“Therefore, we need not be disturbed when complete precision and certainty elude us; responsible uncertainty will take us considerably further than baseless assurance.”
-Moisés Silva
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“Therefore, we need not be disturbed when complete precision and certainty elude us; responsible uncertainty will take us considerably further than baseless assurance.”
Comments
Pretty hard to find and walk that line, though, don't you think?
Posted by: SIL on Friday, July 7, 2006
I think of it as a road with ditches on either side. On one side is the ditch of absolute certainty on everything. That's where you end up with baseless assurance. On the other side is the ditch of complete uncertainty about everything. People stuck there tend to be in a paralyzing state of doubt.
I found the quote back in February in a book about New Testament Lexicons.
Posted by: CJ Costello on Saturday, July 8, 2006
Responsible uncertainty involves risk. even though it is responsible and risks offer more opportunity and possibilities than
absolute certainty.
If one is talking spiritually, then is "responsible uncertainty" a synonym for faith?
Posted by: Kathy on Saturday, July 8, 2006
I think that there is more risk in unfounded certainty than responsible uncertainty. What you think you know but are wrong about can be more dangerous than what you are unsure about given that you handle it appropriately.
I don't think responsible uncertainty should be called faith. I consider faith to be outside of our modern rational propositional framework. Yes, we can give a reasoned defense of our faith, but faith itself cannot be proven or disproven using logic. Nor does faith fill in the gaps that our reason has left behind.
As a very practical example, responsible uncertainty means buckling your seatbelt because you never know when you will be involved in an accident.
Posted by: CJ Costello on Sunday, July 9, 2006