
The passages had been there all along, but their meanings were hidden from the Jews because they were blinded by their traditions, and too proud to give them up. The Jewish leaders used their power to intimidate believers of Christ into not following him for fear of being “disfellowshipped.” Jesus says they were not entering into the kingdom and were preventing others from entering in too.
Evaluating our own models
We must evaluate our own paradigms. We must be vigilant in this. One thing that distinguishes man from animals is his God-given self-awareness. Do we use it? Or has our internal light gone out?
Are we like Paul before or after his conversion? Do we let tradition interfere with a true exposition of scripture and our walking the life of Christ?
Honest answers to these questions are not always comforting. Let’s pray that we will be humble enough to make whatever changes that need to be made.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One