Volitional Doubt

The phrase "volitional doubt" is borrowed from gary Habermas's The Thomas Factor. It refers to a type of doubt regarding will and choice. Doubt of this variety has to do with the "willingness to implement a choice regarding one's faith (p 43)". Habermas continues to state that "the key to volitional matters is to gain a new perspective on our life- to view it from God's perspective." I don't think Habermas would say that any person know exactly how God sees things. I can see things from other peoples points of view, I can discern two different sides of an argument, but this is a gift of human empathy. A God who is greater than I am, of whom I can only catch glimpses, does not have a point of view that I can understand. I could try to orient my point of view from God's direction, but I doubt that this is humanly possible. I don't believe that we can look directly at God, I don't think we could orient ourselves to be God. It is one thing to trust God in things we don't understand (p 13) but then to add that we can see from God's perspective is a little too much.

Habermas continues to say that "these doubters need to get 'fired up' about those things that should be of prime importance to us- that is, about God and his Kingdom (Mt. 6:14-33)" This is true and I agree with the sentiment. Our relationship to God is the most important thing in our lives, and it is a spiritual relationship. We need lives that strengthen that relationship. Habermas rationalizes this statement by saying "eternal life lasts longer than our earthly existence, and promises far better quality. Directing ones minds towards eternity improves the quality of life here on earth."

This is completely wrong. There are lots of reasons that I think it is harmful to focus on eternity or any kind of afterlife. I want to do good things and be a just person. I want to be a kind and generous person because that's what being fully human is all about. I don't want my acts of right and wrong chalking up points on a balance sheet to see if I made enough good marks to get into heaven. I don't want my actions to be dictated by the end result. I think that it is a dangerous outlook to keep on life. In that model of ethics, I am not kind to the stranger because I'm generous, but because I want the reward of generosity. It is fake. It is praying in public so everyone will see how good I am, and that is all the reward I get (Mt. 6:5). So I don't try to get into heaven. It's not my decision to make. The issue of my salvations is best left to God. I think I understand salvation, and I trust God to look after it. In the meantime I will stive to live a life where kindness, generosity, and wisdom prevail. I will try to hear God's voice and I will do my best to follow God's Call. That is the choice I make.

Habermas continues to list things that make volitional doubt seem strong and offers advice to overcome it. The prayer he offers seems to me to be little more than an affirmation. Overcoming doubt is not as easy as saying "I believe in Jesus" over and over again. Salvation is not granted to those who repeat "Jesus Christ is my lord and saviour" thousands of times. When we find ourselves in a process of decision making we take our time. Buying a car or home, choosing to continue dating one person or contemplating marriage. Choosing a college to further education. These affect our lives in big ways and so we consider them to be important and make a great effort in making sure that we will make the right choice. I have stated that our connection and relationship to God is the most important relationship in our lives. Why should be we able to choose God at the drop of a hat? My own experience tells me that the decision is easy to make after a great deal of thinking and examination.

I am a cradle Episcopalian who left the church and returned after a philosophy class that examined the logical arguments that proved or disproved the existence of God. After all of this work I was able to set aside the doubt and I realized that logic (which I had put a lot of faith in at the time) was not going to solve this particular problem. I was faced with a choice that depended purely on my faith. I could only answer that I had to believe in God. I couldn't come to grips with a universe that wasn't created with some order in it. I couldn't imagine a life without God. It may seem like a slow start, but it is the most basic statement of faith. Even a simple question has a simple answer, but requires further explanation. I call the sole creative force in the universe "God". Other faiths may not have an anthropomorphic creator but recognize a "sacred" reality, a realist that is beyond what our five senses can detect. The Buddhists say "The Tao that can be named is not the real Tao." The documentary "The History of the Bible" stated that "Imaging God is limiting God." ( I can't remember who said the quote, and my notes are incomplete).

I have wandered far in this writing, and my mind has wandered more than what I've written. I conclude by stating that while Habermas is saying that it is easy to overcome volitional doubt by praying the "sinners prayer" It is good ot point that he also states that finding the right source of the problem in necessary for the cure.