Growing up as a simple farm boy, this writer has tried to maintain an attitude of “simplicity” toward life and it’s problems, which reminds me of a news story about a woman in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who received a letter in the mail. After opening it, the woman set the letter down on the table in front of her. Suddenly, as she watched, the paper on which the letter was printed began to change color, from white to yellowish to dark brown. The woman was horrified. Was the letter treated with something dangerous that was catalyzed by contact with the air? Could it be some kind of biological or chemical weapon? By opening it, had she exposed herself and perhaps others to an act of deadly terrorism?
Immediately, the woman dialed 911 and the Edmonton fire department dispatched its hazardous materials unit to the scene. The Haz-Mat team swiftly descended on the woman’s house and cordoned off the surrounding neighborhood. Chemical experts in protective suits and masks entered the house to examine the paper and determine the extent of the danger – only there wasn’t any danger. Without realizing it, the woman had spilled coffee on the table prior to opening her mail. When she rested the letter on the tabletop, she covered the coffee splatter, which quickly soaked into the paper. The color change she witnessed was nothing more than the harmless stain of an everyday beverage.
There is a principle of logic commonly known as “Occam’s Razor“ named after William of Occam. In essence, Occam’s Razor says, “The simplest solution that satisfies all of the facts is usually correct.” Let’s apply the principle of Occam’s Razor to the situation of this poor lady in Edmonton. If one opens a letter, sets the paper down on a table, and the paper begins to change color, what could this mean? The simplest answer is, there was something on the table, and it’s now on the paper. This lady, however, did not utilize this principle. Instead, her mind leaped to an extremely unlikely possibility (?) that evildoers had impregnated her mail with a deadly chemical or biological agent as a terrorist action. Could she have been right? Certainly it was possible. But wouldn’t it have made more sense to investigate the more obvious answer first, before summoning the Haz-Mat crew?
People often do with the Bible what this woman did with her coffee-soaked letter. Rather than accept the simplest understanding of its plain-spoken teachings, they jump to the most far-out, unreasonable conclusions. For example, when Jesus says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (John 15:5), why would anyone suppose He meant that the term “branches” describe an elaborate network of fundamentally different religious denominations?
On a rare occasion, a letter that changes color might constitute a terrorist attack. However, more than likely, it’s just been dropped in coffee. The simplest solution is usually the correct solution, especially with regard to the plain truths of God’s revealed word (Nehemiah 8:5-8; cf. Habakkuk 2:2).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
Immediately, the woman dialed 911 and the Edmonton fire department dispatched its hazardous materials unit to the scene. The Haz-Mat team swiftly descended on the woman’s house and cordoned off the surrounding neighborhood. Chemical experts in protective suits and masks entered the house to examine the paper and determine the extent of the danger – only there wasn’t any danger. Without realizing it, the woman had spilled coffee on the table prior to opening her mail. When she rested the letter on the tabletop, she covered the coffee splatter, which quickly soaked into the paper. The color change she witnessed was nothing more than the harmless stain of an everyday beverage.
People often do with the Bible what this woman did with her coffee-soaked letter. Rather than accept the simplest understanding of its plain-spoken teachings, they jump to the most far-out, unreasonable conclusions. For example, when Jesus says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (John 15:5), why would anyone suppose He meant that the term “branches” describe an elaborate network of fundamentally different religious denominations?
On a rare occasion, a letter that changes color might constitute a terrorist attack. However, more than likely, it’s just been dropped in coffee. The simplest solution is usually the correct solution, especially with regard to the plain truths of God’s revealed word (Nehemiah 8:5-8; cf. Habakkuk 2:2).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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