Replacing Faith with Curiosity

Last updated on: October 2, 2013 at 5:12 pm by Christian Piatt

Replacing Faith with Curiosity 2013-10-02T17:12:00+00:00 Christian Piatt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Every day, my previously stable faith is replaced with a little more hungry curiosity. I consider this progress.

Have posted this brief statement on my Facebook and twitter accounts yesterday and promptly received quite a bit of interest in return. Not surprising, really, that my typical readership would resonate with such a claim, but I also found some surprising affirmations from those I would not have expected to appreciate my sentiments.

I write fairly often about moving away from emphasis on a propositional faith and toward one that is more implicitly lived out in our daily experience. Said another way, I would much rather have the teachings and values shared by Jesus revealed through my actions and through what people see in me, rather than simply through any particular rhetoric that I offer them as an act of persuasion, or even coercion. This is also selfishly motivated, as I am increasingly convinced that, whereas a faith centered on the proclamation and defense of particular statements is one that lends itself to inertia, a way of life that reveals your values without explicitly having to state them is both more compelling to others and more fulfilling for ourselves.

I wrote recently about a pastor friend of mine who lost her job because she admitted that she has doubts on occasion about the nature of what it means to “believe in Jesus as the son of God.” I think if we are being honest, each one of us wrestles with such important ideas in one way or another, and at one time or another. And blogger Linda Brendle (also happens to be my mom) rightly raises the question of whether our doubts and our faith can coexist in some necessarily dynamic admixture.

If what we really are talking about is faith which, as she puts it in her article, is a choice rather than a position, then our doubts certainly have room within that space to linger and percolate. But I also think it depends on what it is that we are choosing whom we claim to make a choice about faith. In the case of this church who fired their pastor for admitting having occasional doubts, it is clear to me that what they wanted from her was not faith, but rather certainty. They wanted an assurance that what she believed could be simply stated, nailed down and never changed. It would not be swayed by tragedy, personal struggle or even just more existential moments of reflection on the nature of God.

It seems that, in a sense, the very notion of “faith” has become synonymous with propositional certainty within the context of religion. As such, I am inclined to think about my daily practice of Christianity a little bit differently. Rather than trying to claim, and lean on, a steadfast and immovable certainty about the existence and nature of God, and the existence and nature of Jesus, I find myself more curious about them – in an active, sometimes almost breathless sort of way – rather than finding any sanctuary or rest in some sort of intellectual or emotional certitude.

For some, this is unsettling. It feels rootless, too prone to the vicissitudes of human nature. And in so much as this curiosity is at the heart of what is often called “radical theology” (the word “radical” actually means “rootless”), it is just that. But in being unrooted, we are free to follow more nimbly where we feel led to go. Although many traditional notions of Christian practice have told us this is a sign of spiritual failure or, at best, weakness, it actually can be a very healthy expression of a more vital, dynamic religious practice.

I am increasingly comfortable with the idea of being more curious about God than I am faithful in God. I have much unfinished business to attend to in this Christian practice, but I am excited about the prospect of the fruits that such a pursuit may yield.

replacing faith with curiosity

Previous Post

September 30, 2013

When Ministers Get Honest About Doubt

Next Post

October 4, 2013 Survey: 25 Books Every Christian Should Read

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category atonement belief bible Bill O'Reilly Buddhism CCM children christian piatt christianity Contemporary Christian Music current events derek flood Easter education Everyday Sunday faith faith and culture Frank Schaeffer great commission Haaz Sleiman Hobby Lobby Homebrewed Culture humor ISIS Jesus John Paul Lederach Killing Jesus LGBTQ marc driscoll Mission Year Music My Jesus Project Nat Geo parenting politics popular culture postChristian prison reform Ray rice religion republicans sacrifice sexuality theology Uncategorized video violence wild goose festival World Vision young adults

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Select your answer to see how you score.

The centurion Peter Mourners at Lazarus' tomb Mary Magdalene