The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
April 15, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 15

Everything But...
           I didn’t know that Macleans knows the Lectionary! I am under no delusions that the writers and editors even know what a Lectionary is. But how appropriate that on this Second Sunday of Easter when the story of Doubting Thomas is always read, that Macleans and a number of other magazines flood our reading space with bold articles on “The God Poison” and the God Delusion. This is the week to consider the role of doubt in our faith, and this year that has been accomplished with a vengeance.
           Vengeance may be just the word to describe the tone utilized by a number of these writers and critics. A lot of people, a lot of institutions feel hurt and damaged by religious faith and blame such faith for many of the world’s problems. As if they had any real solutions. Attempts to cure the world of religion have generally ended up in a situation where only brute, not humane, power provides the solution. The Soviet revolution worked hard to ban religion as did Mao’s Communist Cultural Revolution, but few would admit that moral standards were advanced. Power and privilege ruled as always, but it was in the secret cells of religious faith that people could still recognize and teach the value and dignity of other human beings.
           Today let’s look at doubt from the dark side of the moon, the doubt that rejects any reason for faith. Such doubt does makes good points, for a lot of religious faith is harmful to the dignity and well being of humanity. What bothers me is the absolute lack of humility on the part of faith’s critics, even while they criticize the pomposity of religious leaders and institutions. Some even ridicule humility as a sign of weakness. We’ve heard that before. God has been dead many times before resurrection.