When the quest for finding and holding on to certainty is central to our faith, our lives are marked by traits we wouldn't normally value in others: In the face of injustice and heinous suffering in the world, God seems disinterested or perhaps unable to do anything about it” (130-134). said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” I connected so much with this book. He talked about less preached stories, like Job and Psalms and Ecclesiastes, and how if we really look at these books, we can see that it's okay to feel doubtful, frustrated and unsure, just like those who came before us. In fact, God expects it of us. If Bible authors themselves had these moments, without our modern knowledge of science and the world, why wouldn't we? If more Christians were taught that the main goal of Christianity isn't to be right and certain all the time, maybe less people would wander from the faith when their stability is shaken.

Bean, Alan (April 18, 2016). " 'The Sin of certainty:' Peter Enns' Journey From Belief to Trust". Baptist News Global. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022 . Retrieved March 29, 2022. But that isn't the problem. In fact, the Christian faith declares that God freely and lovingly entered the human drama uniquely in one member of the human race, Jesus of Nazareth. God is okay with our humanity. Ramage, Matthew J. (April 17, 2020). "Chapter 10. Salvation by Allegiance, Not Certainty: How to Believe Biblically". The Experiment of Faith: Pope Benedict XVI on Living the Theological Virtues in a Secular Age. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 978-0-8132-3270-6. OCLC 1151187116. The title of the book, is evocative, the subtitle may possibly be a bit misleading. It is true that the focus of this book is danger posed by Christians seeking certainty. You might call this a sin since the search for certainty, which Enns had pursued, focuses attention on doctrinal conformity rath than God. The reason why the subtitle might be misleading is that it might lead one to believe that beliefs/doctrines don't matter. Instead, all you need to do is trust God. My sense from reading the book is that while Enns theological horizons have certainly broadened, and he's recognized the place and importance of doubt in the Christian journey, I don't think his theology has changed all that much. As an example, Enns writes "Even when life is absurd and only death waits for us at the other end. Even then we still read, “Yes. I get it. I’ve been there. We all get there sooner or later. And when you do, keep on being an Israelite anyway. Fear God and live obediently before God anyway.” Anyway. I don’t say that lightly. It’s hard to keep trusting God when you see no reason to. Yet that is a profound paradox of faith in the book of Ecclesiastes. No matter how deep distrust and disillusionment may be, move toward God in trust anyway."

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But it’s difficult to get excited about Enns’s prescriptions. If nothing else, the book is a pervasively individualized treatment of trust. “Faith,” Enns tells us, “is a community word.” If only he’d taken the message to heart. When he lays out how he has “reimagined thinking about God and faith in God,” neither the church nor its practices is anywhere to be found. “Modernity” makes an appearance; God’s transcendence is listed, as is Christianity’s central ineffability. Enns even exhorts the reader to “Trust your experiences, your God moments.” Even if that were true without qualification, it’s a rather lame proposal to a person who might be teetering on the edges of disbelief. Moreover, Enns devotes an entire chapter to “Cultivating a Habit of Trust,” but he spends most of the time relaying a moving narrative of his own life. He lauds his own church community, but he resists commending a similar path to others. That the faith of the church might carry an individual through a crisis is never mentioned, nor even considered. Forgetful Form Doubt is divine tough love” (165). It’s actually doubt, not faith, that is transforming (164). “Doubt is sacred. Doubt is God’s instrument, [and] will arrive in God’s time” (164). Don’t resist doubt, don’t fight it, and by all means don’t seek to fix it with commitment to right thoughts or right doctrine. “The key is to decouple our faith in God from our thoughts about God” (16). This is indeed, BLIND FAITH. He wants to say “of course, [that] believing is never empty of content” (93) – but the focus of faith is not on *what* a person believes, but on *who* regardless of how you define him. God is “transrational” – so just trust, whatever it is that you trust. Sutton, Geoffrey William (2016). "Book Review by Geoffrey Sutton — The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs". Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal Ministry. 13– via ResearchGate. Crosses are heavy, yes, but that's not the point. You don't take up a cross simply to carry it. You take up your cross to die on it. That's the point of crosses.

Froese, Deborah (October 18, 2017). "How to Avoid 'A Tense Faith' ". Canadian Mennonite Magazine. Canadian Mennonite Publishing Service. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022 . Retrieved March 29, 2022. There is good mathematics; there is bad mathematics. There are mathematicians who are totally uninterested in science, who are building tools that science will find indispensable. There are mathematicians passionately interested in science, and building tools for specific use there, whose work will become as obsolete as the Zeppelin or the electronic valve. The path from discovery to utility is a rabbit-warren of false ends: mathematics for its own sake has had, and will continue to have, its place in the scheme of things. And, after all, the isolation of the topologist who knows no physics is no worse than that of the physicist who knows no topology. Today's science requires specialization from its individuals: the collective activity of scientists as a whole is where the links are forged. If only Morris Kline showed some inkling of the nature of this process, I would take his arguments more seriously. But his claim that mathematics has gone into decline is one based too much on ignorance, and his arguments are tawdry in comparison to the marvellous, shining vigour of today's mathematics. I too would like to see more overt recognition by mathematicians of the importance of scientific problems; but to miss the fact that they do splendid work even in this apparent isolation is to lose the battle before it has begun. Bibliography [ edit ]

Author

Enough. Peter Enns has abandoned “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). In his own words, “That horse has left the stable” (191). He’s done with “lengthy sermons [at] the center of worship” (193). He’s done with the exclusivity of Christ (135-139). He’s bought into all the old arguments against Scripture and the Gospel – and presumes to have discovered a more ancient path. His way is a “mystical faith,” “a faith that remains open to the ever-moving Spirit and new possibilities” (208), a “transrational” faith (193). “As I was bathing in my inner agnosticism, I was drawn to authors and others who were explicitly outside of the Christian tradition or not as easily recognized as being in it…” Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. The sections of chapter six comprise his explanations of the five legitimate arguments against Christian faith:

Does Jesus really make a difference or are we better off with a health plan that covers therapy and prescription medications" (loc 1740) A faith like that is in constant battle mode, like a cornered honey badger. Or like a watchman on the battlements scanning the horizon from sun up to sun down for any threat. And soon you forget what faith looks like when you're not fighting about it. From beginning to end, the content of the book is clearly agenda-driven. It’s full of lies and half-truths about God, all presented behind a thin veil of disarming humor. It’s clear that Enns doesn’t actually know anything about the sovereign God. He wastes much of his time making excuses for a god he inaccurately portrays and who, in truth, doesn’t exist. Miller, Caleb (March 31, 2016). Jersak, Brad; Dart, Ron; Miller, Kevin; Klager, Andrew (eds.). "Review of Peter Enns' 'The Sin of Certainty' ". Clarion Journal: Journal for Religion, Peace & Justice. Fresh Wind Press. ISSN 2369-0070. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022 . Retrieved March 29, 2022.But Morris Kline can see only the introversion. It doesn't seem to occur to him that a mathematical problem may require concentrated contemplation of mathematics, rather than the problem to which one hopes to apply the resulting theory, to obtain a satisfactory solution. But if I want to cut down an apple tree, and my saw is too blunt, no amount of contemplation of the tree will sharpen it... Abu Bala Siraj ad-Din has bestowed upon the world a great benefaction in giving it this very important Sufi treatise, for, belonging as it does to our own time, it is easier for us to assimilate than are the treatises and commentaries of Sufis of old.” —Islamic Quarterly The objection here is so simple I'm not sure how it could be missed. In fact, trust is probably the only thing that suffers from broken promises and inaccurate accounts. The first thing to go is trust in the accuracy and relevance of the Bible. The second thing to go is trust in the God that the Bible reveals. Long, Calvin T. (1981-01-01). "Review of MATHEMATICS: The Loss of Certainty (L)". The Mathematics Teacher. 74 (3): 234–235. JSTOR 27962408.