Questioning Questioning

In one of my classes on Friday, we discussed the purpose of asking questions in education. Now, I’m not talking about test questions- but probing questions. “Think-about-this” questions. “Shake-your-world” questions. The kinds of questions that leave one thinking… for days…

Anyway, during this class, I was remarkably silent. I’m usually quite a talker. I love dialectic learning- and the professor who leads this class is very good about encouraging discussion. At one point, the professor singled me out, asking for my opinion. I hadn’t said one thing during the class. When he asked what I was thinking, I took a few moments to quickly organize my thoughts.

“Well. I think… I think asking questions is inherently dangerous… Not that we shouldn’t ask questions… just that… a question not pursued far enough can lead to incorrect or… premature assumptions.”

You see, I’ve been struggling with some difficult questions lately. My mind does not know how to reconcile what I believe and what I’m told. My heart trembles just thinking that I might settle at a premature conclusion. If these questions weren’t so anchored in the core of who I believe myself to be, I could rest contentedly in ambiguity and cease this searching.

But these questions are important to me, my dear friends, and my family.

God help me. I need to know the truth, but my mind is so muddled.