“No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does the wine will burst the skins and the wine is destroyed and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
Mark 2: 22
When Copernicus announced to the world that the sun rather than the earth was actually at the center of our solar system, he contradicted a long held low resolution view which taught that the earth was at the center of the heavens and that the entire cosmos revolved around it. Copernicus’ new wine hypothesis could not be accepted because it tested a belief that was part of a much larger entrenched system of thinking. This view held in spite of the contrary mathematics and persisted until Galileo, Kepler, and Newton proved Copernicus’ theory. It was several hundred years before Copernicus’ ideas were fully embraced.
It isn’t a given that because something is new it is necessarily better. Often new things are understood to be an automatic improvement over whatever precedes them. Qualitatively, it’s hard to make the case that new wine is just always better than the old. This is also true when comparing new and older versions of almost anything. An older car for instance may lack the handling and features of a newer model, but still be more aesthetically attractive in terms of style and appearance. A new house might be preferable when thinking about future maintenance, but an older home may conversely be desirable when considering the quality of materials used in the past compared with today. An argument for and against both new and old can always be made. Figuring out which is better in any given situation must come down to an objective decision informed by the facts.
Making a good decision of this sort has a lot to do with honesty. Often, old things that we are familiar with are preferred because they are comfortable. Whereas something new almost always means change and perhaps even disruption, the old requires no modification to our plans or habits. This of course is a difficult argument to make in light of contrary evidence, where a new idea actually can be proven to be better or an old idea is no longer feasible. However our adherence to preference should never be underestimated. People are capable of dismissing a logical choice in favor of an emotionally preferred alternative, such as when a business owner continues to shovel money into their failing venture or an abused woman opts to stay with her abuser.
Making decisions always involves prioritization, and our priorities are based upon a hierarchy of values. Being clear on what those values are and the order in which they exist is a real asset when making difficult decisions, especially where emotion or bias might influence our thinking. Recognizing and qualifying our own preferences will not only help us make better decisions, but also identify other people who are allowing extraneous factors to influence their thinking.
Symbolically new wine may in some sense represent the omnipresence of change. Rarely invited, it comes and goes on its terms. It’s no stranger as we have known it our entire lives, having watched it go about its work. Change is more than a part of who we are, it’s woven into every moment of our experience, bringing both joy and sadness, graying our hair and also renewing our spirits. It never negotiates nor changes its mind and always accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent. Preparing in advance for its next visit is by far the best thing we can do.
We might be tempted to look back and marvel at the ignorance of the religious in Copernicus’ day, but would do well to exercise caution. The opposition today to education and understanding of things old and new no longer comes from religious authorities, but still wields the same kind of oppressive power that opposed Copernicus. Low resolution worldviews are if anything more powerful today than at any other time, and are more pervasive, masquerading as agents of exposition. Those who advance them deceive people into thinking they are being enlightened when they are in fact being further dumbed down and even turned off altogether. If low resolution images provide at best only an incomplete picture, they can neither be trusted or allowed to stand. We are obliged to effectively replace them with accurate and truthful views of reality whenever, wherever the opportunity exists.
Ironically, ignorance seems to actually be preferred by those who resist a higher resolution, and their motive may be nothing more than to simply protect their old wineskins. Regardless we recommend being ready with the new wineskins just in case.
