The Idolatry of Certainty on the Spiritual Journey

This blog is Part 2, i.e., a follow up, to last week’s blog: “The Issue of Authority in Discerning the Will of God.”

Underlying the many theological and ethical position statements made by different individual Christians and Christian groups throughout history is a certainty that their position is the right position because they can use the Bible to support it. Their position is “right” because it is “biblical.”

I argued in last week’s blog that this thinking is based upon faulty assumptions, a misunderstanding of the nature of the Bible, and a literal reading of the Bible. Jesus - as the fullest revelation of God, God’s character, and God’s ways – is the true guide to discerning the will of God, i.e., the “right” position on any theological or ethical issue. Such discernment is dependent upon “the renewing of the mind”, Romans 12:2, resulting in “the mind of Christ,” 2 Corinthians 2:16. Such thinking is thinking that has been shaped by the character of God and the ways of God under the guidance of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:7-16). “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect,” Romans 12:2 (emphasis added).

In this blog, I want to identify what seems to me to be the driving motivation for these “biblical” positions and statements of dogma. It seems to me that Christians who make these proclamations are seeking certainty – a clear sense about what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable and what is not, what to believe as right and what to reject as wrong - and through that certainty, a sense of control.

Such certainty is a false idol on the spiritual journey which makes the quest for certainty nothing more than idolatry.

The quest for certainty is a quest for control. Certainty puts them in control, allowing them to define what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable and what is not, what to believe as right and what to reject as wrong. Control is the reason behind the creation of any idol. Control is the objective of the certainty they project.

Those who hold to and argue for their “biblical” position generally reflect a rigidness in their thinking. Their thinking is right-and-wrong, black-and-white, either-or thinking. It has no room for nuances – the grey area that is inherent to any issue – or the messiness of the human condition. They want absolute certainty. Their arguments generally reflect a defensive tone, as though they are protecting the very foundations of their faith. If this position were to fall, the entire foundation of their faith experience would crumble beneath them. They have built their faith on the Bible being totally reliable – the infallible, inerrant word of God. “The Bible says” is their bottom line.

The rigid thinking and defensive posture of those who argue for their “biblical” position is revealing. It indicates fear, suggesting a deep-seated insecurity about their faith. Certainty is the façade they use to mask this insecurity, hiding it from themselves more than anyone else. Their unrecognized and unacknowledged insecurity is rooted in merit-based thinking. They have to know what is “right” so they can get it right. Unconsciously, their relationship with God is based on merit – getting it right, doing it right. Inevitably, such merit-based thinking and relating produces spiritual arrogance – “we are right, you are wrong.” It allows them to feel better than those who dare to disagree with them or challenge their beliefs. In my experience, certainty is always accompanied by a not-so-subtle spiritual arrogance.

While my description of these biblical literalists is harsh, let me hasten to acknowledge the commitment and sincerity of their faith, expressed in loyalty to their church and faithful involvement in the activities of their church – particularly Bible study.

Having acknowledged their faithfulness, I must also say that - in my thinking - the faith of these people is a misplaced faith. They have placed their faith in what men have taught them the Bible is – infallible and inerrant. (This teaching about the Bible and this language to describe it date to the late 19^th century. It grew out of a reaction to German biblical scholarship that sought to identify the many sources that could be identified in the development of the Bible. The biblical scholarship of that time recognized the human dimension of scripture – as does biblical scholarship today. This discussion about the human dimension of scripture was seen by some – they called themselves “fundamentalists” - as a threat to the reliability of scripture. These fundamentalists argued that the Bible is a divine book, inspired (literally: God-breathed) by God and written under the guidance of the Spirit. As such, it is totally reliable. It is infallible and inerrant. In doing so, they opened the door to “biblical” positions, the spiritual arrogance associated with “biblical” positions, and to the idolatry of certainty. Their quest for certainty turned the Bible into an idol before whom they worshipped.)

The Bible is indeed a divine book. It is inspired – God-breathed, 2 Timothy 3:16. It is also a human book. God spoke through men and women who were moved by the Spirit, Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:19-21. In the Bible, we find both the human and the divine.

Given the Bible’s dual nature, is it reliable? Absolutely! The writer of 2 Timothy wrote it is “able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus,” 2 Timothy 3:15.  It “is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16b. The writer of 2 Peter urged his readers to be attentive to scripture “as to a lamp shining in a dark place,” 2 Peter 1:19.

The Bible is a reliable source for helping us know God and the ways of God. It contains the stories of God’s self-revelation to and through the nation of Israel. Because God’s self-disclosure was accommodated to the people’s ability to understand at that particular stage of their spiritual development, it was always partial and limited – “in many and various ways,” Hebrews 1:1 - literally, “in bits and pieces.” This means some things in the Bible reflect the thinking and culture of the people at that period of time, not the will or ways of God.

So how are we to know which part of the Bible reflects the partial, limited understanding of Israel and which reflects God’s self-revelation?

Spoiler alert: discerning the will of God requires us to think. Specifically, it requires us to think with a renewed mind, Romans 12:2, and the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16. Discerning the will of God is only possible through thinking shaped by the character of God and the ways of God.

God’s fullest self-revelation was in Jesus, the Son, who “is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being,” Hebrews 1:3a. (The writer of Hebrews contrasted the full revelation of God through the Son with the partial, limited revelation given through the prophets, Hebrews 1:1-3. Also see John 1:14, 16; John 14:8-9a; Colossians 1:15, 19; 2:9.)  

Because Jesus is the fullest revelation of God, we know the character of God. “God is love,” 1 John 4:8. God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, wickedness, and sin,” Exodus 34:6-7. In his letter to the Romans, Paul spoke of this steadfast, faithful love as “the righteousness of God,” Romans 1:16-17; 8:28-39. In addition, because of Jesus, we know the ways of God. God relates to us out of grace and forgiveness, freely embracing us as beloved children – Ephesians 1:3-5; 2:4-10, 13-22; 1 John 3:1-3. God uses the divine power to serve, Mark 9:33-35; 10:41-44; Philippians 2:5-11, advocating for and empowering the powerless (justice), Isaiah 1:17.

We know these things about God – the character of God, the grace-based ways of God – by faith! We have faith that God is who Jesus revealed God to be. Paul spoke of “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” 2 Corinthians 4:6c. Paul means that, in Jesus, we know what God is like – the glory of God. Our knowing, however, is an act of faith. Paul went on to say “we walk by faith, not by sight,” 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Our faith gives us confidence, 2 Corinthians 5:6 and 8, but not certainty. We are confident in who God is and in the ways of God because of Jesus. Everything else - what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable and what is not, what to believe as right and what to reject as wrong – must be judged in light of the life and teachings of Jesus. We discern the will of God by exploring the life and teachings of Jesus under the guidance of the Spirit. Such exploration – an act of faith - helps us align our thinking and thereby our living with the character of God and the ways of God - again, an act of faith.

Faith expressed in confidence - not certainty - is the mark of a follower of Jesus. I am confident that God is who Jesus revealed God to be. Faith is also expressed in a teachable spirit. Faith keeps us open and teachable, willing to learn and grow and change, again the mark of a follower of Jesus, while certainty produces a closed mind that is unwilling to learn and grow. (Remember: the transformation of our lives comes through the renewing of the mind, i.e., learning, Romans 12:2.) Faith is expressed in humility. Humility, not the arrogance that accompanies certainty, is the mark of a teachable spirit.

I want to say “I am certain that I am right about this,” but in light of what I’ve written, I’d better say, “I’m confident that this way of thinking aligns with what it means to live by faith.” Living out of the confidence I have in this way of thinking is an act of faith – just as the certainty of some is an expression of their faith. The difference between my faith and their faith is the object of our faith – and that makes all the difference in the world.