The people who killed the young U.S. diplomat, Anne Smedinghoff, in Afghanistan in April, are afraid of knowledge. Smedinghoff, a public diplomacy officer with the U.S. embassy in Kabul, was killed by a terrorist bomb. She and her colleagues were delivering books to a school in the war torn country.

Let’s be honest. Knowledge can change us. We take a risk when we choose to learn and explore new ideas.

However, such exploration also can give us more appreciation for solid beliefs taught us by our parents and communities. Certainly, my sojourn in a country with beliefs quite different from those I had grown up with gave me a better understanding of its culture.  I can never see its people as mere stereotypes. I am aware, too, of the common humanity that we share. At the same time, my own faith was strengthened. Seeing other belief systems caused me to think more deeply about my own, to test it, and to grow in it.

New knowledge can be challenging, but without it, we stagnate. True faith sends us out in confidence. We may incorporate new beliefs. We may reject them. We may modify our ideas. But only a timid faith refuses the opportunity to grow.