{"id":32591,"date":"2023-04-26T06:59:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T13:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=32591"},"modified":"2023-04-26T06:59:56","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T13:59:56","slug":"i-cant-stand-sword-swallowing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/i-cant-stand-sword-swallowing\/","title":{"rendered":"I can\u2019t stand Sword Swallowing."},"content":{"rendered":"

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We Are Wrong about the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think<\/em> is another amazing one of those resources shared on our reading list. Hans is Rosling, a Swedish physician, public speaker, and academician.<\/p>\n

When asked simple questions about global trends \u2013 what percentage of the world\u2019s population lives in poverty, why the world\u2019s population is increasing, how many girls finish school \u2013 we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

I will look at a few of the instincts Rosling describes and conclude with a beautiful promise of God of peace and safety.<\/p>\n

The Gap Instinct: <\/strong>\u201cThe instinct to divide all kinds of things into two distinct and often conflicting groups (binary thinking) with an imagined gap in-between (e.g., rich vs. poor countries).\u201d[2]<\/a> After spending so much time on social media and watching the divisive news, there is the danger of swallowing everything seen as accurate. Unfortunately, this problem affects not only those of the world but also believers. It is a massive hindrance for the Church to become the effective body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians, Paul exhorts the church against division \u201cNow I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and the same judgment\u201d (1 Cor. 1:10, NIV).<\/p>\n

The Negativity Instinct: <\/strong>\u201cThe instinct to notice the bad more than the good<\/em>.\u201d <\/em>This one is huge and dangerous to overcome. It is not easy to grow and become the people we are created to be while we are negative. At the same time, we can\u2019t ignore the truth that this is undoubtedly a fallen and decaying world we live in.<\/p>\n

The Fear Instinct: <\/strong>\u201cWhen we are afraid, we don\u2019t see clearly\u201d This instinct, I will say, is the giant that has caused many people to be stuck and unable to fulfill their God-given destinies.<\/p>\n

Factfulness is an amazing, resourceful book, one of my best books to return to, like many others that we have covered in the previous week. Factfulness \u201cdetails ten instincts that distort our perspective of the world and prevent us from seeing how it is.\u201d[3]<\/a> Unfortunately, many of the instincts he shares have become embedded in our minds and are so strong that they tend to override reality. Bill Gates said about the book that it is \u201cone of the most important books I have ever read \u2013 an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

This book is fascinating and authentic and helps the readers filter reality from the deception in the media.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t stand Sword Swallowing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was overwhelmed by the sword swallowing, something I had never heard or seen before meeting this author. \u201cThat night after work, I found a soup ladle with a straight flat handle and immediately resumed my practice. Soon I could slide the handle down my throat.\u201d[5]<\/a> I can\u2019t believe what I landed on as I tried to find more on Rosling. \u201cRosling opens factfulness with his childhood dream of being a sword swallower, a dream he gave up on when he went to medical school. Years later, he treated a patient who worked as a sword swallower, and his dream was rekindled. Rosling learned to swallow a sword. He reflects on how he loved sword swallowing because, as a craft, it has always \u201cinspired humans to think beyond the obvious.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Since I had never heard of sword swallowing until this quick research, I had to find out if this was a real thing or a trick; I couldn\u2019t believe what I saw on the internet, videos of people swallowing swords! \u201cSword swallowing is not an illusion or trick. Those who practice it must first overcome their reflex of gagging at objects touching the back part of their mouths. Long practice controls this reflex. The pharynx must also be conditioned.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

God\u2019s beautiful promise of peace and safety:<\/strong> It\u2019s been said that there are 365 \u201cFear nots\u201d in the Bible \u2014 one \u201cFear not\u201d for every day of the year! Lloyd \u201cOgilvie in\u00a0Facing the Future without Fear\u00a0<\/em>even said there are 366 \u201cFear nots\u201d in the Bible, one for every day of the year, including Leap Year! God doesn\u2019t want us to go daily without hearing his word of comfort: \u201cFear not!\u201d<\/a>[8] This is the good news for those of us who believe. The voice of our loving father speaking to us daily, not to fear. Whatever happens, we are safe in his hands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling R\u00f6nnlund, Factfulness: Ten Reasons We\u2019re Wrong about the World–and Why Things Are Better than You Think<\/em>, First edition. (New York: Flatiron Books, 2018).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Factfulness | Hans Rosling | Book Summary<\/em>, 2019, Factfulness | Hans Rosling | Book Summary.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Manuel Saraiva, \u201cSummary and Notes on Factfulness,\u201d September 26, 2018, https:\/\/medium.com\/@mnlsrv\/summary-and-notes-on-factfulness-6ad07bf73949.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> SuperSummary, \u201cFactfulness Introduction-Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis,\u201d Introduction Summary: \u201cWhy I Love the Circus,\u201d<\/em> n.d., https:\/\/www.supersummary.com\/factfulness\/introduction-chapter-1\/.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Bill Gaultiere, \u201c\u2018Fear Not!\u2019 365 Days a Year,\u201d n.d., https:\/\/www.soulshepherding.org\/fear-not-365-days-a-year\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We Are Wrong about the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think is another amazing one of those resources shared on our reading list. Hans is Rosling, a Swedish physician, public speaker, and academician. When asked simple questions about global trends \u2013 what percentage of the world\u2019s population lives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2727],"class_list":["post-32591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-rosling-dlgp01","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32591"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32596,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32591\/revisions\/32596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}