Things that Matter

Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start.
– “Do-Re-Mi,” The Sound of Music

Titles should, I believe, provide a good indication of what lies inside. I hope that will be true of “Things that Matter,” which I have selected as the initial title for this blog. Implicit within the expression is an important idea: that there are some things that do matter. Of course, by way of contrast, that idea suggests a corresponding idea: some things do not matter.

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We recognize this intuitively, of course. Coke versus Pepsi. PC versus Mac. Windows versus Linux. Favorite sports teams. All of have their adherents or “fans.” Some fans demonstrate exceptional loyalty to their choices, and some will readily regale you with extended discussions of why their preferred choices are better than any alternatives. While I would not suggest that these choices have no significance at all, we readily recognize that they do not have the consequences of, for example, the choice of how we judge Hitler’s view (and resulting treatment) of Jews before and during the Second World War. The lives, liberty, and property of many were affected by those choices in the past, and similarly horrific results are likely if the same fundamental ideas are embraced and similar choices are made in the future. In sum, some things really matter, but in the final analysis some things just do not – at least not in a long-term, ultimate sense.

Working back from this intuitive recognition leads us to two basic questions:

• which things matter?
• why do they matter (and others not matter)?

 

As you read these questions, you may have instinctively begun to answer them. But before we get too caught up with considering answers, we should first push back further toward the “beginning” and consider an even more fundamental question: How do we go about answering these basic questions? To put it somewhat differently (but maybe more clearly), on what basis do we answer them?

Every one of us has what can be termed a world view. This world view provides a context and framework by which we examine and interpret things around us and we analyze, categorize, and answer important questions of life. Thus, we might say, our world view is the “beginning” of our interpretation and analysis. It is typically unstated and often ignored, yet it is nonetheless present.

In our consideration of “beginnings,” we need not stop with the broad notion of world view. We can look back even further and consider elements of our world view. Our view of our present (and future) is greatly affected by our view of how we came to be here. In fact, I suggest that our world view is inextricably tied to – indeed, it flows from – our view of origins. Thus, in some sense our view of origins is the “beginning” of our world view.

Now, why should I work through these basic notions of fundamental ideas, of “beginnings,” in this initial post? Because of the underlying importance of our world view to our analyses and views, I think that persons addressing issues such as I want to address here should be explicit as to their world views. In an effort to do so myself, I wish to use the following statement of Francis Scheaffer, which is much more succinct than I can be at this point:

Christianity is not a series of truths in the plural, but rather truth spelled with a capital “T.” Truth about total reality, not just about religious things.

Biblical Christianity is Truth concerning total reality – and the intellectual holding of that total Truth and then living in the light of that Truth.

(Address at the University of Notre Dame (Apr. 1981), quoted in N. Pearcy, Total Truth). I note that the Bible begins with a specific statement, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), followed by a detailed account of His special creation of the universe in which we live, including the creation of man by His direct act. I accept this account.

You may not share these views. I certainly hope that this will not keep you from returning. I do think it important, however, that we be clear on these points so that we can communicate effectively on these issues that matter.