Tuesday Tome - The Myth of Certainty

I recently finished reading The Myth of Certainty by Daniel Taylor. This is a wonderful book for those of us whose personal stories are deeply bound up in the greater Christian story, and yet our personal predisposition (our wiring?) toward reflection and critical thinking keeps us asking ourselves (and others) uncomfortable questions that poke and dig around the very roots of our faith.

I will be buying several copies of this book to share with reflective Christian friends who are kindred spirits--walking by faith and yet constantly questioning assertions and assumptions (both internal and external). The Myth of Certainty will also be the selection for a book club at my church later this year. Daniel Taylor lives in my neighborhood, so I'm hoping that he might even be willing to join us for one of the book club sessions and entertain a little Q&A.

Let me close this post by passing along the closing paragraphs from the "Afterward" section Taylor added to the most recent publication of his book:

"...I believe the reflective Christian I have described in this book can be one who is totally committed to being an instrument of God's grace to a wounded world. If he or she can at the same time also confess to questions, doubts, and struggles, that seems to me to make faith all the more believable to others who know enough about themselves and life to be suspicious of easy answers. The show of unquestioning certainty, while attractive to some believers, will be an obstacle to them.

"Put another way, while the life of faith will never be safe, it can be secure. Faith may lead us into all kinds of dangers--physical, intellectual, and spiritual--but it simultaneously gives that sense of meaning and purpose to life that is the groundwork of security. I do not expect to leave this life with all my doubts resolved; I do hope to leave it in good standing with Him from whom all meaning flows."

FYI - I've just started reading and enjoying Dr. Taylor's newest book: The Skeptical Believer.