Chasing Certainty
In the newsroom at the newspaper where I worked was a sign saying, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”
The message, of course, is that nothing is certain, even a mother’s love. And that has shown to be true. Some few mothers abandon their children, injure them or even kill them.
Reporters aren’t supposed to be satisfied with what appears to be true but are urged to “check out” even the most seemingly certain of statements or situations.
What We Have in Common
Fact is, we’re all searching for certainty. Scientists, atheists, religious people and people searching for God – all have that in common. But most of us have discovered that certainty, even about something as solid as a mother’s love, is illusive.
“Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” goes the famous maxim. But we know that of those two, only death is really certain. Tax laws change, and there are many people on the planet who pay no taxes.
Some people think of science as the ultimate repository of certainty, but by its nature it is constantly changing. Coffee is good for you, then it isn’t. Same with alcohol in moderation, and chocolate. The scientific method requires openness to new evidence. No scientist or school of opinion has the final word.
Others think of theology, or religious doctrine, as the home of certainty. But though there may be certain religious principles that are unchangeable, religion does – and should – adapt them to contemporary life.
The Human Condition
Uncertainty, it seems, is the only certainty. Doubt is part of the human condition.
In an on-line article, Frank Brennan, who teaches law at Australian Catholic University and Australian National University, references Tomas Halik – a philosopher and theologian I frequently quote in these blogs.
“All human beings live with paradox,” writes Brennan. “Some, like Halik, believe they can wrestle more authentically with the paradoxes of life as members of a community of faith, even one that takes seriously ideas of tradition and authority, as well as individual conscience and cultural authenticity….
“While Halik sees the Church as a community that can instill a person’s original, untested, unreflective faith, he also regards it as a privileged space in which those whose original faith has been shaken can arrive at a “second-wind faith” – a faith that is at home with paradox, engaged with the world, and accepting of the inevitable shortcomings of the Church.”
He quotes Halik: “Religion … has tried to eliminate paradoxes from our experience of reality; the faith we are maturing toward … teaches us to live with paradoxes.”
Easier said than done. Most people chase certainty, but we are selective about it. We demand it in some areas of our lives more than in others. We expect little certainty in advertising or in the world of politics but much more in questions of faith.
Perspective Required
But like everything, the search for God requires perspective. Is it realistic to require certainty of faith? If so, it’s not faith at all but some vague, fictional, notion of faith. Though theologians don’t like this term, faith is – in one perspective, at least – a leap in the dark.
Jesus’ disciples were bewildered after he told them how hard it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, according to Luke’s gospel. “Then,” they asked, “Who can be saved?” Jesus’ enigmatic answer: “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
In other words, faith isn’t just an intellectual thing, a matter of continually chasing certainty and trying to reason our way into belief. It requires an effort to establish a relationship with God, and we do that by prayer and reaching out to God in other people. And that demands time, and commitment.
