Faith and Doubt

Peter Steinfels is a regular contributor on matters religious to The NY Times. I heartily recommend all who might read this blog to go to the Times website and search for his name. You will greatly rewarded.

In Saturday's on-line edition (July 19), he reflects on a 2007 book written by Charles Taylor entitled A Secular Age. Steinfels described the book as "[Taylor's] formidable exploration of how the conditions of religious belief — and of unbelief, too — have changed for modern Westerners."

One section from Steinfels' column was particularly striking to me. "Far more than in the past, Mr. Taylor writes, believers must live their faith 'in a condition of doubt and uncertainty.' Religious thinkers, of course, have long argued that uncertainty and faith are not the polar opposites often supposed; that indifference, and not doubt, for example, is the greater adversary of faith; that absolute certitude about God often reflects a dangerous arrogance."

I have long argued that faith and doubt can be held simultaneously by the religious person. I believe the confession of faith in Mark 9:24 - of the man who was seeking help for his son and who said "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief" - is the most honest confession of faith contained in the Biblical text. Paul Tillich, one of the great 20th century theologians, wrote about the component of doubt in all faith.

The recent Pew Center study on the nature of religious thought among Americans stated that 92% of Americans believed in God or a universal Spirit. Of those, 71% claimed they were absolutely certain of this. While it would not fit in a phone interview format, I would want to ask, "What do you mean when you say that you are absolutely certain of this?"

So, let me ask you. Do you believe in a God or universal Spirit? If so, how certain of that are you - absolutely, fairly, not too, or not at all? Finally, does that certainty ever waver?