Seeds of Confusion

(This post was written five years ago, and represents the genesis of the thought that I am expanding upon in Seeds of Confusion.) Imagine that you wake up one morning in your bed, and you are sick. You have a headache, and you are lightheaded. You have a scorching fever, your stomach is violently upset, and you feel like you might vomit. You are so weak and in so much pain that all you can manage is to roll off the bed and crawl toward the bathroom. You realize that even accomplishing the most basic of tasks today will be beyond your capabilities. The next day, imagine that your illness is gone, but now you wake up physically bound in multiple ways. Your hands, your wrists, your elbows, your knees, your ankles, and your feet are all tied together - not in a painful way, but it almost completely prevents you from moving. All you can manage is to wiggle yourself off the bed and along the floor. Just like the previous day, you realize that accomplishing even the most basic of tasks ...

The Tower of Babel is one of the most relevant Biblical stories for these chaotic and confusing times. Here’s why: Found in Genesis 11, the story recounts how all human beings join together in a common project, speaking a common language and working to build a tower that will reach into the heavens. God intervenes, however, confusing their language and breaking their unity, before scattering them around the earth. In the literal sense, this myth is used to explain how human beings came to exist in different parts of the world speaking different languages. It is also used as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of trying to be our own gods. In today’s increasingly interconnected society, we often think and behave like the people of Babel. We have evolved from tribalism to nationalism to globalism in many ways: 1)   The United Nations is a form of cooperation between nations, based on the understanding that we are one human community who need to look out for one an...