Belief as a "Working Hypothesis"

As a teacher, person of faith and lifelong learner, I sometimes explain my faith to others as a ‘working hypothesis’. By this I mean that my faith is based on the ‘best I’ve worked out to this point’. This ‘best’ is important. It is how I ground my thinking and my beliefs. It is the clearest understanding I have as to how things work, and what really matters. It represents my commitment to the ultimate purpose in this world.

Except…

Except one day, I might learn something new. Something that so dramatically challenges my hypothesis, that I need to rebuild my thinking and my beliefs. This new information might be so compelling that I’m pressured to release cherished ideas, things that I previously believed to be irrefutable.

And if I reach that point, I am then left with a choice. I can attempt to resolutely hold on to what I knew before, drawing comfort from familiar ideas in the face of this information. Although here I inevitably continue with a nagging whisper of doubt, knowing that my faith commitment is knowingly built on a rejection of truths.

Secondly, I can quickly drop the old ideas, disgusted by their inability to adapt to my newfound knowledge. Here I quickly and harshly judge what has been before as tainted by a lie, hurling it all from my life in a splash of proverbial bathwater. Aneffective exercise, but one that leaves me wondering if I’ve been intellectually lazy, avoiding tension, paradox and challenge.

But in a ‘working hypothesis’, I choose a third option. I value and cherish my beliefs for the way they have guided me so far. But I am also open to new ideas that may better explain the concepts I’ve been working with. I think about the ethical, moral and social conclusions that I am otherwise led to by too-eagerly embracing, or rejecting. I test out my faith as I actively seek better ways of understanding. New ideas are not a threat, for they are part of the quest of faith. The new and exotic are not encountered as dangers. Instead, they are encountered as gifts. They are an opportunity, perhaps to give language, expression and form to aspects of my faith that I haven’t even yet identified.

The eleventh century monk Anselm spoke to this notion in describing “faith seeking understanding”. It is a phrase that has inspired many theologians, including myself, over the past thousand years. In this neat phrase, faith is something of a paradox. We sit in a tension between what we embrace and what we may yet discover. Faith is as much about what we may come to believe as what we believe at present.

Of the four ancient accounts of Jesus’ life included in the New Testament, the Fourth Gospel (commonly known as the Gospel of John) has a unique emphasis on this notion. When speaking of belief, it overwhelmingly refers to it as a verb, as an action. Belief is not something static. It is not something that we have. It is something active. We ‘do’ belief. That is because belief is something that is constantly in motion. We believe, and so we come to believe. I also think of the Gospel of Mark, where the father of a demon-possessed boy proclaims “I believe; help my unbelief”.

In this sense, belief is never finished. It is a conversation, not a construction. It develops over time, finding new themes, rediscovering old ones, shifting in the rhythm of our voices, hopes, challenges and opportunities.

In the same sense, the site on which I begin this blog is also unfinished. Breadbytes in many ways represents a working hypothesis. Breadbytes has been in the works for a couple of years now. I’ve held off on publishing it because I wanted it to be complete: informative, useful and polished. However work, health, family commitments—all good and joyful commitments—are nonetheless elements that mean projects like BreadBytes have not been completed with the consistency that I would hope.

I’ve decided to open it now anyway, incomplete, unfinished and in need of a lot of work, in the hope that what I’ve contributed to this point will be of some value to someone, somewhere. The goal – to make theology accessible – is one that I still passionately believe in, and will still work toward as opportunity allows.

It represents some of the thought work I’ve put into a number of questions of faith, with a goal of serving others who are grappling with similar kinds of questions. It stands as an invitation to engage in a dialogue together, to learn new ideas. If this sounds fun, I’d love to join with you more in conversation. If it sounds too much, go well on your journey.