Ignorance vs. Stupidity and Personal Will

 I have spent the past couple of weeks essentially constructing the rudimentary framework for a political manifesto, and while that is good, I wanted to take a break from that this week to get into lighter fare instead.  There are a couple of things that have piqued my interest over the past week or so, and therefore we want to talk about them.

I was talking to someone a couple of days ago, and an important point came up - God does not create stupid people.  So, what exactly does that mean?  I was thinking of that, and wanted to just reflect a little about it as it is an interesting observation.  So, let's get into that.

In the opening chapters of Genesis, God created everything.  As he completed a certain aspect of creation, he said it was good.  Then he got to humanity, and the phraseology changes to "very good."  Now, here is where we face some challenges.  The secular field of science is by and large dominated by those who prescribe to something called "scientism," meaning that science essentially is deified by them.  The most blatant example of this recently was the infamous Dr. Anthony Fauci, who declared himself to be "the science" despite the fact he was wrong on everything.  Scientism deifies scientific data as somehow infallible, and in essence it has created its own "Scripture" with its own form of inerrancy, and God forbid anyone question it.  The problem is that scientific data changes as we discover more - for instance, look at what they did with classifications of animals - a skunk was once considered a relative of weasels, but now is a family unto itself.  Pandas were once called essentially giant cousins to raccoons, but now they are bears.  There were also once nine planets in our solar system, but now Pluto is not considered a planet.  On and on these "innovations" go, and thus the conflicting signals scientism gives can basically be said to not be true science either because it is a mass of contradictions.  And, how can "scientific evidence" be infallible when it changes more often than a Kardashian changes husbands??  That is because the stuff we call "science" is not truly science - it is theory.  Evolution is a theory - it is not fact, there is nothing substantiating it, and over the decades that theory has existed it has undergone more changes itself.  So, what is true science??  Let me tell you that.

True science is based on the physical world, and it is governed by indisputable laws - if you freeze water, it hardens into a solid, and if you heat it to a certain temperature, it turns into gas.  Also, if you drop an object off a tall building, it will fall - that is the law of gravity.  Another fundamental scientific principle is mixing vinegar and baking soda - the chemicals of each neutralize each other because they represent two opposing chemical compounds, an acid and a base (alkaloid).  We were taught a lot of this in third-grade science class, and it holds true today because these are natural law.  That is actual science.  And, it is part of the natural order that was created by God himself.  It also means that natural law has a supernatural origin, as the great theologian/philosophers such as Aquinas and Bonaventure understood when they subscribed to what is called the "Two Books" principle - God authored and spoke to us through two great "books" - Nature, where created things speak to us directly, and Revelation, where God himself reveals his own inner nature as well as his free gifts and special plans for humanity (W. Norris Clarke, S.J., The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysics. Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press, 2001: 7). We all know what Revelation is - it encompasses all of Holy Scripture essentially in this context, but there is another part to it as well.  Holy Scripture is the Rhema of God as Revelation, but Jesus Christ is the Logos Revelation of himself to us, and thus in Christ is ultimately the entire plan of salvation for mankind, which is central to understanding basic Christian doctrine.  I want to talk a little though about Nature, as there is something very fundamental in that which God uses to remind us he exists and we mean something to him. 

Although I have addressed this before, it begs repetition in this context. For those of you who grew up in either a very Fundamentalist or traditional Holiness/Pentecostal background, I am sure you have either heard sermons from pulpits or you have heard the lingo of the zealous church member when they rail against things such as "the flesh," or they refer to something they don't like as being "in the natural."  I never understood that in all honesty, and to be honest, it grated on my nerves when those people said that as often they did not even know what they were saying.  In all honesty, it was tantamount to a heresy called Gnosticism, which condemned all physical matter as evil and instead sought to be super-spiritual to the degree it denied the very creation God made.  It shows that there exists a serious theological illiteracy among many, including pastors, about even basic Biblical affirmations such as God creating the entire universe and saying it was good - it is the same mentality, ironically, that transgenderism promotes today in a different context.  These attitudes are heretical in that essentially, they call God a failure and they presuppose God being fallible, which no Christian teaching has accepted for millennia.  To the other extreme is pantheism and monism, which worships creation as God itself and would say God is all and all is God, also heretical in that it doesn't make a distinction between Creator and creation.  What many don't realize is that this second fallacy was a core tenet of Nazism (they called it Blut und Boden, or "blood and soil"), and it has its roots in evolutionary theory as Ernst Haeckel first proposed it.  Both of these heresies deny something God himself affirmed - everything he created was perfect, and he himself called it "good."  So, what happened? Genesis 3, that's what.  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned by eating of the very fruit he told them not to eat, it caused the universe to be sick and disordered.  And, that is where God sent supernatural grace, which culminated in his own giving of himself (Christ) to elevate, heal, and perfect creation by renewing it.  What that means is that creation in itself is not evil or bad - God did make it after all, and it is his gift to us - but it has become tainted by original sin.  The idea is not to deny or destroy creation then, but rather to renew it.  And, that includes us, as the pinnacle of God's creation. And, this brings us back to the original discussion.

Stupidity is real, no doubt.  But, there is really no such thing as a stupid person - there are people who do stupid things, but they are not inherently stupid.  Why?  Because God created us, and he doesn't make mistakes in his creation.  Concupiscence, however, can make us do some really stupid things when we don't let God work in our lives, and all of us are guilty of that at least some point in our lives.  We all have done stupid things, regardless of our status in life, and I guarantee that at least once in every person's lifetime they will do something they will later regret, as unfortunately actions do have consequences.  This past Sunday, our priest at our parish said in his homily at Mass that God wants us to be uncomfortable.  What does that mean?  It means that we should always realize we are limited, and that there is always room to learn and for growth, and if we think we have "arrived," we are not in God's will. Does discomfort mean we need to be miserable every day of our lives?  The world would have us think that for sure, but that isn't what it means at all.  Being "uncomfortable" just means that we know we have limitations, and that we should never just settle when God expects better of us.  At times it can be painful, as growth definitely has "growing pains," but we come out better.  Remember Thackaray's story The Rose and the Ring that I talked about earlier when the Fairy Blackstick gave the young Giglio the gift of  "a little misfortune?"  That is what this is about.  If we see it properly, a challenge or adversity in life should motivate us to overcome, and only with our complete dependence on God's guidance can we do that.  It has been said that adversity builds character, and surely it does.  So, God allows us to make stupid decisions on occasion as it is a growth experience for us, and if we respond properly to it, we learn from it.  It also shows us something else very fundamental to how we relate to God too, that being he wants us to choose to follow him, and that is where free will comes in.  God does not desire us to be robots who mechanically do what he wills us to do - no, on the contrary, he knows it is better for us to choose the right thing, but that choice may come with a few detours of stupid decisions before we get there, and God allows it to grow us.  So, if we are uncomfortable with the status quo, we are on the right track, because it means we are growing.  And, stepping out from our comfort zone is not always going to be pleasant for sure, but in the long run it bears fruit. That is what I think Fr. Grassi was talking about in his homily at Mass this week.  So, let's bring this all home, shall we?

Stupidity is not an identity, but is a choice.  A person is not stupid, but can make stupid choices.  But, there is a positive side - often, when the reality of the stupid decision hits, it motivates the person to change course and do better.  Also, stupdity is not synonymous with ignorance - with stupidity, we often know better but choose to do what we do anyway.  Ignorance, on the other hand, means that we may not even realize that we are doing something counterproductive, but it also is characterized by an openness to learn and adapt.  There are many times, for instance, when these can be confused - we may accuse someone of being stupid in a certain context, but in reality they may be just ignorant and need some guidance.  The level guidance is accepted also makes a distinction between these two concepts - stupidity oftentimes will resist guidance until it's too late, but ignorance welcomes it and will value sound advice.  And, fact is, we have all been both.  Looking at it this way, it means that we perhaps need to also cultivate more empathy for people who do stupid things as well as those who just simply don't know any better (ignorance).  A newborn baby, for instance, is not stupid because they cannot walk upright or talk - they are ignorant and these are behaviors they need to learn, and once they do then they develop.  However, one's teenage son who decides to go out on a "bender" with his buddies and then proceeds to destroy the neighbors' mailboxes because it looks "fun" is stupidity - one way or another, it is a regrettable action which will elicit a change of heart and mind, either through disciplinary measures of the parents or just dealing with their own inner remorse for their actions when the hangover lifts and they are suddenly faced with the question "what in hell was I thinking??"   That example highlights the difference between ignorance and stupidity.  One is corrected by learned behavior, while the other is a willful act despite knowing better.  Ignorance is not sin, and there is no such thing as "willful ignorance," as I don't believe anyone truly wills to be ignorant.  It would be actually contrary to nature.  The refusal to learn - so-called "willful ignorance" - is a mild form of stupidity actually that is reinforced by one's stubborn resistance to learning a new thing.  An important distinction needs to be highlighted here though - having a fear of something new is not the same as stubborn resistance.  Fear is a natural response, as it is uncomfortable for us to step out and take on a challenge of something new.  For some, it is easy to face it head-on and conquer, but for others it may take time.  Driving a car for instance - it can be a bit intimidating when you are first behind the wheel of a two-ton car and you have to do this, do that, and coordinate everything to make sure your driving experience is safe.   That scares people, and is one reason why some are hesitant to drive.  It is not willful stubbornness in that they want to learn, but it scares them.  Therefore, patience and empathy are necessary to help the person feel more at ease to step up to the challenge.  It is another reason we should not flippantly judge people either - the circumstances and story behind why they are who they are should be properly understood first, and then it opens doors for both that person and you.  And, if you are that person, you desire people to see that as well, and it can be painful when people don't understand you or attempt to do so, and in that case the willful stubbornness is on their part and not yours.  They may call you "stupid," but in reality they are acting stupidly by judging you and refusing to know the facts.  That is an important lesson for us all. 

I hope you didn't tire too quickly of my ramblings for today, but it was just stuff that has been on my mind.  Hope you all have a good remainder of your week, and thanks for stopping by.