Web Assignment- A History of Doubt
A History of Doubt: NPR Radio, The Speaking on Faith Show
Back to my Faith Page
There are many challenges to my Faith in God that I confront everyday, but the major challenge to my Faith is the challenge I need to overcome. The question is, will I ever be able to no longer doubt? NPR's radio show entitled Speaking of Faith hosted renowned historian Jennifer Hecht, from New York, and author of the book, Doubt: A History. In this 53 minute long show, Hecht explains that doubt today is usually implied in a negative sense, but truly should be revered, as people in the past have revered doubt.
For example, Diogenes, who Alexander the Great thought was a great man, was cconsidered insane by some, but by others he was seen as a model for how to not worry. His reasoning in not worrying was that we should doubt everything, and if we do not believe in anything, we should live life one second at a time, enjoying it as much as possible, because one never knows when they are going to die.
Another point Hecht brings up is the use that organized religion, in particular, the Catholic Church, has for doubt. None. She clearly states that although the Church recognizes doubt and tries to deal with it in their parishoners, they can't truly overcome it. It's almost like doubt is part of the Human Condition! Hecht also states that some of the Old Testament books in the Bible are completely illogical in dealing with humans trying to overcome doubt in their lives. She cites the Book of Job as a worthless text for overcoming doubt, saying that Job only questioned God after his friends told him to, and at the end of the Book of Job, Job still seems to have complete trust in God. Hecht says that this is not how real people go about their lives. People, she says, are used to things going good in life, to always getting fair treatment, and its only when bad things happen that people turn to or away from God. I don't excatly know what her views of God are, but I can definetly say that Jennifer Hecht, New York historian, is totally against the Church and its tactics in combating doubt.
In conclusion, I thought that the program overall was interesting in several aspects. One, it got me thinking about how the Church does address the crisis of Faith/faith in the form of doubt? Also, are there any people who still doubt throughout their lives, just as Diogenes did? Finally, I questioned whether or not I can overcome doubt in my life? The only satisfactory answer I can come up with is that I doubt, therefore I live, learn and love. I think doubting is an essential part of our human existence, and even though we don't like to here it that often, some doubting in an individual might be just the thing to help one pick themselves up and continue on the unsure and often suddenly unfair turns along the road of life.