The Myth of Certainty

I recently finished reading Daniel Taylor’s book The Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian and the Risk of Commitment (InterVarsity Press, 1986). The title makes it sound like the book encourages skepticism and undercuts faith. Far from it. Taylor instead helps us embrace faith more firmly even in the face of doubts. The “myth” in the title refers to 1) the fact that we’ll never be 100% certain of anything important - not love, or what will make life meaningful, or faith - but we don’t have to be to take the “risk of commitment”; and 2) the fact that those who criticize faith and lean instead on reason (so they say) don’t have any more certainty about their world view than we do. Probably less.

A silly example: When I went home today, our two cats were convinced that they had cornered something (a mouse? a lizard?) behind our refrigerator. I looked with a flashlight but couldn’t see anything, though their noses are sharper than my eyes. If they do catch that mouse, they’ll probably play with it, torture it and kill it before leaving it somewhere I’d rather they didn’t (our bed?) On the one hand, the whole thing is a marvel of animal design. On the other, it’s a reminder that the whole animal kingdom is tainted by lots of senseless cruelty, pain and death.
In creeps a moment of doubt. Is this really the kind of world a loving God would allow? I know, I know, it’s a fallen world, it isn’t as God created it, etc. Still, this type of thing speaks with a loud voice.

The fact is, I do believe in God, and it’s a faith based on good reasons, not the least of which is the ability of cats and mice to do incredibly complex things. But I’m not free from all doubt.

Taylor’s book reminds me that I don’t have to be. Faith, because it is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1) isn’t free of doubt. But I choose to risk making the commitment.

The Myth of Certainty is written in a teaching style, but interspersed are sections of fiction which tell the story of a Christian College professor as he struggles with doubt while trying to live in both the religious and secular worlds. Usually I dislike such didactic fiction in a serious book, but Taylor is such a good storyteller that these interludes are the best part of the book.

If you’re interested in reading The Myth of Certainty, you might check Amazon for a cheap used copy (that’s where I got mine). Or, I’ll loan you mine after I go over it for another week or two.

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June 19, 2006 · Filed Under Books

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