“The key to wisdom is this: constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.” Abelard
So… believe this? Seriously, what is your opinion of ‘questions’? Not like them because… questions, threaten, challenge the status quo or your personal beliefs? If what you believe is never questioned then how strong is the belief? And… a ‘challenge’ may be one way another person can refine or redefine their beliefs.
Remember: “As iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion]” (Proverbs 27:17, AMP). That’s why we need to eliminate as much emotion as possible in our discussions. Discussions are designed to help us think about and have a level of confidence in what it is we do believe. Questions, in my opinion, are the primary method to discover and advance our knowledge and understanding.
You may be surprised but we really shouldn’t avoid questions. It isn’t necessarily doubt, despite what Abelard says! And I believe that this is the primary obstacle to questions – we think we are doubting and doubting is a no-no. In my thinking it is a teaching and learning method. So… do you view questions as doubts? Google:
“In the Gospels Jesus asks many more questions than He answers .To be precise, Jesus asks 307 questions. He is asked 183 of which He only answers .Asking questions was central to Jesus’ life and teachings.”
307 questions (and those were all New Testament and only Jesus’ questions)!!! Jesus, obviously, was not afraid of questions and neither should we. A question will either confirm what you believe or help you with new information and understandings to refine beliefs. That, to me, is a positive! A study shows that Jesus was asked 183 questions, of which He only answered 3. Do you have any idea what they are? Interestingly… all 3 related to the future: Matthew 24:3
When will these things happen?
What will be the sign of your coming?
What will be the sign of the end of the world?
I suspect that my surprise is based in those more immediate questions: who am I, what is my role and responsibility, how can I know and act on what I’m supposed to be and do… these kinds of questions. Then again… Jesus has already answered these questions when we look at who He was and how He went about being Himself. He was and is our model. When we read His words, we see what He thoughts and His behaviors.
‘There is never a dumb question.’ is typically the response if we begin our question with a statement that it may be a ‘dumb’ question. True. Questions lead us to truth and truth is the basis of Wisdom.
