Belief in God in an Age of Scepticism

                               Belief in God in an Age of Scepticism

Introduction
The question has been asked: How does someone maintain their belief in God in an age of scepticism especially when there appears to be such overwhelming evidence against believing in a personal God. The answer may be more practical than we at first thought. As author Tim Keller says: ‘Realize your faith can’t be without doubts but there is no need to doubt your faith’

                                                The Times in which we live:

We live in a world full of scepticism. Every day, our belief and faith in God come under siege or threat. In today’s sophisticated world, threats to religion no longer come mainly from the atheistic or agnostic philosophical traditions opposed to faith. The threats to our faith are now way more varied and widespread. As you watch television, peruse social media, listen to societal speakers on every level, or even read the daily news or popular literature, we discover the masses living life with absolute abandon. This widespread and total disregard for moral restraint seems to scream: ‘There is no God.’ Similarly, personal faith is being undermined by the breathtaking scientific, medical and technological advancements which match this highly advanced free-spirited world of ours. The preponderance of social media, the spectacular speed of burgeoning mind-altering inventions driven by AI (Artificial intelligence), suggest that man is on the cusp of his zenith. And to top it all off, the increasing crises of church splits, church scandals, neo non-biblical Christianity and other church related skirmishes are proving disheartening even for the most submissive, sincere hearted believers. In the midst of this conundrum, all mankind faces an existential threat in the climate crisis. This phenomenon has brought a growing number of unparalleled natural disasters across the globe. In response, Christians, who previously claimed to be able to understand, interpret and pronounce on the future of mankind, have abandoned the task, retreating to the safety of silence. Their actions suggest that maybe the view from God’s side is not so clear after all. Not surprisingly, science and technology have stepped in, offering to provide the answers to these so-called mysteries which men once looked to God to furnish. Thus, as all of the things descend upon the hearts and minds of the faithful, even the once staunch advocates of the afterlife feel constrained to ask: ‘Is faith still relevant in this highly technological, sophisticated, rationalistic age?’ It seems as if in their minds they are pondering: ‘Does the God described as the ancient of days fit into this modern complex world?’

                                                       A mixed Response:
For many the answer is no; God is no longer relevant; or maybe He never existed at all. ‘If God is real’, they ask, like Gideon of old, ‘why has all this befallen us? Where is He when national disasters strike? Where is He when evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse? When will He respond, seeing that millions, especially the most vulnerable, are dying every day of hunger, disease, war and strife much of it in the name of religion?  Why did He not intervene when the church elders were abusing children in the name of God? How does He justify allowing slavery, and apartheid and unchecked evil to ravish minorities in our midst?’

But for others, the answer to if God is still relevant, has been a resounding: ‘Yes! Absolutely Yes!  Yes!’ they say. ‘Yes, there is a true and living God. In spite of all that’s happening, or how we may be feeling, there is a God. A God that’s real, personal and intimate, a God that’s knowable and analogical. A God that sent His son into the world to die for the sins of mankind. A God who will one day stop all the sin and bitterness and hate. A God who knows what He is about and should not be judged by our standard.  A God who is the king and judge of all the earth and He will always do what’s right.’

As the debate rages on, ongoing research tends to show that puzzlingly as the gap widens between the two groups, both groups also seem to be getting larger and smaller at the same time almost like a ‘Simpson's Paradox’. As the faith community declines in one geographic location, it ballons in another. As hardship drives some people away from faith, it seems to awaken faith in others. As many wise intelligent and sincere believers do boldly affirm their faith, even in the face of the increasing challenges brought on by large-scale natural or man-made disasters or worsening social, economic, financial and moral landscape, many wise intelligent and sincere believers, who for years held firm to the faith, are letting go.

This then raises another question. Is faith real or is it transient? Is it simply fleeting and impermanent, designed to take us through stages of distress and grief like a shot of adrenaline in times of fatigue, or does it have a greater, more lasting meaning? Some may think it’s nothing more than a shot of adrenaline while others like myself believe otherwise. To those who think it’s nothing more than adrenalin, take a few minutes to ponder the following.  
                         

                  Step one- Everyone believes in something and worships something.  

There is no need to feel ashamed or hesitant about our belief in God, because life in our western culture embodies a doxastic voluntarism. This is a philosophical view which holds that people elect their own beliefs and have a certain amount of control over what they believe. In such circumstances, a person may choose whether or not to believe a certain thing. Thus, everyone believes in something and worships something, even if it’s not readily self-evident. Therefore, in choosing to believe in God, Christians have chosen a path in line with their convictions which is therefore no less authentic that the person who chooses non-belief or another object in which to believe. Novelist David Foster Wallace, short story writer, essayist, and university professor, in his 2005 commencement speech to the graduating class at Kenyon College had some very interesting words to share which I find applicable to our topic. His words have been correctly described as a ‘timeless trove of wisdom’. Wallace muses that ‘the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about because as people with different belief templates we use different ways of constructing meaning from experience’. He further reasons that ‘learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think, or being consciously aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience’. He maintains that in this way, ‘you get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t.’  His conclusion then is, ‘You therefore get to decide what to worship’. To him that is not the same as not worshipping at all. In fact, Wallace states quite emphatically, ‘There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.’ In his analysis of things people worship he mentions ‘god or spiritual-type or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles, money and things, their bodies, beauty and sexual allure’.

The distinguished Dr David Wallace’s conclusions, though somewhat controversial, are extremely accurate. Described as ‘one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last twenty years’ Wallace’s words are reminiscent of the Biblical passage in Joshua 24:15 which says: ‘And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’  Both Wallace and Joshua recognised, that irrespective of our environment the human mind is never blank. There is always a stirring in our nature towards one thing as opposed to another. It is what the Bible describes as the war in our bodies where either our flesh or our spirit dominates and we live either in the flesh or in the spirit but there is no middle state. Interestingly it was Wallace who, in spite of his atheist upbringing by parents who were atheists said, ‘something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism.’ This reality ought to remind us believers that no one lives without belief, whether this belief may be in ourselves, in other people, or things seen or unseen. And it’s these very beliefs that give direction to our lives, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Therefore, because the things we believe in may be to some extent beyond our control, we need not feel that we mortals need to understand or explain all the happenings and situations in our lives and around us even if they happen to be part of our belief system. The very experience of history has shown that life is far too complex and circumstances are way too varied for easy answers to tough questions. Thus, as long as life shall last, uncertainty and perplexity, doubt and fear will not cease. However, our inability to adequately articulate our position or sufficiently explain everything to the world appears to be the albatross pulling down many believers. 

Therefore, coming to grips with this fact that Christian belief may differ from that of others and not always line up with rational thought, or even explain away everything in our sophisticated world, doesn’t make belief in God any less valuable than the beliefs of those around us. It is therefore to our advantage to come to this realisation quickly as it frees us from the guilt of not always knowing and enables us to live without feeling obligated to have an answer to every question for which the world demands answers from us. Another undeniable truth is that both believers and non-believers face questions about life with which to grapple. For the non-believer it’s the working of the universe. For the believer it’s the working of God. This is because life in and of itself never really answers our questions. As a common saying goes: ‘Just when I thought I had figured out the answer to life’s questions, someone changed all the questions.’  The truth is all people have their own battles with doubts and fears. The unbeliever searches for explanations in history, science, philosophy, astrology or else, with some even resorting to asceticism, self-actualisation or the Three Fates to secure meaning. The diligent, persistent believer on the other hand, acknowledges the complexity of life, a reality he accepts having already admitted his faith in God’s creation and design of mankind and the universe. He has also read where the psalmist records:  For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.  As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.  For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. Psalm 103:14-16. He therefore accepts that because of his humanity he is susceptible to weakness and error and prone to wrong thoughts about himself, his God and failure.  Yet he is buttressed by passages from the word of God which assure him that in spite of his innate catastrophic inkling, God has still chosen him and bestowed upon him a calling as mouthpiece in the universe. It is what The Apostle Paul describes as a treasure housed in earthen vessels: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2 Corinthians: 4:7 Thus the believer finds strength in realising that God’s powerful and glorious gifts, the gospel and the knowledge of Christ, coupled with the call to be witnesses, are entrusted to and manifested through ordinary fragile human beings. This A realisation evokes a glorious hope in the midst of, or in spite of doubts and fears about his faith. The believer therefore recognises his fragility, not as an abysmal state to be shunned, but as a temporary state to be embraced as the apostle Paul summarises in 2 Corinthians12:8-10 which reads: For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

                                                 Step Two- Faith has antibodies  

This brings me to my second point and the phrase I quoted at the start: Realize your faith can’t be without doubts but there is no need to doubt your faith.’ Tim Keller

In making this point author Keller takes us back to the story of John the Baptist Matt 3:1-17, Matt 11:1-6  who, even after having declared Jesus to be the son of God, testifying to this fact and baptizing Jesus in the River Jordan sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him: ‘Are you he that should come (the Messiah) or do we need to look for another?’ Many have pondered how is this even possible. After all, John the Baptist was a man mightily used of God. The answer, however, may lie in the reality that circumstances often put even the strongest faith to the test. When John sent his disciples to Jesus asking Him this question, John had been imprisoned for some time. The Bible records that Herod imprisoned John because John publicly condemned Herod's illicit marriage to his brother's wife, Herodias. Yet, ironically, Herod had an insatiable appetite for John’s preaching and kept on listening to it although he also feared him: Mark 6:20: ‘For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.’ We therefore see that Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him. It’s almost as if Herod had a weird fascination with John’s stern preaching yet John was never able to elicit an honest answer from this insanely corrupt and pliable individual. In the midst of this situation, it may be that John himself had expected Jesus to come to His office as Messiah, much the same way the disciples had expected Jesus to come and restore the Kingdom to Israel, thereby bringing an end to the madness perpetuated by figures such as Herod.  

But alas, John apparently wasn’t seeing any movement towards the restoration of the kingdom as expected. Scholars speculate that John’s confinement, coupled with disappointment over the absence of the rise of the Messiah, made John despondent or even a bit depressed. This prompted him to send to ask Jesus if indeed He was the One that would truly reveal Himself and bring relief or if Israel needed to be looking elsewhere. Jesus speaking of John the Baptist said: ‘Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist’ Matthew 11:11. Yet here we see this great man seemingly doubting what he himself had proclaimed. John 1:29: ‘The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’.  This tells me that circumstances and situation in life may at times weigh us down where, like Elijah, we become depressed. In 1 Kings 19:4, Elijah was so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the obstacles he was facing that he felt he was better off dead and he requested that God take his life. Thankfully, through a series of events, God comforted Elijah and restored his faith and trust in Jehovah and in Elijah’s mission. Thus, as Keller reminds us, though our faith may not be without doubts there’s no need to doubt our faith.  Indeed, believers need to stay focused. We also know that in John’s case he remained focused until the very end in spite of his challenges and today walks triumphantly in the kingdom of God.   

Keller also notes that a faith without doubt is like body without any antibodies in it. He asserts that:

People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy; or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if he /she has failed over the years to listen patiently to his /her own doubts which should only be discarded after thorough reflection. As believers we need to acknowledge and wrestle with our doubts and those of our friends and neighbors
It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them, only if you struggled long and hard with objectives to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptic and yourself –including answers that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive.’
Keller believes that a process of interrogating one’s faith with the questions posed by doubts will lead fellow believers, even after they have come to a position of strong faith, ‘to respect and understand those who doubt .

Author Christopher Wright in: ‘The God I don’t understand’ when reflecting on tough questions of faith says: ‘If we are honest we have to admit that there are many things we don’t understand about God .We don’t have final answers to the deep problems of life and those who say such are probably living in some degree of delusion because the mysteries in our Christian faith lie beyond the keenest scholarship or even the most profound spiritual exercises’.

Thus, we can conclude in pondering on the observations of Keller and Wright that not only does everyone believe in something but its very normal for faith to sometimes be pelted with doubts. However, doubts don’t disprove faith.
 
               Step Three- Let Christ and the word be your all in all

For belief in God to triumph in the age of scepticism, it must be anchored by more than generalities of belief or riding the waves of occasional doubts. Belief in God needs to be anchored in something that has proven able to withstand the test of time. Throughout all the centuries, during the dark and darkest ages as well as during the periods of human secularism and enlightenment, only one thing has stood secured. That one thing has been and continues to be the inspired, infinite, inerrant, irrevocable, infallible word of God. In case we wonder what makes the word so important, it is because whatever we know about God and about Christ comes to us from the word God, the Bible. There is no other book that explains, the wonders of creation, the mysteries of the universe, the incomprehensibility of the fall or the redemption of man like the Bible. Today the whole justice system of mankind is predicated upon the Decalogue or Ten commandments, although men now patently attempt to remove God from our consciousness. Psalm 119:11 ‘Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee’ describes the benefits of storing God's word in one's mind and heart. This practice helps believers to avoid sin and acquire wisdom. The psalmist is essentially saying that memorising scripture and meditating on God's word, helps in guiding our actions in a way that avoids wrongdoing. As Psalm 119:105 reminds us to stay focused, God’s word must forever be a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto our path. Today people talk much about honouring God and knowing Christ but it quickly becomes evident that the God and Christ they are referring to are not the God or Christ from the word. Hence, anger towards traditional religion is growing in power and influence even as faith grows because the unsaved world judges the Christian not based solely on what is found in the Bible, because having not read it, they don’t know it, but they judge us based on how they believe as Christians we ought to behave. Unfortunately for some believers, the world has heard many things about Jesus, most of them good. We are therefore expected to live up to those good things they have heard of Christ. This moved the apostle Paul in 2 Cor 3:2,3 to say: ‘ Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men’. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.’ Thus, we are reminded that the scriptures that people must see is Christ in us. Colossians 1:26-28: ‘Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.’ The unavoidable implication of this passage is therefore that it’s Christ in us the hope of glory which assures us of salvation and a secured life. Thus, ‘Christ in me, the hope of glory’ signifies that the Christian believer has a strong and secure hope for eternal glory because Christ dwells within. This presence of Christ is a guarantee and a promise of future glory, making it a key element of the Christian faith. Christ's presence in us further emphasises that as believers we are not merely followers of Christ, but rather, we are intimately connected to Him, with Christ dwelling within our hearts. The ‘hope of glory’ also refers to the expectation and promise of experiencing God's full glory in the future, both in this life and in eternity. Christ’s presence within our lives as believers is a guarantee of our ultimate salvation and fulfilment of our future hope. Paul regards the concept of Christ in us as a mystery or a profound and hidden truth that God reveals to believers. This in and of itself should give us a clue as to why the enemy fights so hard to rob us of our faith. The verse concludes by reminding us of the truth that we are made perfect in Christ. This reality provides a sense of security and assurance in knowing that because we are made perfect in Christ, our strength and hope in all circumstances is more than sufficient. It is the concept of the all-sufficient Christ Paul talks about in Colossians 2:10 ‘And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power’. It’s a reminder that Jesus Christ is everything one needs for salvation, life and spiritual fullness. There is therefore no need to add anything to Christ and any additions, for whatever purpose and of whatever nature, legalistic, pious, ascetic, self-sacrifice so as to please God are all subtractions from Jesus’ sufficiency. Essentially, Christ in His entirety is sufficient for all human needs. Simply have faith in Christ and in Him alone and trust in His word, the word of God, and your faith and belief will stand the test in times of scepticism.