The Sin of Certainty

For many people in our world, the opposite of faith is doubt. The goal, then, within this understanding, is to eliminate doubt. But faith and doubt aren’t opposites. Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it’s alive and well and exploring and searching. Faith and doubt aren’t opposites; they are, it turns out, excellent dance partners.

It’s possible to hold your faith with open hands, living with great conviction and yet at the same time humbly admitting that your knowledge and perspective will always be limited.

Letting go of the need for certainty is more than just a decision about how we think; it’s a decision about how we want to live. When the quest for finding and holding on to certainty is central to our faith, our lives are marked by traits we wouldn’t normally value in others: •​unflappable dogmatic certainty •​vigilant monitoring of who’s in and who’s out •​preoccupation with winning debates and defending the faith •​privileging the finality of logical arguments •​conforming unquestionably to intellectual authorities and celebrities

A faith like that is in constant battle mode, like a cornered honey badger. Or like a watchman on the battlements scanning the horizon from sun up to sun down for any threat. And soon you forget what faith looks like when you’re not fighting about it. That kind of faith is not marked by trust in the Creator. It is stressful and anxiety laden, and it doesn’t make for healthy relationships with others, including those closest to us. On the surface, we might see here pride, arrogance, or belligerence, but those are simply symptoms of something deeper — a fear of being wrong and what might happen as a result. But trust in God casts out fear and cultivates a life of trust that flourishes regardless of how certain we feel. Trust is not marked by unflappable dogmatic certainty, but by embracing as a normal part of faith the steady line of mysteries and uncertainties that parade before our lives and seeing them as opportunities to trust more deeply.

Related posts:

I prefer drinking water over soda and you should too. There are many reasons why I prefer water over soda. Water, not only is free, but most importantly, it is healthier. Why not save some money and…

Thanksgiving can be a nightmare. My marriage certainly was, and I couldn’t do anything about it. All I needed was my sexist brother-in-law hounding me, my in-laws judging me. I just want to be happy…

The more I use Promises the more I like it, it’s so flexible and easy, it’s not flawless, but yet very powerful. How much do you know about Promises? Have you ever thought about other Promises…