In chapter eight of Book Two, Reuven finds out that Danny is learning German. It disturbs him-- Understandably, because, at that time, the world was at war against the Nazi German leadership, opposed to the Jewish people. Danny thinks this is why Reuven reacts the way he does. However, that is not Reuven's concern. Reuven is concerned about Danny becoming like Solomon Maimon, who allowed his hungering for knowledge to become an all-controlling force that ruined the remainder of his life.
We may never know the difficulty that Danny went through as he studied psychology, which was forbidden in his community, and German, which was not looked upon favorably by many at that time. Even his own friend was concerned about his amazing desire and ability to learn. However, it is notable that while the Nazis used the German language and committed atrocities, the language itself was not evil. That may seem to be a mute point, but hear me out. There are some things which in themselves are not evil-- we just need to be careful how ourselves and others (i.e., those who have written about them or who discuss them) use those subjects. Take English or writing, for example. The power of words is amazing, and how we use them often impacts the thoughts of others. Science also has the ability to used for great good or great harm. Now consider philosophy and the power of ideas. Perhaps there are some fundamental truths which many philosophers express and which we can say, "Yes, that is something that is God's truth." One might look at the Bible, general or natural revelation, or specific guidance to make this calling. However, many ideas can be applied incorrectly and used for great evil. Hitler read much philosophy, but the philosphers he read carried some ideas to one point, and he carried them to another. It is all about how we use it.
We should use what God made to be good as good, and we can do this in all aspects of our education and our life. We do not need to let our desire for an education corrupt us or side track us from what is really important, but allow Him to use our hunger for a particular subject to be moderated by life and be part of life--but not corrupt it. Let's use it for the glory of God. Just some thoughts...
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I completely agree with your point about the language not being evil. That is definitely a good reminder. I am a little curious about your comment that German is forbidden to us though....I have a friend who studies German. Why do you think German is forbidden?
ReplyDeleteReally, I love your post, but that comment is a little confusing to me.
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ReplyDeleteWell, let's see..I didn't mean that German is forbidden to us at all. The study of psychology was forbiddedn to Dannny, because of his community's restrictions on such matters. Because of the war involving fighting the Nazis, it may have seemed to others that as a Jew, he should not have been studying German. Reuven was also concerned because it reminded him of Solomon Maimon, who hungered so much for knowledge that he didn't give importance to his family, his health, and so forth. Also, there was much antagonism against anyone who spoke German during the war, even if they were not German. What I am trying to say is that there may be other items which might be like that for us, or may at some point become that way for us, things which are not bad for us to study at all, although others may not like our study of them, and/or they can be used incorrectly. Many things are that way to some extent. Thank you for pointing that out to me. I'll make a change in my post.
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