Hey Buddy,
I have invited a few friends to read the Predicament of Belief, and told them I would notify them as I posted my thoughts on line to share with you. Some of them may be following or even contributing to this discussion in the comments section, so keep it clean and don't say to much about all of those skeletons in my closet (ha ha). I hope some of them (my friends, not the skeletons) are following and feel comfortable commenting anyway.
I think I heard some of Philip Clayton on the Homebrewed Christianity Podcast and thought this book sounded like something I would be interested in. The timing was very interesting as more recently I have come to find a new peace in the fact that I won't "figure things out" and don't need to in order to live a full and faith"ful" life.
The disclaimer in this deal is that I have not finished the book. I read about half of it, and restarted it, something I seldom do, after you said you would be willing to read together. So I don't know what their conclusions are at this point. I have found their style, process, and apparent integrity to be refreshing to this point.
Basically here is what I kinda bring to this book. There are reasons, some I cannot articulate very well, that produce in me a belief, hope, trust in an ultimate reality in some ways most consistent with the God of Christianity. Yet there are also things I experience in the world that make me doubt the existence of the ultimate reality (as I have been taught it to be by my tradition and culture). In addition, my day to day experience of life both adds credence to the existence of this ultimate reality, at times almost undeniably, but also at times strongly contradicts many of the things I have internalized about the ultimate reality and the role of the ultimate reality in relation to it.
I have a certain degree of ambivalence toward trying to find out about the ultimate reality by reading a book. This is kinda similar to reading about falling in love. Nevertheless, I share with the authors an almost irresistible drive to pursue knowing as much as I can (which may not be much) about this (part of the) world that seems so real and yet so foreign to me.
I have at least come to believe that it is in no way bad or dangerous to open and honestly seek to find the truth as best we can understand it. Seek and you will find. The truth will set you free. (I just made those up).
Anyway... onward. A few handpicked highlights from the preface. By the way The Preface is one of the least engaging and most dense portions of the book. But, I can't quote chapter 2 straight out of the chute.
On page viii at the bottom of the page they state "the predicament of religious belief in today's world..."
"That Predicament, as we understand it, has two facets: on one side, the difficulty of formulating traditional claims about what is ultimately the case in ways that take full account of all the reasons for doubting those claims; on the other side, the need to do justice to the axiological and theoretical power of those accounts of ultimate reality that metaphysical reflection and religious traditions variously suggest."
In my words...
We are stuck between a world we know exists and can see and measure and examine, and a world we cannot deny exists because of the very things we see and know and measure. We follow a tradition as old as humanity attempting to engage, encounter, and describe ultimate reality. Mostly, we find it more difficult to say what ultimate reality is. Yet we cannot help but say what it is not, when confronted with descriptions not matching experience.
They end the preface by offering this book as "guidance for those who wish to go where reason and experience may lead.We dedicate this effort to all, of every faith or no faith, who approach the ultimate reality in that spirit."
I will try to post on chapter one in the next few days.
I guess that I qualify as one of Pat's friends (I was surprised to find out that he has more than one). I live in the bible belt, grew up "in the church," and come from a somewhat fundamentalist, evangelical tradition. That being said, my thinking has dramatically changed over the last 10 years or so, for a number of reasons not worth mentioning here. Suffice it to say that I look forward to discussing this book with Pat and any other friends that he might have.
ReplyDeleteI applaud the authors' intent, as set forth in the Preface. Far too often, the religious scholar has avoided or dismissed altogether the difficult questions, asserting that even asking such questions exhibit a lack of faith. The church has become (understandably so based on the church's history) a place where those who raise difficult questions, or ask "why" are seen as heretics. Interestingly, the Jewish tradition is quite different in this regard. Throughout much of Judaism, debate and differing views have been the norm. This is largely because of one of the primary differences between the two religions -- in Christianity, what one believes is of utmost importance, while in Judaism, who one is and what one does is more significant.
I hope that this book holds true to the authors' intent expressed in the Preface, and that they attempt to acknowledge the difficult positions held by both the Christian and the secularist. I think that both can learn a lot from the other.
Peace,
David Wilson
David,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for joining me in reading the book and in posting a comment. I should have said I invited friends, and acquaintances, to allow more people to join. I would hate for someone to abstain from the conversation because they couldn't commit (or admit) to friendship :-)
I am working on the first post for chapter one, and I am hoping two or three more guys will swing by, especially now that it doesn't require one to declare a friendship they may not be ready for!
Boy, you used to be a quicker reader, Pat. I didn't think Chapter 1 took that long to get through, but I guess there are some big words in there.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing your thoughts on Chapter 1 so I can move on to Chapter 2!
Peace, my friend.