Faith and Doubt



Perspective: "An unexamined life is not worth living." [Socrates]

   Photographers tend to see images from their own perspective. I am no different. Here is a view from a prominent hotel in Tobago, West-Indies. Sometimes, I wish life were that easily ordered. We all have our neat religious beliefs. Sometimes we never question them. In order to make them equally our own, we should allow these beliefs to challenge us from time to time. For many, such existential problems do not exist. Religion becomes pigeon-holed,
categorized.
   I remembered a theologian adapting Socrates' famous line to say that an unexamined faith is not worth believing. Do such challenges ever come on our horizons?  Do we adapt different perspectives on the same view?
   The "Alban Institute" located in Washington, DC, has done a lot of research on membership in mainline churches. It cited many young adults abandon church-going when they leave home. Cherished values and beliefs are put to the test and tried in the sea of life. Some are shipwrecked by different circumstances; some hung up on rocks! Doubt, they discovered, is the common denominator, a necessity, the researchers say, if our faith has to grow and develop.
   To use our minds and not only our hearts, I believe, is important in appreciating any religious belief. What comes to mind is Saint Thomas' famous definition of theology, "fides quaerens intellectum" ("faith seeking understanding"). Without such an effort how can we say with conviction this is what I truly believe! Such experiences have been evident in every saint and sinner throughout the course of history. Check out John 20, 19-31 and we can all understand and appreciate such.
   To embark upon a risk of doubt in our spiritual journey is to know that there are no guarantees whether we will end up believing or not! To employ such an ethic of risk allows us to embrace any doubt without fear of our faith crumbling away.
   Paul Tillich, a famous Lutheran theologian/pastor was once approached by a troubled parishioner. The man felt embarassed to speak to his learned pastor. Tillich put him at ease: "Don't apologize! The clergy don't have any more faith than the laity. They just have more theology!"
To paraphrase another "celebrity," Rene Descartes: "I doubt therefore I am."
   We are here not only to admire the view!