Faithful Doubt: The Wisdom of Uncertainty

by Guy Collins

In Faithful Doubt Guy Collins explores the role of doubt within theology and philosophy. Focusing on three philosophers--Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida, and Slavoj Zizek--Faithful Doubt argues that atheism can be redeeming. Far from being inhospitable to faith, doubt is increasingly necessary for theology. As well as introducing the thought of contemporary philosophers, Faithful Doubt examines the significance of popular entertainment and narrative. Novels of Ursula Le Guin, Neal Stephenson, China Miéville, and others are read alongside Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica. Fiction highlights the fluid nature of the sacred and the secular. On the question of evil, Faithful Doubt suggests that wisdom lies in acknowledging uncertainty. Weaving the story of Job together with St. Augustine, Donald MacKinnon, and Eleonore Stump, evil exemplifies the necessity for doubt within theology. Faithful Doubt brings a new perspective to debates about the relationship between faith and reason. Concluding with a discussion of Søren Kierkegaard, Collins presents a compelling case for harnessing atheism and doubt in service to Christian faith. In order to "doubt wisely" we need to heed the "faith of the faithless"

226 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 2014

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written theological/philosophical exploration of faith and doubt. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is that it is a very scholarly book which might not hold the average reader's interest.

[Andrew Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good study of the dialectic of doubt and faith, both of which are contrasted with certainty. Both religious fundamentalists and atheistic fundamentalists are taken to task for clinging to certainty at the expense of reality. Most of the book consists of dialogues with supposedly atheistic post-modern thinkers such as Derrida, Zizek and Agamben. The thing is, thinkers such as these are so uncertain about their atheism that they often come across as believers. Collins' discussion of these thinkers is most helpful for getting a grasp of what they are about, no easy task. Derrida is especially intriguing in that he writes so much like an apophatic theologian such as Eckhart (who is often cited in this book) that Derrida had to try to explain that his thinking is very different from the theologians--but he think the Algerian professor doth protest too much. Not an easy read but not all that difficult if one is sufficiently interested in the issues and is willing to spend some time considering them.