confirmation
Saturday, January 22, 2005 by niebuhrian
One of my favorite quotes comes from Paul Tillich's book Dynamics of Faith. My friends are probably tired of hearing me quote it, but it has meant a lot to me over the past year. In the book Tillich says the following:
"...serious doubt is confirmation of faith."
Which basically means the ability to doubt is inextricably tied to the ability to believe. Therefore, in order to seriously question one's beliefs, one must seriously believe. The comfort of this quote reminds me of something that a friend and I talked about last night. I don't know if I remember entirely how he put it, but I found it meaningful in my conversation with life.
Last night, he basically said that from what he has learned (he is a doctoral student in Old Testament), that if he were not already a Christian there would not be enough to the Bible to convince him to convert. However, since the history, experience, and traditions of the Christian community are his history, traditions, and experiences, there is not enough reason for him to leave either(I do hope I got that right).
His words, like Tillich's, are a another comfort and another confirmation that I am going to be all right. Since I began pondering his idea, I have come to better appreciate my own struggles with God, the enterprise of the church, and the life of faith. I look at and see his words as inspirational to those of us who find themselves sometimes skeptical in this mad, mad world. It makes me wonder what all us do with the doubts we encounter during the journeys of our lives...
"...serious doubt is confirmation of faith."
Which basically means the ability to doubt is inextricably tied to the ability to believe. Therefore, in order to seriously question one's beliefs, one must seriously believe. The comfort of this quote reminds me of something that a friend and I talked about last night. I don't know if I remember entirely how he put it, but I found it meaningful in my conversation with life.
Last night, he basically said that from what he has learned (he is a doctoral student in Old Testament), that if he were not already a Christian there would not be enough to the Bible to convince him to convert. However, since the history, experience, and traditions of the Christian community are his history, traditions, and experiences, there is not enough reason for him to leave either(I do hope I got that right).
His words, like Tillich's, are a another comfort and another confirmation that I am going to be all right. Since I began pondering his idea, I have come to better appreciate my own struggles with God, the enterprise of the church, and the life of faith. I look at and see his words as inspirational to those of us who find themselves sometimes skeptical in this mad, mad world. It makes me wonder what all us do with the doubts we encounter during the journeys of our lives...
