When I asked myself what would be the best birthday gift for 2025, I envisioned something like an answer from people around me to a question of mine, as I grapple with uncertainties and decisions to make, standing at various crossroads in life.
And thinking that birthdays are one of those times when people tend to feel like they owe you some attention, I decided to capitalise on that, by posting a question on Facebook:
Assuming that we are all holding more or less some mistaken perspectives, what are some of your perspectives on issues you deem as important, that are the most likely to be incorrect? (Feel free to elaborate or not as you wish.)
I had difficulties framing the question exactly, so here are some answers that I could imagine some of you telling me. Each of them would be relevant to at least one of you, but there will likely be ones that you don’t understand/care about – feel free to just gloss over them. Regardless, listing them has been a good exercise for me to think about the issues that people around me face, and I hope that some of them will be a good prompt for you, perhaps to think about things that you (like me) have not thought much about too:
• Marrying him/her is such a (wrong) right choice. Maybe life will be so much (worse) better without him/her.
• Having children is such a (wrong) right choice. Maybe life will be so much (worse) better without them.
• Making that XXX investment is a (wrong) right decision. Maybe I should (not) have hesitated.
• Deciding to take up this job/Staying in this career path is so (right) wrong. Maybe I should (not) have done so.
• Devoting all my life to this thing is such a (right) wrong decision. Maybe I should (not) have focused (this much) more on it.
• Immigrating to this country is such a (bad) good choice. Maybe I should (not) have stayed at where I was.
• Money, fame, power, and even health, are not all-powerful, but one cannot live without them. Maybe one may have a good enough reason to willingly give them up.
• Science does (not) conflict with faith. Maybe it is (not) one or the other, the dichotomy is (false) true.
• There is (no) reality. Maybe I do (not) exist, and we do (not) live in a simulation after all.
• There is (not) a God. Maybe I should have done things/spent my time differently considering this.
• There is (no) such thing as an afterlife or eternity. Maybe I do (not) just cease to exist at death.
• There is (no) such thing as absolute truth. Maybe I have been too (relativistic) dogmatic.
• There is (no) such thing as objective morality. Maybe it is (not) silly to hesitate doing certain things to get ahead in life.
• There is (no) such thing as free will. Maybe I am (not) just influenced by my upbringing and biology.
• Suffering has (no) meaning. Maybe there are (no) purposes behind the pains.
• The figure Nabi Muhammad/Gautama Buddha/Confucius/Lao Tzu/Lee Man Hee/Jesus of Nazareth/etc is (not) reliable. Out of all the truth claims which contradict each other (except the claim that all religions lead to the same place, which contradicts all the other claims), maybe his claim about the truth was (not) the correct one.
• The Roman Catholics were (not) right. Maybe I should (not) have recognised the authority of tradition (as much) more.
• The miraculous spiritual gifts have (not) ceased. Maybe I have been missing out on these phenomena for some reason/the experiences I’ve had were not from the right source.
• Family/Church/Government should (not) operate the way I believe it should. Maybe I have misunderstood the relevant Scriptures. Maybe what I took for granted might have been man-made rules.
• That XXX thing should (not) have been done in this particular way. Maybe I have been too (careless) legalistic about it.
• The (old) young earth creationism is the correct view. Maybe the other side was right after all.
• Babies should (not) have been baptised. Maybe it was (not) the right thing to do.
• The Pre-/Post-/Amillennial/Preterism/XXXism is correct. Maybe that XXX eschatological view was correct. Maybe I should (not) expect to go through the tribulation. Maybe I should (not) have had a more optimistic view on the effect of gospel.
• XXX social movements were (not) justified. Maybe I have been too quick to (support) oppose them.
• I should (not) have engaged in political discussions more. Maybe I have been too (active) passive.
Etc., etc.
It doesn’t have to be in a public comment. It doesn’t have to be long. I’ll appreciate an answer in any form, even jokes.
And as someone whose love language is quality time, I really appreciate the attention you give to this request. 🙂
