Part 6. Studying the motor car...and the bible.

I say motor car, you think and say? Ford, Renault, racing car , 4x4, your first car etc. Two words evoking quite different responses, all of which may be different to what I think. Communication has inherent ambiguity. Should a person make a statement that something is clear or obvious it may be to that person but should we accept their interpretation or consider alternative meanings?

How do we interpret words such as justice,  inclusion,  love, hope, faith?  The reality surely is that we see words through the perspective of our experiences, prejudices and preferences and not by someone telling us what they mean. Beware the gatekeepers who seek to control our thoughts. Be free to hold your own opinion. Look up Liberation Theology on your search engine

Back to the car. A few observations:

1. Some people study how the car operates: what the component are, how they are put together, how they work and how they are serviced and repaired. Some may concentrate on mechanical components, others on bodywork.

2. For some people what is under the bonnet is a mystery. They are interested only in how the car is driven and understanding the rules relating to driving on the public highway.

3. For some people what is important is to study the impact of the car on our individual lifestyle. What purpose does it serve? What does it enable us to do that otherwise would not be possible or very difficult to achieve? The car may have extended the geographical area in which we can work, made it easier to attend events, visit relatives, go touring etc.etc.

4. For some people the area of study is to determine the impact the car has had and will have in the future. Out-of-town retail parks, multistorey car parks, motorways are physical manifestations but the car has a much wider individual, social,  public and environmental impact on how we live and plan for the future. How has the car changed society and what will be its influence in the future?

Note that the four categories are not mutually exclusive and there other ways of studying the motor car. For example:the history of the development of the car.

Instead of motor car think bible. How do you approach reading the bible?