Drink Deep

Sometimes people say, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” to discourage you from forming your own opinions instead of trusting the “experts”.

But I remember someone drawing my attention to the origin of the phrase. It’s based on a poem by Alexander Pope

A little learning is a dangerous thing ;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring :
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

So, the advice is to drink deep, keep learning. Nowadays with so many resources on the web, we have access to so many different points of view. For example, in theology, which is one of my interests, I could be lazy and simply adopt the outlook of my favourite teacher or movement whenever I examine any issue. But it’s always good to test everything. This reminds me of a few New Testament verses.

1 Thessalonians 5:21
“Test everything; hold fast what is good.”

Acts 17:11
“Now the Bereans were more noble… for they received the word with eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

1 John 4:1
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…”

2 Corinthians 13:5
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.”

Col 2:8
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.“

Matt 23-8-10
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.“

I don’t think that any of this mean that we shouldn’t respect experts, whether historic or contemporary, but we shouldn’t put our whole trust in them either.

I always like to end with a couple of songs or hymns. I can’t think of hymns that explicitly encourage you to study and think for yourself, but you could interpret hymns about trusting in Jesus as encouraging trust in him rather than experts. And there are a few secular songs that encourage you to think for yourself. I’ve sometimes heard people criticize My Way by Frank Sinatra. It’s sounds a little boastful. People might say, “I do things God’s way, not my way”. But maybe you could think of your way being to follow Jesus. I think of the line “Though none go with me, yet I will follow”. Don’t allow the crowd or “experts” to divert you.