Willful Ignorance and the Hindrance to Truth
By J. B. Frisbie
“For this they willingly are ignorant of.” 2 Pet. 3:5. “These speak evil of those things which they know not.” Jude 10. The great hindrance to receiving truth is not the want of capacity to understand it, but the want of will to give up preconceived ideas; thus verifying the old adage, “None are so blind as those who will not see.” To unlearn is far more difficult than to learn. There are many whose minds get so coated with prejudice that they become incapacitated for just judgment. To argue with such while in this state is hopeless; the plainest fact, the most cogent reasoning, the most logical deductions, fall on them as unproductively as rain upon the rock. We should not be angry with such; we can only grieve for them, and patiently wait till they are ready to receive instruction. So it is with any particular doctrine which we have received by education without investigation. We must remain in ignorance of its real nature, so long as we feel no need to give it a proper examination. The wise man changes his mind when he sees his error; but the ignorant man clothed with bigotry will not. The former will acknowledge his error and correct it; but the pertinacity with which the latter adheres to his opinions always bears a just proportion to his ignorance. I hope my name is not bigotry nor superstition. J. B. FRISBIE.