Let’s Make a Deal
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
Ninety-four percent of college professors think they are above average at their work. Seventy percent of High School seniors think they surpass their peers in leadership ability. And we all know about Lake Woebegone. Philosopher Gregg Ten Elshof offers plenty of evidence that we all fool ourselves about many things. So why is it that few Christian writers discuss self-deception? And when was the last time you heard a sermon about the perils of deceiving ourselves?
It didn’t used to be that way, claims Ten Elshof in his new book I Told Me So: Self-deception and the Christian Life. Prior to the 20th century, self-deception was high on every theologian’s list of “thou shalt not”s, chiefly because it leads directly to much more serious sins such as unbelief. Today, however, what is most highly prized is authenticity. Being genuine, being yourself, is valued so much that no one is willing to think of himself as a phoney. Yet we are. We deceive ourselves all the time - remember those professors who can’t all be above average? So since we must be authentic at all costs, but we know we aren’t, we have to demote self-deception from our list of top sins.
Intrigued? That’s just the beginning. After revealing various strategies we use to conceal the truth from ourselves, Ten Elshof goes on to show how self-deception is not necessarily a bad thing. But of course we must be wise, and this book is an excellent way to begin acquiring the requisite discernment. Would I kid me? order here
Ninety-four percent of college professors think they are above average at their work. Seventy percent of High School seniors think they surpass their peers in leadership ability. And we all know about Lake Woebegone. Philosopher Gregg Ten Elshof offers plenty of evidence that we all fool ourselves about many things. So why is it that few Christian writers discuss self-deception? And when was the last time you heard a sermon about the perils of deceiving ourselves?
It didn’t used to be that way, claims Ten Elshof in his new book I Told Me So: Self-deception and the Christian Life. Prior to the 20th century, self-deception was high on every theologian’s list of “thou shalt not”s, chiefly because it leads directly to much more serious sins such as unbelief. Today, however, what is most highly prized is authenticity. Being genuine, being yourself, is valued so much that no one is willing to think of himself as a phoney. Yet we are. We deceive ourselves all the time - remember those professors who can’t all be above average? So since we must be authentic at all costs, but we know we aren’t, we have to demote self-deception from our list of top sins.
Intrigued? That’s just the beginning. After revealing various strategies we use to conceal the truth from ourselves, Ten Elshof goes on to show how self-deception is not necessarily a bad thing. But of course we must be wise, and this book is an excellent way to begin acquiring the requisite discernment. Would I kid me? order here
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