DEGREES OF CERTAINTY

Last Sunday, after hearing me preach for the first time, my old college friend visiting from California said something like the following:

"This might sound like a criticism, but it's not meant to be. You don't preach like you've got the Bible all figured out. I really appreciate that."

I am glad.

I strive to be as authentic as I can be - in and out of the pulpit. So it would be extremely difficult for me to preach like I have Christian faith and the holy Scriptures all figured out - because I don't.

This might be a liability in some ways - I think people do crave certainty and it's natural for a congregation to take comfort in the (false) notion that their preacher has plumbed the depths of the Bible and, given enough time, can explain every nook and cranny in 25 minute increments. 

But in recent years as everything has gone topsy turvy worldwide (and knowing who to trust has become nearly impossible), I have become more comfortable with "degrees of certainty" thinking.

Here's what I have in mind: In my opinion, instead of saying, "The Bible teaching on women being prohibited from preaching is purely cultural", a pastor should be able to say something like, “I am ninety percent convinced that Paul’s prohibition against women speaking in church is cultural.”

Being overly certain of one’s position on a doctrine or interpretation can bring cognitive dissonance when it is challenged. (Which is a type of blindness.) It can also tempt you toward reading your own assumptions into every passage. 

Instead of tying your identity too closely to an idea being right or wrong, expressing “degrees of certainty” thinking can keep you open to new discoveries, because it expresses a willingness to change your mind. 

If the great New Testament theologian Paul had to say himself, "Now we only know in part" (1 Cor 13:9), then how confident, certain, and settled can the rest of us be?