“Give Me Doubt”? Religious Uncertainty In a Secular Age, Part 2 (Guest Post)

This is the second in a two-part series by my husband Caleb on doubt and faith in today’s Church culture. To understand what he is referring to by Charles Taylor and The Brilliance, see the previous post by the same title.

In my last post, I described and briefly evaluated The Brilliance’s musical piece, “Give Me Doubt” as an example of Christian thought regarding doubt in today’s secular age. I brought Charles Taylor’s philosophical insights into it, finally assessing all of it in light of biblical passages. In this post, I will continue the evaluation or critique portion of my series to conclude. 

Luther’s Small Catechism contains a quote that is famous in Lutheran circles. It reads, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.” Of course, the only alternative for the sinner is the Holy Spirit through the Gospel,  as the rest of the quote teaches: “but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” This part of the catechism makes me highly suspicious of what is going on the EP cited above. For one thing, the EP is asking for doubt where Scripture says to ask for faith. The father of a boy possessed by a demon told Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Galatians 5:6 says that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Throughout the New Testament, faith and love are placed together (e.g. 2 Corinthians 8:7; Ephesians 1:15; 6:23; Colossians 1:4). Doubt never is. This is the example set in Scripture, that sinners are to ask God for faith and seek it in Christ, especially if they are to love others. One cannot love someone fully unless He knows God by faith (see 1 John 4:7), so why would a Christian pray for doubt as though it were a prerequisite for love? This is certainly a product of today’s secular culture, and not of biblical Christianity.

I will give the benefit of the “doubt” (sorry) to The Brilliance by allowing the possibility they are referring to intellectual humility, nothing more. Intellectual humility is indeed a virtue. It is the acknowledgement that you do not possess all the answers to life’s questions. It is important not to be dogmatic on matters for which one does not have sufficient information. It is especially important not to identify the “armor of God” or claim God’s stamp of approval on what is in fact merely one’s own opinion. At its worst, to do so would be breaking the Second Commandment by using the name of God to promote a falsehood, or misrepresenting Him. Thus, if The Brilliance is merely saying that Christians ought not to claim that their political allegiance or other personal opinion is “God’s will,” when it is not specifically advocated in Scripture or plainly in natural law, well and good. This is a commendable use of musical artistry.

However, I have a significant problem with what is becoming fashionable today, namely, the relegation of doctrine to the domain of uncertainty. This can even apply to the doctrine of the Gospel, sadly enough. Christians who live in this secular age often act as if God has not spoken, or that He has not spoken with clarity. God says Christ saved us from God’s wrath (Romans 3:25; 5:9); people today deny the vicarious atonement, the doctrine that Christ paid the penalty for our sins so we would not go to hell. God says marriage between one man and one woman represents Christ’s relationship to the church (Ephesians 5:22-33); some Christians deny that marriage is between one man and one woman. The list could go on, but the point remains the same: those who claim to be Christians are talking as if their God has been silent.

Of course, The Brilliance never claims to deny any of the doctrines just listed. However, I do believe their EP was talking about doubt in spiritual matters, which starts to cast a shadow of uncertainty on the clear light of Scripture regarding things of God. The reason I think this is because of the subtitle of the EP: “A Remedy for Spiritual Violence.” This is a noble, if a bit overstated, goal for this musical piece, but it serves to show that the artist is not speaking exclusively of the limitations of reason. They seem to be arguing for limitations to faith as well, if not a redefinition of faith altogether. Is faith believing in something despite the evidence, or believing in something (namely doctrines) based on Scripture? “Give Me Doubt” seems to be suggesting the former definition.

The good news is that God has not been silent. God has spoken with clarity on all that pertains to our salvation. It is right there in His Word, the Old and New Testaments of Holy Scripture. If we struggle with doubt and have difficulty believing the Word of God for what it says, we can pray to the Holy Spirit to call us again by the Gospel and enlighten us with His gifts. Rather, than “Give Me Doubt,” may our prayer be to the Lord, “Give Me Faith in Your Unchanging Word.” In this secular age, which has impacted those within and without the church, this is the prayer we all can be praying.

“Give Me Doubt”? Religious Uncertainty In a Secular Age, Part 1 (Guest Post)

Today I’m excited to share with you a post by my husband, Caleb Hoverson. This is the first in a two-part series on doubt and faith in today’s Church culture. Watch for part two to see the conclusion to these reflections.

^{Image from charlestaylor.net}

I came across a video once in which philosopher Charles Taylor described what he calls “the four modes of seeking” in religion today: the viewing of religion as a journey; the decrease of religious dogmatism; the embracing of doubt; and what he calls “an ecumenicism of friendship.” While all of these modes of seeking are interrelated, I would argue that the third one, embrace of doubt, is the key to all of them. For if one embraces religious doubt and uncertainty, it makes sense to view life as a journey and not a destination. And if life is a journey, then, as Taylor points out, one can view individuals from other religions as co-journeyers on the path to a truth not yet discovered– maybe never to be discovered. This leads to a replacement of the dogmatism of previous decades with an “ecumenicism of friendship,” where religions can cooperate and perhaps even work towards unity (or even unification?) 

Taylor’s description of the four modes of seeking is perhaps best illustrated by The Brilliance’s beautiful EP, “Give Me Doubt: A Remedy for Spiritual Violence.” Most of the lyrics repeat the following refrain:

Give me doubt so I can see my neighbor as myself

Give me doubt so I can lay all my weapons on the ground

When the armor of God is too heavy for peace

Give me doubt, give me doubt 

As I interpret this passage, the songwriter is asking God for the doubt as a sort of gift, a gift that will enable him to gain (essentially) an ecumenicism of friendship. As he sees the doubts and struggles he shares in common with others around him, he begins to see his neighbor as himself, a statement clearly alluding to the commandment in Scripture to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Thus, doubt could even be seen as a key to love. This can be seen in the outro of the first song, which reads

What be my courage now?

My shield from evil?

Love, be my courage now

I shall not fear 

So one can see not only doubt but also Taylor’s “ecumenicism of friendship” and hints of the religion-as-journey concept in this music by The Brilliance. There is even a rather explicit mention against militaristic religious dogmatism in the negative words, “When the armor of God is too heavy for peace.”

The irony of this EP is that the gospel of peace is a part of the “armor of God” in Ephesians 6 (v. 15). A shield is part of the armor as well. However, the shield  is not love, but faith. Faith is in many ways the opposite of the very gift for which the artist is praying (doubt). And speaking of prayer, the apostle Paul concludes his passage on the armor of God with an exhortation to prayer, specifically “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19, ESV). 

This is the point I want to highlight. “Give Me Doubt,” by presenting doubt as a virtue and the armor of God (even if not the actual armor referred to in Ephesians) as a hindrance to overcome, actually minimizes the clarity and certainty of the Gospel. The Gospel is not an invitation to doubt, but to faith. Many in today’s secular age are trying to harmonize faith and doubt, as if the two are not mutually exclusive. They exist at the same time in a Christian. But that is only to the same extent that sin and perfect righteousness dwell in a Christian simultaneously. Doubt is still the absence of faith, just as sin is the absence of righteousness. Doubt is a vice, not a virtue. 

This being said, a clarification is in order. I affirm The Brilliance in presenting doubt as a means to better understand the neighbor. This is a very true consequence of doubt, as well as any sin. When we recognize our limitations, failures, and shared inability to save ourselves, we grow in humility and understanding for one another. But one must remember that Jesus repeatedly chides His disciples for their doubt and lack of faith (e.g. Matt. 14:31). James writes that one who doubts in prayer is like a wave of the sea tossed about by the wind (James 1:6).