Doubt, Openness and Friendship

In the introduction to her book, Doubt, Jennifer Michael Hecht includes the following "Scale of Doubt Quiz":

1. Do you believe that a particular religious tradition holds accurate knowledge of the ultimate nature of reality and the purpose of human life?

2. Do you believe that some thinking being consciously made the universe?

3. Is there an identifiable force coursing through the universe, holding it together, or uniting all life-forms?

4. Could prayer be in any way effective, that is, do you believe that such a being or force (as posited above) could ever be responsive to your thoughts or words?

5. Do you believe this being or force can think or speak?

6. Do you believe this being has a memory or can make plans?

7. Does this force sometimes take a human form?

8. Do you believe that the thinking part or animating force of a human being continues to exist after the body has died?

9. Do you believe that any part of a human being survives death, elsewhere or here on earth?

10. Do you believe that feelings about things should be admitted as evidence in establishing reality?

11. Do you believe that love and inner feelings of morality suggest that there is a world beyond that of biology, social patterns, and accident-- i.e., a realm of higher meaning?

12. Do you believe that the world is not completely knowable by science?

13. If someone were to say, "The universe is nothing but an accidental pile of stuff, jostling around with no rhyme nor reason, and all life on earth is but a tiny, utterly inconsequential speck of nothing, in a corner of space, existing in the blink of an eye never to be judged, noticed, or remembered," would you say, "Now that's going a bit far, that's a bit wrongheaded"?

In addition to simply determining whether one is an atheist, agnostic or believer, according to his or her answers, this quiz serves to demonstrate that there is a range of certainty and doubt that overlays the range of perspectives on reality that are commonly available. An unqualified 'yes' or 'no' to the whole set would denote either religious certitude or a kind of atheistic certitude. 'Not sure' answers, hesitations, qualifications or blanks, according to their frequency of occurence, demonstrate doubt.

As we begin our discussions in Alternative, let us agree that doubt has value. Doubt is healthy, and doubt interacting with belief helps a person or group avoid dogmatism and certitude, which can be quite unhealthy, whether it be in favor of belief or non-belief.

"But we are a Christian group, how much doubt is too much before a Christian is no longer Christian?" We propose that this question is irrevelant. Why would we want to disqualify anyone from being what they aspire to be? For as long as there is genuine doubt, the questions are still being asked, and the journey continues. And that is what we want to encourage.

Part of our purpose as a Christian group, however, is to understand better what Christians believe. So, how would we define Christianity? What is at the core of Christian belief? Surely, there is much we will say about this as we go along, but we will find that there are many disagreements and a variety of interpretations of the Bible, its doctrines and even the Apostle's Creed. Not only are there variations of thought and practice among denominations such as Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, but also cutting across them is the spectrum of conservative and liberal. We can name several varieties of Christians on this spectrum. Among them are fundamentalists, conservative/evangelicals, moderates, liberal/progressives, inclusivists, and mystics.

So, not only are there many religious perspectives available to us, but Chrisitianity itself is diverse in its constituency and offers many different interpretations of its doctrinal sources.

What kind of unity is there in all this diversity? This question we will hopefully consider as we interact with each other and with people that will join us who believe differently than we do. Alternative is a web of relationships, a network of friends involved in fellowship, discussion and activity. That is a great place for us to start finding unity.

Alternative is a Christian group by designation. Our hope is to develop an understanding of that designation that is open to a wide variety of people associating with us, people of any variety of Christian belief, people at diverse stages of faith and doubt, and people of other religious perspectives. This will also help us get to another equally important purpose for us as Christians who are living in a global age: sharing our lives with and relating to people of other religious perspectives, looking for what we all may have in common, if not doctrinally, then otherwise.