Bias isn’t bad. My high school journalism class taught me that it is. But it isn’t.
The middle ground is as biased a place to stand as either of the extreme ends, only the middle is biased towards oneself and ones own safety.
When discerning the right and the good in a complex conflict, people of conscience are not required to always be “objective.” They are required to listen and to pay close attention, to forswear the chicanery of the zealot and to put away sentimentality. But they are also required to stand somewhere and to have a bias.
A bias is derived either from personal experience of from loyalty to a set of values and the community that asserts them. I have friends who are biased towards the Palestinians because they spent summer’s in Israel learning about the occupation. I also have friends who are biased towards Israel because they value the Biblical promises made to Israel regarding the land.
Neither bias is bad. Constructive conversation and learning, however, growth and transformation, require us to narrate our own biases and to understand others’ biases fairly and not as an excuse to walk away.
YoRocko! 
“Since bias is a part of being human, bias isn’t bad, it just is.” I don’t know if you are agreeing with this sentiment, but I would like to state a push back. It is true that bias is a part of human nature. However, our particular biases are culturally, rather than biologically, derived. Yesterday I had a conversation with my daughter-in-law about her trip to the Philippines. The major language of the Philippines is Tagalog, but her family speaks Ilocano one of the larger minority languages. There is a bias among Tagalog speakers that Ilocano speakers are rough, country folk with no sophistication. My daughter-in law was in Macy’s in Manila and a clerk saw her and came to engage her in what the store offered. When she was told that she didn’t speak Tagalog, but did speak Ilocano, the clerk’s face dropped its smile and she immediately turned away and went to another part of the department. My daughter-in-law said this is a common experience. Is this bias just a bias, and since we are all biased, it is ok? This kind of bias story can is replicated the world over all day, every day. All biases are not equal.
My current thinking about this matter is two-fold. First, it is important for people to know their biases. An unfortunate majority of us assume that our biases are gifts of enlightenment. Second, real enlightenment is available only when we are able to put our biases to the side for a short time while our mind is opened to other possibilities. This is a skill that has a scare factor. What if we were to change our mind about some issue or another? This could put a wedge between us and our cohorts who were raised in the same micro culture. Think family arguments. We also could be wrong in changing our mind about certain hotly debated issues. But, I think that confronting our biases and being able to lay them aside for brief periods of time in order to be able to listen—really listen—is an important part of being the kind of human being God intended us to be.
Christian opponents of developing critical thinking skills often point to Romans 12:2 (Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.) The assumption is that Christians go wrong when they are influenced by concepts, theories, and reasoning of the “World.” To them, World means those voices outside of your church tradition. I would like to posit that world could also mean a person’s micro Christian culture. We shouldn’t be conformed to that either. There is a juxtaposition here of two concepts—conforming and renewing. Conforming is condemned and renewing is advocated. Our biases do need seasons of renewing, not further confirmation. If we were to practice this discipline I think our conversations about such matters as the Israelis and the Palestinians would be more fruitful.
Seems like we need to distinguish between bias and prejudice, right?
So, what is the difference? Isn’t bias an unconscious pre-judging? Bias is a neutral term and prejudice a negative term? Dictionary for prejudice: preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Dictionary for bias: prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. They either are synonyms or have a lot in common.
I’m advocating for the notion that not all biases are equal. Some are based solely (or mostly) on unfounded beliefs. Certainly the idea that the Israel of the Bible and the current secular state of Israel are one in the same cannot be shown from the biblical text. It is a notion of 20th century dispensationalists. Am I wrong? Does the Bible condone anything the ancient “nation” of Israel did because of His promises to Abraham? Why can’t we understand Israel as a nation among nations with which we have a good relation. Why does any politician who would like to keep her job have to be very careful not to say something that might be taken as critical of Israel?
I’m thinking of bias as something that pervades your whole thinking about a subject and prejudice as something that is more diffuse throughout your worldview. But the two are often confused, and people with a healthy bias can easily be accused of prejudice, which is why I think this conversation is important.
You are clearly biased in favor of nation states, of viewing every country on equal footing as the same modern historical/political entity. That’s a fair bias. You are not prejudiced against Israel. But I’m guessing you’ve been accused of that, haven’t you?
I think that I have a pro-Israel bias because of the link to Jewish people I have known. Also, even though I think there is not direct connection between the nation-state of Israel today and ancient Israel, there is that lingering connection between Judaism and Christianity. As I read the Romans passages, I don’t think that Paul counts Jews out of a special connection to God and His work. What the connection is, is amorphous to me. I feel a religious connection to Jewish people. Many Jewish people feel a strong connection to Israel. So, I have that inner feeling–bias. But, I admit to a strong bias against the idea that because of the promise of God to the patriarchs of the land in perpetuity, that the modern nation of Israel can do no wrong. The strong, uncritical support of Evangelicals along with support from Jewish organizations has led to our leaders being afraid to voice any kind of statement that isn’t super pro-Israel. The Palestinians get left out of the equation–except as the boogymen. So the news of what is happening in this war is a real bummer. Neither side is acting in the best long-term interests of its people. Netanyahu treats the Hamas led Gaza as a teacher would scold a rascal schoolboy. Hamas is willing to see their people slaughtered to gain the sympathy of the international community. Who knows if this kind of behavior can be ended?
And, yes, I have been accused of not being a good Christian for not supporting Israel 100%.
I’m still unclear in your differentiation between bias and prejudice. I think I here you saying that bias is neutral. We all have it. Prejudice is when a bias turns into something nasty. We don’t all have prejudices?
I guess the distinction is that I think bias should be admitted to a discussion and owned, without injuring the credibility of the argument. Prejudice shouldn’t. We do all have prejudices, and I think those need overcome. I don’t think bias needs overcome.
Ok. I agree with you that for discussion purposes we need to lay out our biases in a non-judgmental manner. True discussion is when a group of people meet to deal with an important issue and seek to come to mutual understanding. It is not group debate where people come together to prove their point of view to be the best one available and stick to it no matter what. What good does that accomplish? Well, you end up with winners and losers. The winners may not be right (or righter), but they had the best presentation and argumentative skills. Good lawyers win cases.
If we are willing to recognize our biases and lay them on the table AND be willing to modify them as we listen to others, then good can come from a discussion. How do we foster this kind of discussion? We should not be so tied to our biases that we don’t allow for inner change. I hope you have modified your biases over time and experience. Not to do so is to make a bias a prejudice.