Facts and Common Opinions
Bias is a tendency towards a favored perspective or ideology. Bias indicates that the subject is previously influenced by their culture or environment. Bias can be considered a “one-sided” perspective and is the opposite of being open minded and objective when making judgments and decisions.
These aspects create bias or are types of bias: cultural, ethnic, grographical, media, gender, linguistic, news, political, corporate, advertising, sociological, entertainment, personal, religious, sensationalist, scientific, etc…
I think a fair assessment of bias is that everyone has previous experiences and is therefore biased whether they really realize it or not. I know I am and don’t try to read this thinking that you are not, because then you are really being close minded to the fact that you are biased. This is my purpose in even writing this book is to show you that you have opinions on all these issues already and I believe (bias) most people do not think these issues through completely.
As much as modern science would like to admit they are completely objective and open minded, that is just not possible. There is a scale to how objective or how biased one can be, but both still have to be present somewhere along the scale, whether to a high degree or a low degree…no zero bias. Science is always changing as we discover new things. At the same time science builds on previous scientific theories and ideas. It has to build on itself to get to a more sophisticated level of science. Therefore Science is biased by previous theories and ideas (which is not always a bad thing) as well as sometimes the purposes of experiments, which have to be proposed before the experiments by the scientist. In order to do an experiment one must determine a given purpose for the experiment and choose the frameworks of the experiment which can limit or reduce the objectivity of the experiment and observer. Results and data can be interpreted differently by differing worldviews (such as Creation vs. Evolution) and sometimes because even if the data is marginally inconclusive if it still fits in the expectations or previous theories then it can be accepted as such. Only later can that data be reinterpreted with further scientific knowledge (this is the case with Newton’s Laws and how Einstein’s General Relativity corrected minute problems with Newton’s Laws).
If someone says “I have no bias,” it is clear there is some bias about the fact that they have the ability to say “I am not biased,” or else they could not make that judgment about their bias. This is like saying “there are no absolute statements.” This is self-defeating. A response could be “are you absolutely sure?” Judgments are formed by bias.
Bias can be detected although sometimes it is more subtle than other times. If you are familiar with the media and specifically political news broadcasts, bias can be easily sniffed out though we need to be able to tune in to watch out for those biases. People will try to sugar-coat things and deceive people to get their way (this is another skepticism that I have toward politics and science especially, because both are trying to get votes and more money to continue their livelihood). Thus I just would warn you to be SKEPTICAL of everything and realizing/analyzing their bias and your bias. I invite you to please be skeptical of this book, you will see my bias.
What I Believe and Why
From My Christian worldview, I would say that Christians are biased and Non-Christians are biased. That is human-nature. That is just something everyone should admit to first of all and then work through the motive and logic of the bias. Is it leading to truth or suppressing truths? Since I believe the Bible is God’s Word, even though it was written by men and translated and goofed up by men, God is using all of that for His purposes and God is the only source of Truth. So I put complete faith in the Bible even though it can be tarnished by man, because God is working through it.
We like to know the Truth or discover the Truth, and we like to know the facts to become intelligent, and I think God has shown us and helped us discover a lot of that, but there is a lot of bias among people and I am no different. Even statistics can be interpreted to some extents in numerous ways by how you want to look at the data.
Thus I am skeptical of a lot of things that I hear, because people will deceive to get their way. And when someone says that they are not religious, we all have faith in something even if that faith is in self or even in nothing.
Bias can lead to misunderstandings, disagreements, judging, disunity. The bias that you have determines how you live. Your conscience can affect your bias and your bias can affect your conscience.
There are only two religions: Believers and Nonbelievers. You can either accept or suppress the Truth…for Christ or against Christ. (Rom 1)
From The Bible
Prov 10:32 -The lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable,But the mouth of the wicked what is perverted.
Prov 11:23 -The desire of the righteous is only good,But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Matt 6:21 -for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mark 16:16 -He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
1 Cor 2: 9-16 -but just as it is written,"THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
2 Cor 6:14 -Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
More Verses: 1 Cor 5:12-13, Ps 1:1, John 15:5
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