Faithful Doubt
The Wisdom of Uncertainty
by Guy Collins
Paperback (No longer our product)
(March 2015)
ISBN: 9780718893934
5.98 x 9.02 inches
Price: $30.00
On back order
An important and wide-ranging discussion of the importance of religious doubt, drawing on sources as diverse as postmodern philosophy, the Old Testament and science fiction.
Focussing on three philosophers – Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida, and Slavoj Zizek – Faithful Doubt argues that atheism can be redeeming. Far from being inhospitable to faith, doubt is increasingly necessary for theology. As well as introducing the thought of contemporary philosophers, ‘Faithful Doubt’ examines the significance of popular entertainment and nrrative. Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin, Neal Stephenson, China Mieville, and others are read alongside ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’. Fiction highlights the fluid nature of the sacred and the secular. On the question of evil, ‘Faithful Doubt’ suggests that wisdom lies in acknowledging uncertainty. Weaving the story of Job together with St Augustine, Donald MacKinnon, and Eleonore Stump, evil exemplifies the necessity for doubt within theology. ‘Faithful Doubt’ brings a new perspective to debates about the relationship between faith and reason. Concluding with a discussion of Soren Kierkegaard, Collins presents a compellingcase for harnessing atheism and doubt in service to Christian faith. In order to doubt wisely we need to heed the faith of the faithless.
Guy Collins is the Rector of St Thomas Church, Hanover, and the Episcopal Chaplain to Dartmouth College.
- By (author) Guy Collins
"From Star Trek and The Hunger Games to iek, Agamben, and Derrida, and from the theology of the Apostle Thomas to Kierkegaard and Honest to God, Faithful Doubt presents a powerful body of evidence in favour of the view that believers and atheists alike are ill-served by the 'God wars' of the last decade. Guy Collins persuades us that there is indeed wisdom in uncertainty and that faith itself is helped by the admission of doubt." George Pattison, University of Glasgow "Theological traditions, cutting-edge philosophy, and popular fiction are skilfully woven together. If you are tired of the sterile clash of religious and atheist fundamentalisms, read this book." Steven Shakespeare, Liverpool Hope University "Guy Collins engages with the whole gamut of philosophy and popular culture in order to question certainties and fundamentalisms of all kinds, whether religious or secular. Written in a lively and accessible style, he shows how doubt is the necessary counterpart to faith, rather than its avowed enemy. Highly recommended for all thoughtful readers, of any faith or none." Gavin Hyman, University of Lancaster
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