A review by maryesthernev
The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs by Peter Enns
5.0
This book was unbelievable. The writing is hilarious and well articulated and Enns' ideas are profound and thought provoking. I loved every second of this book. I can't wait to read it again as well of every other book by this author. What a refreshing flavor of what it looks like to follow Jesus. He never intended for the gospel to be a mental exercise to come to the correct conclusions on theology but rather a whole hearted trust in the person of God. He doesn't care about us being "right". Too many times our obsession with "right-belief" is simply an excuse for rampant unchecked Christian-approved pride. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with the current culture of the American church.
This is a long excerpt but too good not to share:
This is a long excerpt but too good not to share:
"Letting go of the need for certainty is more than just a decision about how we think; it’s a decision about how we want to live.
When the quest for finding and holding on to certainty is central to our faith, our lives are marked by traits we wouldn’t normally value in others:
•unflappable dogmatic certainty
•vigilant monitoring of who’s in and who’s out
•preoccupation with winning debates and defending the faith
•privileging the finality of logical arguments
•conforming unquestionably to intellectual authorities and celebrities
A faith like that is in constant battle mode, like a cornered honey badger. Or like a watchman on the battlements scanning the horizon from sun up to sun down for any threat. And soon you forget what faith looks like when you’re not fighting about it.
That kind of faith is not marked by trust in the Creator. It is stressful and anxiety laden, and it doesn’t make for healthy relationships with others, including those closest to us.
On the surface, we might see here pride, arrogance, or belligerence, but those are simply symptoms of something deeper—a fear of being wrong and what might happen as a result.
But trust in God casts out fear and cultivates a life of trust that flourishes regardless of how certain we feel.
Trust is not marked by unflappable dogmatic certainty, but by embracing as a normal part of faith the steady line of mysteries and uncertainties that parade before our lives and seeing them as opportunities to trust more deeply.
Instead of relying on absolute either-or thinking, a trusting faith understands that trusting God is a process that takes times and practice. That pilgrimage doesn’t necessarily follow a linear progression but accepts the unpredictable and disquieting nature of life as an encounter with God—and a move ultimately toward God, trusting that God is involved in that very process. Rather than focusing on the badges that define our tribal identity (our church, denomination, subdenomination, doctrinal convictions, side of the aisle, whatever), a trust-centered faith will see the world with humble, open, and vulnerable eyes—and ourselves as members and participants rather than masters and conquerors. We will see our unfathomable cosmos and the people in our cosmic neighborhood as God’s creation, not as objects for our own manipulation or unholy mischief.
Rather than being quick to settle on final answers to puzzling questions, a trust-centered faith will find time to formulate wise questions that respect the mystery of God and call upon God for the courage to sit in those questions for as long as necessary before seeking a way forward.
Rather than counting on the acquisition of knowledge to support and defend the faith, a trust-centered faith values and honors the wise—those who through experience and mature spiritual habits have earned the right to lead and are given a central role in nurturing faith in others.
Rather than defining faithfulness as absolute conformity to authority and tribal identity, a trust-centered faith will value in others the search for true human authenticity that may take them away from the familiar borders of their faith, while trusting God to be part of that process in ourselves and others, even those closest to us.
The choice of how we want to live is entirely ours.