Binary Thinking is NOT Divine!

Binary or dichotomous thinking is at the root of so many of humankind's current problems. It is at the heart of prejudice, political and religious bias and extremism, and the polarization of our entire society. As Clay Drinko noted in How to Avoid Binary Thinking and Think More Clearly, "Binary thinking is everywhere today. You are either for or against something, conservative or liberal, or pro-choice or pro-life. The list goes on, from societal issues to team sports, and it’s to the point that things are spiraling out of control. After all, there are still current debates over wearing a mask or taking a vaccine to protect against Covid-19." He goes on to define this as "thinking there are two sides, and you can only pick one." Everything is framed as black or white, good or evil.

Drinko observes that this kind of thinking allows us to simplify and process complex ideas/situations. Of course, we can all see the value of this kind of thinking when faced with immediate danger. Drinko, however, succinctly summarized how this can turn into a distinct disadvantage when coping or dealing with chronic problems. He said: "The gray area in the middle of these complex issues is often ignored or goes unnoticed." In other words, we aren't allowing ourselves to comprehend the whole. We are effectively rejecting some of the information needed to make intelligent choices or to arrive at some kind of consensus or compromise with others. If I'm right, you have to be wrong. If I'm good/righteous, you have to be bad/evil. In logic, this either/or presentation is known as the False Dilemma Fallacy.

Clearer Thinking differentiates between three kinds of binary thinking: 1) The Truth Binary, 2) The Goodness Binary, and 3) The Identification Binary. They describe the truth binary as viewing "a statement as simply true or false, correct or incorrect. But on complex topics, simple viewpoints are often partially true and partially false, or true some percent of the time and false the rest of the time." They also describe the goodness binary as viewing "things as either good or bad, positive or negative, or moral or immoral, when, in fact, there is most often a mix of “good” and “bad” features when we consider complex, hotly-debated topics (even if, all things considered, one side really is better)." Likewise, they describe the identification binary as viewing "things as either a member of a class or not a member of that class, when in fact, almost every categorization admits edge cases that lie between categories, or fails to categorize some cases." Of course, the common thread among all of these different types of binary thinking is that they do not allow subtlety, nuance, or variability.

Nevertheless, as we have already suggested, binary thinking does have a place in human existence - a raison d'etre if you will. Body Helix summarizes the benefits of binary thinking in these terms: "Binary thinking helps us feel a sense of certainty. Binary thinking can come in handy when faced with an immediate crisis like slamming on your brakes when driving to avoid an accident. We can thank binary thinking for this kind of definitive decision-making." They go on to explain that "Our ancestors learned to categorize their world as either/or because it could save time and reserve mental resources for basic needs such as hunting and gathering food. They could use binary thinking to guide how they lived, and it would save them from danger in certain situations." Even so, the same article goes on to note that: "As we live in a world filled with a multitude of political, religious, and economic interests, binary thinking can and does create an incredible impasse. We feel the strain of binary thinking all around us every day. These lead to biases and prejudices. Preconceptions and misconceptions. This extreme thinking can cause serious overreactions or emotional responses and may result in significant consequences through impulsive behaviors. Binary thinking may allow us to see major advantages and disadvantages of a situation, but we miss the finer details to make an informed decision."

As I've noted in previous posts, binary thinking is alive and well in Fundamentalist/Literalist Christian communities. For instance, these folks insist that the Bible is an all or nothing proposition. It is either flawless, or it is so flawed that it must be rejected in toto! It is either essential, or it is useless. It is either the Word of God, or it is the superstitious nonsense of the past! That the Bible could be anything else is unthinkable! In similar fashion, these folks are used to thinking in terms of good and evil. You are either on God's side, or you belong to Satan! You either have the truth, or you are full of falsehood! This, however, is inconsistent with what the Bible has to say about God and itself.

In the real world, God decided to work through flawed humans to formulate the Bible. Knowing how the human mind works (because God designed it), and the weaknesses inherent to the human condition, GOD made the decision to involve humans in the writing, editing and formatting of the Bible. Moreover, the Bible informs us that the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit influences and guides, but it does NOT force or impose God's will on anybody. Likewise, Scripture also makes clear that the Holy Spirit does NOT remove our very human capacity to sin or make mistakes! Finally, Scripture makes very clear that God is a very complex entity who thinks on a much higher plane than we do. In other words, God is portrayed in those writings as having access to information that is unavailable to us! The God of the Bible is NOT limited by the things which limit us. Unlike us, the God of the Bible is NOT confined to two or three dimensions and CAN see the end/outcome of all the choices or decisions it makes!

Indeed, Scripture makes very clear in numerous places that our thinking and perspective is very inferior to God's thinking and perspective. In Isaiah, we read: "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'" (55:8-9) In the book of Proverbs, we are told that "There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death." (14:12) Likewise, we read in the first book of Samuel that God told him: "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (16:7) Unlike us, God is comfortable in the nuance and the details. Unlike us, God is aware of all of the potential consequences of the choices/decisions it makes!

Finally, the folks who might be tempted to attack the thesis of this post on the grounds of moral relativism (the notion that there aren't any universal or absolute moral principles extant in the world) would do well to remember that the very limited human mind CANNOT fully comprehend the Divine mind. In other words, yes, God has set a standard, but we must never be so arrogant as to suppose that we have fully comprehended or implemented that standard! Humans are notorious for wanting to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong (see Genesis 2 and 3), but Scripture makes clear that this determination is God's alone. Hence, whatever God's will in some matter is - that's the way it is - regardless of whether you understand or embrace it! Thus, we are NOT advocating for moral relativism - we are advocating for the humility and willingness to admit that it is possible that we may not have fully comprehended or embraced God's actual standard (as in Christ's rejection of Moses' certificate of divorce). For instance, we can know that God's standard forbids murder, but we cannot discern the motivations of a person's heart or the dictates of their conscience (and we know that both are important to God, who is also fully aware of both).

How can we avoid falling into the trap of binary thinking? In the article mentioned above, Clay Drinko identified seven different strategies to avoid the pitfalls of dichotomous thinking. They are: 1) a willingness to try new things, 2) a willingness to meet new people and listen to their perspectives on things, 3) cultivating an "authentic curiosity" about things, 4) attempting to maintain an attitude of open-mindedness, 5) building empathy for other folks' experiences and perspectives, 6) a willingness to admit how little we really know about something, and 7) embracing the uncertainty inherent in living on this planet. In other words, "Instead of making assumptions and broad generalizations, full-spectrum thinking is when we investigate the nuance and explore the gray areas." (Same source) Hence, if we are truly interested in pleasing God, we should strive to put on the mind of God - to reject the binary thinking which seems to come to us so naturally as humans!