How better questions make better answers

Back in junior high school we learned about the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelt and how our country overcame the Great Depression. We learned about Roosevelt's leadership and the programs he implemented.  I came away thinking of him as a hero. I learned that he was pragmatic.

I didn't really understand the word pragmatic, but I thought it had to do with trying different things until you found something that worked.

Later as I started understanding politics, I found out that Franklin Roosevelt actually ruined our country with his policies and the programs he implemented. At that time I learned that Ronald Reagan was a hero. He overcame the programs Roosevelt implemented. No change on what I thought pragmatic meant.

When I came to work for the church and started working with groups, I mentioned to one of them that we should be pragmatic.

I was met with a chilled response.  We won't be pragmatic said one of the leaders.  Yes, said another, not pragmatic.  I got the feeling being pragmatic was a bad thing. At least where faith was concerned.

Turns out to be pragmatic has three tenets that could be troubling to people of faith.

1. Truth does not exist "out there"- reality is shaped by our existence in the world as much as how world shapes our existence. It happens to us. It happens because of us.

2. People base their knowledge of reality on what is useful to them and tend to discard what doesn't work.

3. People define the social and physical objects they encounter in the world according to their use for them.

4. If we want to understand each other: we must understand the interaction of ourselves with the world, we acknowledge we and the world are constantly changing, we interpret our interactions differently.

Are these thoughts dangerous to faith?

I can see where this philosophy would interfere with our charge to believe in things we can't see and prove.

But, if you have ever sensed a disconnect when attempting to connect people, God, and ideas; the reality may be that we are all on some level pragmatists.

The problem is that we are unwilling to talk about it.

Before we discard pragmatism (which in itself would be pragmatic) as bad (or not useful), we might want to make sure we understand how pragmatic we each really are.

For the particular idea you are attempting to share:
1. Is it true?
2. Does it work?
3. Is it worth it?

We often get stuck on the first question. And we spend lots of time arguing with and giving the silent treatment to those who disagree with us.  Question number two is where we might get bogged down in a discussion of pragmatism.

I have found the richer conversations I have are spent with question number 3.  The reason you do what you do is because of question 3.  Here is where faith and pragmatism can be held in a healthy tension.

Figuring out which questions we respond to leads to better answers.