The value of agnosticism

I love talking with thoughtful agnostics. When they find out that I am a Christian they say, “How can you believe in a God who…?” And I often finding myself saying, “I can’t.” I think that’s a good thing. In order to say that you are having troubles believing in God, you first have to define God, and the definitions that agnostics usually share with me stem from simplistic anthropomorphisms or some sort of “god in a box” that religious authorities have contrived. I don’t believe in those definitions of God at all, and agnostics find it disconcerting that I agree with most of what they say.

Conceptualizations of God can arise from simplified analogies or similes that the average person can grasp (“God is like a father.” “God is like a judge.”) These are helpful, but also problematic. Analogies and similes are not definitions of God, they help make a point about some aspect of God’s dealing with the world. Not only are they limited in scope, but they are very fragile. You ask ten people to describe what a father is, and you get ten different answers. Moreover, if you go back 2000 years and ask a Jew what a father is, you might get a totally unexpected answer.

Conceptualizations of God can also arise from the best or worst intentions of religious leadership. Robert Wright, in his book The Evolution of God, makes the point that those who are in power get to define God. The religious authorities of each age will emphasize certain aspects of God that fit the current culture, and unfortunately sometimes fit their own desire to make sure that access to God channels through them.

I’ll probably talk about “negative theology” in a later blog, but I’ll touch on it here. Any definition or image of God is automatically false. An idol. This is because God is infinite and beyond our comprehension. Any finite statement is a limit on God, and God is limitless. Definitions and images are necessary and helpful, but once they become ossified, they can skew our perception of God.

Here’s an analogy: If I ask you to define “blue”, what do you think of? There are so many shades and tints and hues that make up the concept “blue”. Actually, the different shades of blue are actually analogies and similes. Technically, blue is a range of wavelengths on the spectrum of light. If I had an interior designer suggest that I paint my living room blue, I might imagine a pastel robin’s egg blue. I’m sorry. No! No robin’s egg blue in my living room! I don’t want pastels in my relaxing space, and it wouldn’t go with my burgundy couch. But then my interior designer says, “Well, I was thinking more of a navy blue.” “Oh. Actually, that would fit with my personality and my couch. Let’s go with it. “

So when an agnostic tells me they have a hard time believing in God, I want to know if they have been told about a robin’s egg blue God. I just may learn something from this person’s struggles with contemporary religious thought. I may discover some idols that I have been worshipping. And I just may find that we are companions in the search for spiritual growth.