Re: time for a spiritual "physical"

Thanks, Keith -- (and also to a couple of others who responded with
encouraging words off line). I didn't mean to make of myself a basket
case that leans on this list for some free counseling or therapy. I do
have a church family that functions well as my support. I do offer up
personal reflections and struggles for the purpose of communal
reflection and whatever spinoffs may entail. But meanwhile -- I don't
turn away counseling from my many superiors either! Thanks -- and if
you discern that I need some more, pour it right on!

--merv

I installed a skylight in my apartment....The people who live above me
are furious! -- Steven Wright

Keith Miller wrote:

>
>> Francis Bacon is reported to have said:
>>
>> "If we begin with certainties, we will end in doubt. But if we begin
>> with doubts and bear them patiently, we may end in certainty."
>>
>> This may be as good a scientific credo as any, and Bacon was probably
>> as good a Christian man as many, but I'm struggling with doubts of my
>> own about this very idea. Perhaps having grown up in a Christian
>> home, I fit Bacon's former category, though I hope the "end in doubt"
>> part is not truly an end, but at worst a seasonal oscillation -- a
>> "dark night" or twilight of the soul from which I will be brought
>> out. I've always enjoyed immersing myself in contrary literature --
>> even contrary to my faith. But Jesus warns that what makes a man
>> unclean is what comes out of his mouth from his heart. Paul states
>> that we are to dwell on the excellent, just, and pure ...
>> (Philippians 4:8). Maybe there is something to the puritanical
>> suspicion: "garbage in, garbage out". When do I try to spiritually
>> inculate myself of a falsehood by taking it in and considering it,
>> vs. accepting other's previous assessment that it is a falsehood and
>> not exposing my mind to the disease?
>
>
> When I was an undergraduate in college I read the book "In Two Minds"
> by Os Guiness. I found its perspective on doubt very freeing. Doubt
> is not a sin but a state of indecision, and on coming out the other
> side of doubt our faith is strengthened. When we demand certainty
> first, our faith is not grounded in our own heart and spirit but in
> the faith and authority of others. Doubt helps make our faith personal.
>
> In areas that are not central to the faith (not historical confessions
> of the church) it is not urgent that our doubts, or uncertainties, be
> resolved. It is OK to remain uncertain and uncommitted. I think that
> this is especially the case for most issues at the interface of
> science and faith. People should not be forced into a position of
> having to stake out a black-and-white, yes-or-no, position on such
> issues. It is OK to say "I don't know." I emphasize this to students
> and others who are struggling with particular issues. We need to give
> people breathing space and room to work through complex issues. We
> don't need to have answers to all the questions.
>
> Keith
>
Received on Sun Apr 23 21:51:31 2006