06. Chapter 6: His Use of Problems

Chapter 6 His Use of Problems What is a problem? Your answer? When we stand at a fork in the road, we face a problem; that is, in case we are going somewhere and the road is new to us. In such a case our intellectual processes of reflection and deliberation are aroused, leading to a solution of the problem, upon the basis of which we may proceed on our journey. The Greek original of the term suggests that a problem is something cast before the mind. Being there, it requires solution, if a solution can be had. This term is worth studying in the dictionary.

How many kinds of problems are there?

Some problems grow immediately out of our experience and their solutions affect daily conduct. These problems are practical in character. Other problems are proposed by the intellect to itself, their solutions are difficult or impossible to reach, and, if reached, they affect life little or none. These problems are theoretical. Will this distinction between practical and theoretical problems hold? Only in a crude way. A man, let us say, does something wrong, and suffers remorse. He may wonder whether he could have done differently. He faces the problem of free will and determination. These are the forks in his road. Is his problem practical or theoretical? We may say practical in the sense that it grows out of his experience and his answer affects his conduct.

We may say theoretical in the sense that he is not sure of his answer, which he accepts, not proves. Can you think of other problems difficult of classification?

How would you classify the problem of life after death? of the existence of God? of spirit communication? of reducing the high cost of living? of increasing the hire of teachers and preachers? of the habitation of Mars? of the Einstein theory of light? of leaky radiators? of the ouija board? In sum, we may say, there are problems whose solutions affect the conduct of life, these are practical; there are problems whose solutions do not affect the conduct of life, these are theoretical; and there are problems, like free will, whose solutions are theoretical but whose applications are practical. Can you see any relationship between the third group of problems and faith? We might say that faith is acting as though a theory were true.

It is also to be observed that the solution of a theoretical problem may in unexpected ways become practical, as when wireless telegraphy helps save life at sea. This is one justification for laboratories of pure research. Another, perhaps, is that knowledge is worth having for its own sake, even if no use can ever be made of it. Is this true?

So, the facing of a problem is the beginning of real thinking. Without a felt difficulty, thinking is only simulated. To think is to think about And the thing really thought about is the problem. Dewey says^[1]: “The need of clearing up confusion, of straightening out an ambiguity, of overcoming an obstacle, of covering the gap between things as they are and as they may be when transformed, is, in germ, a problem.”

[1] Art. “Problem,” in Monroe’s “Encyclopedia of Education.” May a problem be present in a situation without being recognized? Is it a problem in teaching to find the problem? Is it worth while to find the problem first? Is what the teacher selects as the problem necessarily the same as the pupil’s problem? May the pupil have a problem of which he is not aware? Does the setting of a task necessarily constitute a problem? What does? Dewey says: “As a matter of fact, the conditions in experience, the content, determine whether a matter is or is not a problem and what sort of a problem it is.”

If facing a felt problem is the beginning of real thinking, it is also the basis of real teaching. Such teaching is not only interesting, it is also effective in changing conduct, and this is what we want in teaching morality and religion, which, if they do not affect life, are nothing. Did Jesus use the problem method? Graves^[2] devotes two pages to “His Use of the Problem with the Disciples,” and says: “Like all great teachers, Jesus felt that real thinking begins with a problem.”

[2] “What Did Jesus Teach?” p. 51, N.Y., 1919. Can you show the truth of this statement? Can you distinguish between those problems sensed as such by his pupils and critics and those he brought to their attention? In the latter case they may not have been conscious of their problem until he spoke of it. In which group is Peter’s question: “What shall we have?” In which group is the teaching of Jesus: “How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven”? Were the difficulties raised by his critics real problems? Shall we say that every person requesting a blessing from Jesus brought a problem with him? Have you a case in mind in which Jesus sensed a deeper problem that was brought? (See Mark 2:1-12.) Have you a case in mind in which Jesus declined to deal with the problem brought? In this connection recall the request: “Speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me.” Recall also how he reacted to their desire to make him king. To realize whether Jesus used the problem method or not, make a list of persons he taught with their problems. To shorten it, you might omit the cases of healing on request, and you might utilize Mark’s gospel, as the oldest and the shortest.

After making your list, compare it with the following one:

Doubtless, other incidents in Mark’s gospel that contain certain problems could be cited.

Note that the problems faced here by Jesus were mostly not of his own choosing, but were brought to him, sensed as primary by those who brought them. Of three, however, he chose to make an issue, namely, the charge that he had Beelzebub, the indignation at the waste of the ointment, and the conversation of the disciples concerning the greatest. This study might be carried through the other gospels. For example, how would you formulate the problem in the mind of Nicodemus as he came to Jesus by night? What were the problems of the Woman of Samaria?

Run again through the list given above and note what solution Jesus gave to each problem.

Run through it still again and note the effects on conduct of the solution given in each case when recorded. The teaching of Jesus shows: problem—solution—action. Shall we regard these three as natural elements of every teaching act? From the Sermon on the Mount make a list of problems upon which Jesus chose to speak, sensing them as the problems of the multitudes. To what extent, do you suppose, were these problems felt as such by the crowds themselves?

How would you classify the problems upon which Jesus spoke, as practical or theoretical? Which, if any, are theoretical? Did Jesus sense the real needs of men better than they did themselves?

If Jesus had been a teacher of science and philosophy, would he have discussed theoretical problems more?

What may we as teachers of morality and religion learn from Jesus’ use of the problem method? To what extent does the teaching we know conform to this method?

What would happen if teachers and preachers began with problems?

Reshape next Sunday’s Bible school lesson about a problem.

There is another mode of approach to this matter. The term problem suggests particularly something intellectual, though, of course, problems may be emotional and moral as well as intellectual. The word need suggests particularly what is felt as a need.

Make a list of as many of the needs of people as you can which Jesus met.

Compare your list with the following: The healing of the body. The forgiveness of sin. The release from fear. The satisfaction of the desire to know. The redirection of motive.

Relief from Sabbatarianism.

Guidance in how to pray. The right valuation of sacrifice and mercy.

Social recognition. A universal rule of conduct. A true estimate of wealth. The dignity of humble service.

Right regard for children.

Ability to be cheerful in a world of tribulation.

Knowledge of the greatest commandment. The right attitude toward the letter of Scripture. The increase of faith. The spirit of truth. The resolution of doubt. The showing forth of the Father. The condemnation of hypocrisy in religion.

Ministry to cities and multitudes. The restoration of religious sanity to diseased minds. The satisfaction of hunger. The welcome of sinners. Is there any limit to a list of the needs of men met by Jesus? (Once a group provided me with a list of ninety-four such different needs.) Could you illustrate from the gospels each of these needs? Can you think of any moral or religious need of man not met by Jesus? Are there needs of men in science, philosophy, art, production, manufacture, commerce, transportation, and politics, not met by Jesus? In what sense? Would an affirmative answer constitute an unworthy limitation on the influence of Jesus? To be concrete, may a business man learn all he needs to know about the psychology of advertising from the gospels?

Perhaps we must distinguish between the inspiration to all that is good and needful, which we do find in Jesus, and the attainment of all such useful information, which, of course, we do not find in his recorded words. A Christian may study Greek tragedy, but his Christianity does not tell him what to think of Greek tragedy as a form of art.

We conclude, then, that Jesus met the moral and religious needs of men, and inspired them to find satisfaction of all their needs in the abundant life.

What difference would it make in our work if we met men on the ground of their problems and needs?