We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.
Another Sneak Peek from Benefit of the Doubt
As we approach our ReKnew conference next month, we’ll be posting snippets of Greg’s book, Benefit of the Doubt. We hope you’ll be joining us. We extended the deadline for early bird registration. Get on that before Friday at midnight!
What Is Your Actual God?
In light of all this, what should be said about the certainty-seeking model of faith? To put it bluntly, I find it hard to avoid the conclusion that, for all their sincerity, the certainty-seeking, doubt-shunning understanding of faith reflects the same religious idolatry that entrapped the religious leaders of Jesus’s day. The things that make certainty-seeking Christians feel loved, worthwhile, and secure before God—that is, the thing that assures them they are “saved”—is that they feel confident they believe the right things with a sufficient level of certainty. Doesn’t this mean that it is their certainty in what they believe about God, rather than God himself, that is their source of life?
Is this honestly any different from the idolatry that Jesus confronted in the religious leaders of his day?
The Evidence of How We Live
If further proof is needed, consider this. As long as a person remained confident enough in the belief that Jesus is the true revelation of God that they can get their life from him (about which I’ll say more below), would they ever be afraid of confronting ideas that might cause them to doubt any of their other beliefs? I, for one, don’t see how it is possible.
Think about it. If I was confident that God unconditionally loves me because of what he did for me on Calvary, then wouldn’t I be confident that his love for me does not increase or decrease based on how accurate or inaccurate my other beliefs are? So too, if I was confident God ascribes unsurpassable worth to me on the basis of Calvary, then wouldn’t I be confident that my worth can’t be increased because I hold correct beliefs and can’t be decreased because I hold mistaken beliefs? These questions answer themselves.
Boyd, Gregory, Benefit of the Doubt: Breaking the Idol of Certainty, Baker, 2013
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Doubt, Doubt and the Idol of Certainty, Faith, Greg Boyd, ReKnew, Upcoming Conference
Related Reading
Is There Room for Doubt in Faith?
Many Christians today assume that faith is the antithesis of doubt. In this view, a person’s faith is thought to be strong to the extent that they don’t question their beliefs or struggle with God in whom they believe. As widespread as this view is, I believe it is unbiblical and profoundly unhelpful. My experience…
Greg Shares His Journey With Chronic Pain
Greg recently decided that he needed to discontinue taking his pain medication despite chronic neck issues for which there are no easy answers. Here he shares that decision and the journey he’s on to remain fully awake to God and others.
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled…”
“…was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” ~Verbal Kint, The Usual Suspects Roger Olson reflected a few days ago on the curious absence of any discussion of Satan in modern theology. He even speculated: I suspect that one reason Greg Boyd, a brilliant theologian, is not taken as seriously as he should be by many…
Confessions of a Christian Nation (Racism)
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Greg Boyd, Brian McLaren and Brian Zahnd apologize to the African American community for the church’s complicity in the oppression of African Americans throughout American history. Video by Rex Harsin
Sermon Clip: Marshmallow Advent
In last weekend’s sermon, Greg tells us about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings on advent, and how getting in touch with our emptiness through silence and solitude can lead to peace. This short clip explains advent and the advantages of delayed gratification. You can download the entire sermon as well as other sermon resources by visiting the…
Sermon: The Judgment Boomerang
The wrath of God is a misunderstood topic. In this sermon, Greg shows how sin has natural consequences that boomerang back to us. While God’s wrath has serious consequences for us, we need to understand how God uses his wrath. In the clip, Greg talks about the mistaken picture of God that allows for the…