New takes on old ideas

I just tried to post and lost everything when I tried to post while not logged in! Oh well, here goes a second try!

I was taught to read the Bible in context and to be open with new ideas the Bible presents. I've always heard the example of the Bible verse that partially says, "There is no God." Of course, the rest of the verse says only a fool would say that. Dr. Stringer, in his Intro to Christian Ministry, had an example I had never heard before in 2 Co 5:17, " Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Taking it out of context and using the thinking of a Buddhist (which is a huge population of the world), one could reasonably conclude that Christ was espousing reincarnation.

I also read a great article in the WSJ addressing assumptions and how people handle them. Mr. Mann's hockey stick graph is THE graph for 'proving' global warming and how it is linked to man's activity. The article in the WSJ showed what happens when assumptions and old idea are challenged. Just a few years ago, people thought a new ice age was upon us. It would nice to be know what's really happening, but uncertainty is what makes life interesting - unless one is wondering whether one passed a test or not!