Pursuing a quest for truth takes you to no useful destination if you rule out areas of inquiry before you even begin. Only an open mind will inspire questions that move you forward and increase your understanding. What to do, then, if you really, really don’t believe in God? Note that it’s not the belief in God that is essential, but the willingness to be open to the possibility of God.
What is truth? 14 Spanish skies ~ æssmith Spain, location photos; jturner graphic
What is Truth? Can we agree that the sky is (sometimes) blue? Can we agree on the precise blue it is at any given moment? If we stand together under a cloudless sky, can you see the blue I see? Can I behold the blue in your eye? How do you overcome obstacles to freedom of thought and move towards a truth that binds everything you learn into a meaningful vision?
Recognize the sources of your resistance. Three of the most common are pride, personality, and prejudice.
Pride keeps you from wanting to feel foolish, even to yourself. What if all your friends are apparently atheists, too? What if people you admire and like adhere to the creed of atheism? What if you begin to think that there might be a God, and someone proves once and for all there is no such thing? (Interestingly, despite all the advances in modern science, no one has been able to do this. The most that scientists can say is that such a proof is beyond the realm of science altogether.)
Personality is that combination of traits that is uniquely you. Desire for the quest itself tends to belong to those with specific personality traits, some positive, others negative. For example, while they may long for truth and freedom, thus powering the quest, they can also be critical and judgemental of themselves and others. One of the great blessings of pursuing the quest is greater self-knowledge and the opportunities it brings to become a kinder and wiser human being. Questing personalities are attracted to the study and investigation leading to insights and discoveries unique to a lifelong inquirer. They are ready and willing to challenge not only beliefs that differ from theirs, but their own beliefs as well.
Prejudice brings into the mix all the outside influences that shape your belief system. This includes everything from family and friends to the media to society in general and much more. Part of any quest for truth involves recognizing, understanding and questioning the ideas and feelings that underlie your thoughts and actions and those of others. This is not the same as a blanket rejection of knowledge held by experts and authorities. Instead, it is a realization that no one person can know everything, and having the humility to respect the years of study and research that lead to people being recognized as experts in the first place.
Accepting the possibility of God means you won’t leave out necessary questions during your quest. Once you understand why you resist the idea of God, how do you remove the roadblock that disbelief puts squarely in your path?
First of all, declare a state of independence. Leave pride, personality and prejudice behind. Look into the record of human history and you’ll discover that few of the world’s great thinkers, explorers and inventors escaped the label of fool for their thoughts. Discovery means change in fixed ideas. At any given time, a majority of people won’t want to face the feeling of insecurity such change brings with it.
As you challenge your own comfortable notions about yourself and others and life in general, you’ll experience spiritual, intellectual and emotional growth. You’ll become a healthier, better balanced personality. As this transformation continues, you’ll begin to free yourself from the fears that prejudice brings and the limitations it imposes on your life.
Secondly, begin the work of study and research that underpins every quest. You’ll be amazed to discover that past generations asked many of your questions and arrived at answers still relevant today. Yes, you’ll re-invent the wheel for a time, but that brings a certain level of satisfaction and validation with it. If an old idea is new to you, it’s still exciting the first time you learn of it.
Learn what makes a dependable source of information. Forget the news media and hit the books. Get to know your library and especially the librarians. When possible get access to a university library. If you’re not confident in your reading ability, start where you are. Look for general interest books by respected professionals in your field of study. (See Further reading below.)
Thirdly, and odd as it may seem, ask God for guidance. Once you are open to the possibility of God’s existence, that avenue is open to you. Your inquiries are private and personal. You can be as blunt as you like: “Listen, God, I’m not sure you exist and I feel silly even asking this question, but . . . .?” If you’re persistent, over time you’ll discover this to be a surprisingly helpful practice. It will be most effective if you think carefully about what it is you need to know, and form a clear question in your own mind, posing it before you prepare for sleep.
Once committed to the quest, your way will be full of ups and downs, false starts and detours. The inventor Thomas Alva Edison famously said, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” He rejected the idea of genius as the exceptional ability of any one individual. What led to discovery, he believed, was due to hard work and commitment to learning. This in turn led to the fleeting moments of inspiration that knit together different bits of information and resulted in invention.
Thankfully, the questing personality has an essential positive trait Edison described as necessary to the idea of genius, plus another that complements it. The first is persistence and the second, passion.
Persistence provides the ninety-nine percent perspiration to pursue the quest. It isn’t easy, in this world of distractions, to stay focused on any one thing. The quest demands a willingness to put aside most of the time-wasting activity and thought in life, in order to pursue a higher purpose. The quester has the persistence to do this.
Passion provides the fuel to keep persistence burning. It is a reality that no one individual is likely to grasp ultimate truth in this life. Yet desire for truth is a passion higher than any desire for material ends. In a beautifully reinforcing process, a spark of passion can inspire months of hard work and research. In turn, this leads to new ideas and connections, generating the next inspiration and another spark of passion.
In this process, the God whose possibility you accept has a part. Inspiration is also one of the mysteries of human life. In your quest you will discover that God, inspiration and truth all work together to help you see what belongs to you alone.
What has worked best for you in breaking down your mental barriers to truth and understanding? Share your ideas, questions or comments below. If it would be helpful, you can find the Comments Policy at the bottom of the Nuts & Bolts page.
Further reading:
Every quest is unique and becomes more focused as time goes on. Below is a good place to start if you are new to big ideas or it’s been years since you did any serious reading:
Raeper, William; and Edwards, Linda. A Brief Guide to Ideas. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997.
If you’re ready for something a little more challenging, though narrower in focus, try this:
Morvillo, Nancy. Science and Religion: Understanding the Issues. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Although you may find much of interest in the study of religion, don’t confuse it with God. Religions are human constructs and the product of many different areas of human experience and learning. By all means, find time to read the Bible and discover how its words are woven into the whole fabric of Western culture. Use a Bible with commentary from recognized scholars and published by a well-respected publisher. You will be surprised at how little most people, including most Christians, really know about it.
For the Old Testament I recommend:
Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. Trans. Robert Alter. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2019.
For the Old and New Testaments both, plus the Apocrypha, this is my Bible of choice:
Coogan, Michael D., ed. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Third Edition.
(The NOAB is now in its fifth edition and will take a bite out of your budget, although it is reasonably priced. The third edition is all you need if you are new to Bible studies, and is available on AbeBooks for a fraction of the price of the newer version.)