In the last article in this series we looked at doubt and discovered that it was intrinsically linked to faith. And that if you have no doubt at all then faith vanishes in a puff of logic and you suddenly find yourself with certainty, our next contender.

It is interesting that the former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway’s “memoir of faith and doubt” - Leaving Alexandria - pairs our two counter-protagonists in the book’s sub-title, yet half way through he makes an insightful case for the opposite of faith being certainty.

“The fundamental difficulty is that all religious systems and the claims they make for themselves are … fragile… . The word faith is the giveaway. The opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty. Where you have certainty, you don’t need faith.” 

On first reflection this might seem counter-intuitive. Faith and certainty are not the same but they do pull us in the same direction. We would expect the opposite of certainty, to be uncertainty. But uncertainty as to a proposition means that there is doubt. And doubt, as we have just argued, must be conjoined with faith. So you can see how the argument is made.

Definitions

Over the last few years this debate between the meanings of faith and certainty has raged in a number of forums on the Internet, too numerous to cover here. But if you google the title of this article all will be revealed.

You will notice that several definitions of certainty are apparently being used:

1) a fact that is definitely true,

2) the quality of being reliably true,

3) a firm conviction that something is true.

All of these are genuine dictionary definitions but each is subtly different.

In the first definition, certainty as a 100% true undeniable fact – like 2+2=4 - is described as being opposite to faith, because faith can never be like this. The second definition ventures more towards the idea of faith in that there may be a tiny doubt. We can say  'with certainty' that the sun will rise tomorrow, because this fact has the quality of being reliably true. 

But much argument revolves around the third definition, that of a firm conviction that something is true. A conviction can be based more on a strong feeling or a deep sense of right, not always supported by clear evidence. In some cases this can amount to self-righteous arrogance, whereas true faith, it is argued, should be imbued with humility.

Accepting discomfort

In the end perhaps American writer Anne Lamott, cutting through all the cold logic and wordplay, sums it up best:

“I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me - that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns." Anne Lamott: Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith.

How do you feel about the tension between faith and certainty?

Do you think these ideas are biblical?