{"id":688,"date":"2011-03-17T06:29:47","date_gmt":"2011-03-17T06:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omeoflittlefaith\/2011\/03\/can-doubt-bind-us-together.html"},"modified":"2011-03-17T06:29:47","modified_gmt":"2011-03-17T06:29:47","slug":"can-doubt-bind-us-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2011\/03\/can-doubt-bind-us-together.html","title":{"rendered":"Can Doubt Bind Us Together?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week,<\/b> writer and editor Jon M. Sweeney published a thought-provoking essay about religious doubt in the Huffington Post<\/i><\/a>. Sweeney is a publisher at Paraclete Press and the author of the new Verily, Verily,<\/i><\/a> a book about the King James Bible.<\/p>\n

The essay, called “Doubt is the Faith That Binds Us Together<\/a>,” explores the ways religious doubt may be good for you rather than something to avoid.<\/p>\n

From the piece: <\/p>\n

It is increasingly clear to me that doubt is, in fact, the most
\nimportant faith of all. Doubt invigorates faith, demands more of it, and
\ncauses us to ask more of each other. Doubt connects us to each other.
\nDoubt binds my faith to yours. It makes me reach out. Discover. Explore.
\nQuestion. Challenge. Learn. A person who doubts is one still on a
\njourney.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sweeney discusses<\/b> the role of doubt in Graham Greene’s novel Monsignor Quixote<\/i><\/a>, and quotes the book’s narrator in describing the relationship between the priest Quixote and his communist friend Sancho:<\/p>\n

“It’s odd … how sharing a sense of doubt can bring men together
\nperhaps even more than sharing a faith. The believer will fight another
\nbeliever over a shade of difference: the doubter fights only with
\nhimself.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then Sweeney dips<\/b> into his own experience of doubt:<\/p>\n

I also embrace doubt because the older I become, the less interested I
\nam in belief and the more interested I am in practice. A spiritual life
\nendures even when I doubt, misbelieve, or refuse to believe. Doubt
\nengenders practice. I may not know for certain what I believe, but at
\nleast I can pray. I can give. I can love. I live in hope. I observe what
\nis holy. More than belief ever could, these practices structure my
\nlife, and as Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “You can’t argue with the
\nform of a life.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Belief comes and goes. It is fleeting. It is a state of mind. Belief is
\nfar too ephemeral upon which to rest something so important as faith.
\nInstead, it is doubt that truly binds us together, and to God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In my book <\/a>and here on the blog<\/a>,<\/b> we’ve discussed practice and action as an antidote to doubt — that uncertainty shouldn’t paralyze someone from acting on what they hope to be true, or from moving forward in religious faith.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the thoughtfulness and hopefulness of Sweeney’s position. Now it’s your turn:<\/p>\n

Do you agree or disagree? <\/p>\n

<\/b>We’ve seen how shared faith can foster community among people, but have you seen shared doubt bring people together?<\/p>\n

In your experience, is practice more important (and lasting) than belief?<\/p>\n

What do you think about Sweeney’s statement that “doubt is the most important faith of all”?<\/i> Can it really bind us to God?<\/i><\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, writer and editor Jon M. Sweeney published a thought-provoking essay about religious doubt in the Huffington Post. Sweeney is a publisher at Paraclete Press and the author of the new Verily, Verily, a book about the King James Bible. The essay, called “Doubt is the Faith That Binds Us Together,” explores the ways…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-linkage","category-questions"],"yoast_head":"\nCan Doubt Bind Us Together? - O Me of Little Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2011\/03\/can-doubt-bind-us-together.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Doubt Bind Us Together? - O Me of Little Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, writer and editor Jon M. 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