Leaving Room for Ambiguity

Faith in the Public Square
Lompoc Record
June 18, 2006

Books occasionally appear on the market offering irrefutable proof of Christianity's truth claims. But such claims are not without challenge.

Two centuries ago Scottish philosopher David Hume raised the evidentiary bar exceedingly high. Hume insisted that truth was what our senses perceived and confirmed. While many remained steadfast in their beliefs, others were attracted by Hume's skepticism, including some of America's founding fathers.

Jefferson and Franklin were deists who saw value in religion, but sought out a simplified and general creed. Jefferson's famous Bible excised the miraculous from the gospels, leaving behind only Jesus' ethical teachings.

Hume's insistence that we trust only our own experience, places a great burden on the historian and the theologian. If something isn't part of our own experience, then we should be skeptical of the reports of others. Now, Hume's call to skepticism has some merit. When I receive an e-mail telling me that I've won the Nigerian lottery I have a right to be skeptical.

But, how far should we go with our skepticism? The scientific method is built on a naturalistic foundation that doubts every answer, pursuing every lead until the truth is known. This allows it to challenge dangerous superstitions and solve seemingly unsolvable problems. Its refusal to stop its inquiry with an appeal to divine will has led to cures for diseases and enabled us to travel to the moon. Therefore, science poses significant challenges to treasured belief systems, including my own.

The challenge, for the believer, is to balance rationality and spirituality. Not being a fan of anti-intellectual religion, I affirm the rationality of God, but I don't believe that theological truth can be known in the same way as scientific truth. In fact, theology and science may talk about the same problem in very different ways, which makes “black and white” answers difficult to come by. This also means that truth isn't always compatible with either/or choices.

As I've argued before, Genesis 1 can be true without being historically or scientifically verifiable. And, if you read the four gospels you'll discover four different accounts of Jesus' life. You can try to harmonize them, but in the end loose ends will remain. This doesn't make these accounts untrue or useless, but you won't necessarily find historical precision.

I read the Bible with my mind and with my heart. Faith ultimately has something to do with matters of things hoped for and unseen (Hebrews 11). Therefore, when it comes to proof for God's existence, I don't take my clues from the design of nature - which often gives conflicting reports. Instead, I look to the spiritual longings of humanity. This isn't fool proof, but I find it compelling.

Religion can be a catalyst for good or ill. In many ways it's what we make of it. As a Christian I find my faith's tradition compelling, truthful, and satisfying. My experiences with people of other religions have taught me that they too live meaningful lives and seem to have discernible relationships with God. It's interesting too that something akin to the golden rule is present in almost every religion. Could this not be evidence of God's presence in the world?

I'm a person of faith, but I've become comfortable with questions, doubt, and ambiguity. I believe in truth, but I don't believe that I have the corner on that truth. Ultimately the final arbiter of truth is in the hands of someone greater than me, which means I'm not competent to judge my neighbor.

When it comes to the question of objective truth, I find myself wanting to be cautious. Truth may be objective, but that doesn't mean that I have an objective grasp of truth. When it comes to religion and faith in God, there must be room for doubt. We must be comfortable with metaphor and analogy. Jesus told parables, which are stories that tell truth, but the stories themselves are fiction.

I have doubts and questions, but I remain a person of deep and abiding faith. God is not, for me, a fantasy, but I remain cautious in my assertions of truth. This isn't a vice, in fact, in an age of religiously inspired intolerance and even violence, a bit of caution might be warranted.

Dr. Bob Cornwall is pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (www.lompocdisciples.org).

June 18, 2006