An Experience Over Facts

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, men of learning argued whether or not some diseases were caused by the microscopically small creatures known as “bacteria.” The champion of the bacteriologists was Robert Koch, and that of the skeptics was Max Joseph von Pettenkofer.

To prove his point, Koch sent Petternkofer a tube that swarmed with virulent microbes that were said to be the cause of cholera. Pettenkofer—to the great alarm of microbe hunters—swallowed the entire contents of the tube. Then he said, “Now let us see if I get cholera!”

Now there were supposedly enough cholera germs in this tube to infect a regiment but Max Joseph never got sick. Thus, he proved forever the mistaken notion that bacteria could cause infection.

Expect he was completely wrong. The failure of the Pettenkofer to come down with cholera remains to this day an enigma, maybe the vial was not tainted as thought, maybe he just got lucky but one thing is for sure he was not right. Just because he seemed right in this one instance, didn’t mean what he thought was true.

Many religious folks today will take a singular experience as the end all and be all even when the totality of facts show something different. A singular verse rather than the whole console of God. One bad experience with a particular preacher rather than the consistency of the entire church. A moving time when they felt in their heart a way was right rather than the reasoned study of the Scriptures. A brief misspoken exchange rather than the bulk of all that has been explained. One experience trumps the overwhelming evidence

I think we can miss out on what is right by overvaluing experience over facts. One bit of knowledge might not be all there is to know. What is seen one time might not be all there is to see. How we feel might be factual.

Make sure you have not proven something to yourself that is not been proven.

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