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A Leap Of Doubt & The Value of Uncertainty

 

“There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.” – Alfred Lord Tennyson

I’m confused. Human beings seem to crave certainty…all the while fully reveling in mystery? What do you think we more fully appreciate? Certainty or mystery?

Despire our love for a good detective novel, or murder investigation, I believe we begin to become frayed at the edges, if we cannot have clear black and white areas in our life.

Doubt it seems, is our enemy.
 
I recently watched a movie called Doubt.

The movie, tackles the subject of doubt masterfully, and it never releases you from having to wrestle with an overwhelming amount of uncertainty.

“What do you do when you’re not sure…” begins the priest, played by Phillipp Seymour Hofmann, in one of the opening scenes of this movie.

He later concludes that in the face of despair, whether stricken with a private calamity of sickness, guilt…or doubt…to remember the virtues of suffering together.

“Your bond with your fellow human being…was your despair…Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty…”

Watch the first part in this movie here:

 

 

All around us, we are plunged into mystery, that seems to raise a fist at any inclination we may have to blindly obey.

When people come promising only certainty. I grow wary.

• I will not blindly obey

When plunged into a genuine “crisis of faith”.

• I will not blindly cling to certainty.

Respect your uncertainty.

By so doing we fight back the persuasive sway of these momentous forces.  That call you to believe without question, and offer you guilt in response to your questions.

It’s sometimes hard…we sometimes, non thinkingly…succumb…but in the end…our conscience demands a more mature, and genuine response.

“Doubt is not a pleasant condition but certainty is absurd.”-Voltaire

So what do you think about doubt? Does it have any redeeming virtues? Yes? No? In-between? Do not care?

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“The Internet Is My Religion”

 
What exactly is religion?
 
For many people, this word may bring up a variety of feelings, and definitions. Wikipedia…more or less describes it as a belief system, that aims to answer questions about the ultimate questions in life, while also aiding in giving its adherents a sense of meaning in this life.

But what of those who spill out beyound these formal definitions, and define themselves, religious or not, in a variety of ways.

What of those who attend a church for the aspect of community, but actually appreciate what they may consider to be more peripheral, doctrinal differences? What if what unifies a group of people is more than an agreed upon set of doctrinal propositions?

And what of those who, based on unique experiences, feebly attempt to wrestle with a various definitions of God, the act of which, may often not be so readily entertained among ecclesiastical circles.
 

Religion For The Misfits

My quest to connect with others who are actively exploring these questions, has gradually led me to the realization that the internet can be just that place. That place of connection. That elastic space of exploration, that while allowing for a brutality spawned from anonymity, still in other ways, gives many the needed buffer to comfortably walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.

The internet does not only connect you to information, but to others who are trudging along, on a similar pursuit.

 

Jim Gilliam, describes his take on this very subject, in a very personal way. The title of this blog, The Internet Is My Religion, was taken from a recent talk he gave at a Personal Democracy Forum. Much of what he has to say, really connected with aspects of my experience.

The video below, shows him giving an inspiring talk about his life, his battles with cancer, and how he found grace in the networks and connections that the Internet makes possible.

 

 

You can find out more at www.theinternetismyreligion.com

So…what did you think of his talk? How do you define church? How do you choose to experience community around your most deeply held beliefs? Does technology enhance your spirituality, impair it, both?

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