How d'you like them apples?
Will Hunting had it right in his philosophy toward learning... education... knowledge. Formal schooling has many benefits; society would be weaker without educational institutions, professors, required readings, and such. But there is definitely something to be said for self-motivated study... a desire for knowledge and wisdom-- above and beyond the grades, diplomas, and credentials.
The classic scene from the film "Good Will Hunting" highlights the situation. Will's blue-collar, working-class friend tries to pick up a university co-ed from Harvard in a Boston bar. An arrogant male grad student attempts to thwart his efforts, intellectually humiliating the young man with questions about the evolution of the market economy in the early American colonies... until Will comes to his friend's aid. Never having taken a single university course, never having spent a single day as a student on the Harvard campus, Will gains the upper hand predicting the arrogant student's unoriginal thoughts that follow the classic progression of institutionalized acadamia. He slams the winning point with the observation to the grad student: "you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an education you could've picked up for a dollar fifty in late charges at the Public Library."
When society gets to the point where credentials matter more than knowledge, the bigger picture is lost and everyone loses.
posted by Eric @ 9:12 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
hello eric
this article reminds me of a similar situation that happened this past weekend. i called a local church here in ontario (ohio, of course)that tends to fill their marquee with very negative quotes. this particular quote that i was calling about said: "remember, when you smile, you ruin the day of some old grouch!" how's that for outreach to the public driving by?
anyway, it turns out that this pastor and i were old friends and schoolmates. after catching up on old times and where this one is and that one is after 25 plus years, we finally got to why i called.
he sluffed it off as dry humor and i told him i didn't think the general public was viewing it that way, but maybe i was looking at it all wrong. i got my point across and i've prayed for them.
he then invited me to stop by and he gave me their service times. he said they were studying the book of james on sunday p.m. i told him i just might drop in some sunday night, because we don't have service at berean on sunday pm. he slammed me by making a rude comment about churches not wanting tohear the gospel on sunday nights anymore. (starting to see a pattern?)
i told him, no your mistaken, we have small groups that meet every other sunday pm and we have 4 times as many people plugged into them than we ever had at a sunday pm service. he was quick to tell me that that was dangerous, because the leaders of these groups were not qualified to lead! (getting the picture yet?)
i told him that we were doing a study on the book of james in our small group on sunday pm, hoping to identify with him in some way and stop this tirade of negativity. however, i mentioned that we were using a study guide by rick warren....(that was more than he could take...) he said: "rick warren?" i've got a book on rick warren you need to read. i proceeded to tell him that i didn't need to read any book on him, that i've attended his conferences and read rick's books and i was a fan of him and his accomplishments to chisel away the 'crust' of the stale atmosphere that churches like his have created this past century!!
then he went on to start slamming 'big' churches. he then moved onto the king james argument, that it's the only authorised version....etc., etc.
here's where your "good will hunting" article struck a chord. he started into this elaborate disseratation about why and how the kjv is the only bible and that he was schooled and had been around the block and for me to : "trust him....he know's what he's talking about, brother!!"
here's where i slammed it across for the killer shot.... i told him that i only had 2 classes at a bible school and i was sure i didn't have his degree. but i have read the kjv, niv, nlt and that there is no way i would spend another minute reading a text that i cannot understand. i went on to say that i grew up in a church like his and that there was 50 people there 50 years ago and there will be 50 there 50 years from now!!
i went on to tell him that there are people there in his church that are as spiritually dead as someone in one of these megachurches. i slammed (gently...gal. 6:1) them for a total lack of care for the lost, no outreach whatsoever, etc..
i could go on and on about this very dead,lame and overused subject in the church, but i won't. the bottom line is, i told him that praise the lord for big churches or they (little churches) wouldn't have anything to talk about on sunday mornings! we need no divisions like the apostle warned us!! knowledge does "puff up", huh?! wisdom builds up!
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