Abstract
What place, if any, does doubt play in faithful Christian discipleship? Less of an issue, perhaps, for those in the more liberal traditions used to a healthy questioning of dogmatic certainty, but potentially more of a problem for those of a conservative disposition who might be tempted to equate doubt with a distinct lack of faith. In what is effectively a series of free-standing essays of varying length, Thiselton brings a typical philosophical rigour to his analysis of these three interrelated concepts. Starting with the kind of critical word studies for which he has a well-earned reputation, each term is considered in turn as Thiselton briefly reviews some of the theological debates around the topic before turning to the biblical material he sees as relevant. These historical and biblical foundations are then offered as precedents giving permission for further questioning before Thiselton returns to philosophical theory to call on Wittgenstein, Searle, Austin and Ricoeur, familiar friends from his earlier writings, to expose the reality of one more language game. The central conclusion of the book is therefore straightforward: all three words are slippery and elusive, meaning that the positive or negative connotations of each particular instance can be determined only by close attention to an individual text.
This book is a testament to a lifetime’s work not only in philosophical theology but also in penetrating exegesis of key biblical texts. There is no doubt that Thiselton writes with a quiet authority and determination which many will find persuasive. And yet the book seems to lack the kind of thread that would surely make the argument far more convincing. To be honest, it simply was not clear, at least to this reader, whether the aim of the book was to rehabilitate the role of doubt in the Christian life or to argue that reason and intellectual precision should once again find a place in ordinary Christian discourse outside the academy. Perhaps it was a bit of both, as the exercise of reason is experienced by some as a tipping point sliding easily into doubt.
Nevertheless, there is much to be gained from the book, not least the brief history of scepticism from Pyrrhon to Descartes and beyond. The parallel review of the role of reason in theological discourse from Augustine to Pannenberg via Aquinas, Luther and Calvin is equally stimulating, although one might have expected a little more on what might be called the Barthian reserve. One might also have expected, perhaps, a little more on the biblical side from Job and Ecclesiastes – not least the perceptive work of Jacques Ellul. But the predominantly philosophical trail leads straight to Alvin Plantinga and his plea for a stronger theological epistemology capable of challenging the naïve positivism of Dawkins and other strident secularists. For both Pannenberg and Plantinga, this ‘reformed epistemology’ must be recognized as the work of the Holy Spirit who points towards God’s eschatological future as the only ultimate foundation for certainty. Until then, Thiselton rightly concludes, the Church, liberal or otherwise, must learn to use more nuanced language to talk about the place of doubt and certainty in the life of faith.