Together on the Journey: A Weekly Blog from Fr. Andrew Sheldon
We are currently in the midst of a 6-week digital adult faith formation series called ‘Beyond Belief’. Ably facilitated by New Testament scholar Marcus Borg, we are exploring Jesus, his identity, mission, and meaning. In a recent discussion, I was struck by one participant’s statement that a particular learning left him feeling relieved; relieved because he felt permission to question and even disbelieve something he had long thought was a necessary component of Christian faith. And so, this leads me to consider another indicator of a healthy church:
There is room for doubt.
And because there is room for doubt, hard questions, reservations about assumed articles of faith, or outright disbelief are welcomed, indeed encouraged, as a healthy part of faith and growth, and not considered a threat to the institution.
I say this because, in the first place, the Christian faith is not primarily about belief; at least not belief as assenting to a set of propositions about God, or about Jesus. The authenticity of our faith is not measured by our capacity to retain and recite doctrines, dogmas, or creeds. Indeed, in my experience, these are the very things that most of us trip over, and are at the root of our doubts. To go beyond belief is to understand our faith in terms of relationship. We are in a relationship with God in Christ that compels us not to assent to propositions but to amend our lives in accordance with what matters to God in Christ. As such, it is much more a matter of behaving than believing. A close scrutiny of the gospel of Jesus Christ will make it clear what kind of behaviours are expected from us. And when you look at the behaviours expected from us, it is no surprise that many default to assenting to a set of propositions as a far less strenuous exercise!
Now, of course I am not saying that belief does not play a part in our faith lives. But, because it is rooted in relationship, it is a belief in not a belief about. We believe that God in Christ is alive and well and active in the world. We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ, as we have received it, can be transformative of individuals and society. We believe that with God’s power working within us we can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. We don’t ask people to believe impossible things about Jesus, to read the Bible literally, or to accept all of our story as factual, just to believe that Jesus is risen indeed and that Christ’s power working in us can enable us to break out of our skepticism and unbelief and do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
And yet, this too we sometimes doubt. Sometimes God in Christ is an elusive presence. Sometimes prayers feel not just unanswered but unheard. Sometimes the science overwhelms the spiritual and it all seems an illusion. And that is just as true for me as it may be for you. But there is always room for doubt.
St George’s is a diverse community when it comes to expressions of faith. We have those who have absolutely no reservations about the claims of the Christian faith, and we have those for whom reservations are a defining characteristic. We have skepticism and pessimism; we have certainty and optimism. We have those for whom seeing is believing, and those for whom believing is seeing. And if you are anything like me, you experience all of the above over the course of time. But there is room here, my friends. Room for it all.
Andrew +