Theos-Talk Archives (February 1999 Message tl00054)

Feb 23 1999

Dallas responds:

Dear Grigor:

If the desire to teach is to secure "personal recognition," you
would be certainly right in characterizing the motive as selfish,
and as directing attention to ones' self as an "authority."

However in writing as I did, I was trying to convey the duty (as
I see it) of spreading information that might be useful to
others.  No more than that.

You are also quite right in questioning this, as no one should
set ones' self up as "teacher," when all of us are in the
position of only being "student-teachers" whenever we pass
information on to others.

No one can secure a "patent" on wisdom or knowledge.  To hold
information away from others for personal profit, is in my
opinion destructive to the integrity of a human being.  And that
is all the more so when that information could be used for the
general good.

There is, of course, need for great discrimination, as all
knowledge is not for those who are ethically known to be
unworthy."  I mean to stress the idea of "ethically," because
there is always the potential for a person to selfishly abuse
knowledge.  And if a teacher unwisely gives information, the
moral burden descends on that "teacher" who so unwisely gives
information to the "wrong" person.

Such matters are not easy to decide, nor should they be done
hastily.

That is as I see it.

Dallas