I think one of the fallacies that Christians (and many other people) have is their unwillingness to admit when they are wrong about something. Especially when the reasons for doing so have something to do with faith.

There are times when we makes decisions based on what we think are good precepts. We believe that something would be the right decision, would prove beneficial for ourselves or our families or our communities. We believe that there isn’t enough objectivity – that the world is black and white, right and wrong, and those truths should guide our decision-making.

And so we make a decision. And we watch the repurcussions of that decision. Unfortunately we’re human, and sometimes those decisions don’t turn out quite like we thought they would.

It’s even worse when our decisions are public ones, when the repurcusssions are in plain sight in front of our friends and loved ones – sometimes even in front of people we barely know, and sometimes in front of people who told us we were idiots for doing what we were about to do.

All to often, instead of apologizing or admitting we may have made a mistake, we dig in, entench ourselves, look for a reason – any reason – to justify our actions. We look for the tiniest silver lining to back up our opinion. We may look progressively more foolish as time goes on, as the situation gets worse, but it doesn’t matter. If we’re going to be wrong, we should do so with bravado.

The problem when making decisions based on faith is that we make two assumptions, one right, one wrong.

We’re right to think that there is objective truth in this world – there is a right and a wrong answer, and we’re right to base our assumptions on those values.

We’re wrong to think that we’re omniscient enough to always know which answer is which.

The answer isn’t to act like a child and demand that we’re right even when the evidence more and more clearly suggests we’re probably not. The answer is to be willing to admit that we made a mistake, apologize if necessary, and then resolve to do what you can to remedy the situation. The disciple Peter, who once thought that the Gospel was something only for Jews, later recognized his staunch beliefs weren’t accurate. He didn’t pout, didn’t hold his ground – he submitted to what he now saw as the truth and changed.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: America, I’m sorry about the whole voting for Bush thing.