And Speaking of Faith...

I try not to post too many serious pieces here, but I found this especially interesting and valuable. One of the podcasts I listen to sporadically is called Speaking of Faith, a public radio weekly show that provides insights into a wide variety of religious traditions and ethical thoughts. A recent episode--one that I listened to just today--focused on the Church, with Robert Millet from BYU's College of Religious Education answering some thoughtful questions with equally thoughtful responses and examples. I found his answers to be a bit bumpy early in the interview, but lucid as it progressed.

But what I found most interesting--and refreshing--about the episode is how well Dr. Millet handled the speculative questions, those from the fringes of doctrine. I have noted in the more well-publicized events of the past few months a tendency for the media and the public at large to look for the wildest perspective, the most strident voice. And Millet's was a calm and thoughtful one that said, in essence, "I don't know how to reconcile all the contradictions of my faith."

Such candor is valuable because it is so rare, not only in theology, but all aspects of our lives. And it speaks to me and echoes my own feelings as I have come to grips with the ambivalence of believing--exercising faith even though the context of my studies and my profession is rife with contradiction.

I suppose what I am getting at is that I find in the interview (and I still need to visit the website more and listen to the uncut version) a sense of my own adult life, my journey from naive proto-faith (what my favorite philosopher, Gianni Vattimo, calls "believing that I believe"), through the wonders and trials of mission life and into marriage and fatherhood, crossing deep chasms of disconnect over the social and political nature of the culture, to what I feel is a mature, thoughtful reconciliation. I don't know a lot of the answers, but I know that I don't know. And in that act, in accepting my limitations and the limitations of my faith, I find peace, realizing that faith is ultimately to believe in the unbelievable.