Opus 2011-42, Who’s Your Guru, Baby

Americans seem to need gurus.  They need authority figures to tell them what to do in their lives.  We all have read or heard of “Dear Abby.”  We have listened to or heard of Dr. Laura.  Everywhere you turn we look for gurus.  When we were raising our children we used to listen to Focus on the Family and read all of James Dobson’s books.  When I get the catalogue from Christian Discount it has page after page of “favorite authors” telling us how to pray, raise children, have a perfect marriage and so forth.

I download a podcast called The Survival Podcast.  I might actually get to listening to one a week.  The host, Jack Spirko, is one of those guys who can be very informative or very irritating.  Some topics he knows a lot, others very little, but he can give opinions on either.  Check it out if you are interested in that kind of program.  What got me going the other day was a comment he made.  I don’t remember what the topic was.  I think he was answering a listener’s question but he said, “It’s either going to effect us really drastic, or not at all, or somewhere in between.”  He covered the entire spectrum of opinion and acted like he was giving insight that should be listened to.  Gurus get away with such foolishness.  In his defense, he may have been taping the show while he drove to work, but I thought it was amusing.

I have people who could come close to being gurus.  I think of C.S. Lewis and John Wesley.  I read and think about what they have to say.  In one way, though, they do not qualify.  I run everything they say through my Bible filter.  The only guru I want is Jesus.  The only book that I feel has the final word it the Bible.  I don’t mean that in an arrogant, “I am a perfect disciple and you aren’t” sense.  I mean that is my goal.

So listen to Rush or Keith, whichever way you swing, and enjoy them, but always run what they have to say through your Bible filter. 

Beware of Gurus.

homo unius libri