Finding Faith
Faith and doubt
I was brought up in a small religious community with a distinctive set of beliefs that defined and set it apart. But when I started to study Scholarship-level zoology in my teens I was forced to really question what I’d been taught since it was at odds with what science revealed. I had to make choices. I’ve been probing and challenging my belief system ever since, most of the time with my head well below the parapet.
So author/speaker/activist/theologian Brian McLaren‘s experience of striving to make sense of everything resonated powerfully for me. He had a similar background. He has struggled with the profound questions that lead to doubt and loss and perplexity.
In his books: Finding Faith and Faith after Doubt, he shares his journey to the conclusion that his hunger for growth and understanding has led him to a better place. Doubt is far from a negative thing, an enemy of faith; rather it’s a portal to a more mature faith, something genuine and humble and more giving. Phew! Wish I’d known that at 17!! All that guilt. Secrecy. Fear.
The books are well-written, engaging, full of personal touches and stories that bring the topic and the dilemmas alive. McLaren’s analysis is helpful too – the difference between beliefs and faith; the driving forces behind behaviours in the church; the transformation from a sense of superiority to one of vulnerability and revolutionary love; and the realisation that the mystery of life is so far beyond the human brain to conceive of as to bring the questioner to a place of wonder and reverence for a truth beyond comprehension. It’s OK not to have all the answers. It’s OK!
Serious stuff this week but it lifted my spirits with its honesty and glimpse of freedom. I still have lots to discover but at least I’m now at ease with my questioning.