Knowing
Darkness: On Skepticism, Melancholy, Friendship, and God by
Addison Hodges Hart. Eerdmans, 2009. 136 pages.
In Knowing the
Darkness, Addison Hart argues against popular ideas of Christianity. He
seeks to correct false views about conventional piety, skepticism, melancholy, friendship,
and God. The first few chapters analyses popular views of skepticism and
melancholy. Then he looks at two biblical books that discuss melancholy and
skepticism. He believes the discussion leads to friendship because friendship
sustains believers in difficult times. He concludes the book with a discussion
of what faith is and what it is not.
Addison
Hodges Hart is Parochial Vicar for the Newman Center at Northern Illinois
University, DeKalb, Illinois and a contributing editor for Touchstone magazine.
In
the introduction Hart illustrates the subject of the book by discussing the
doubts of Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa wrote: “In my soul I feel just that
terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me—of God not being God — of God not
existing” (1). Mother Teresa wrote this in 1959. She struggled with doubts her
whole life. She once remarked, “If I ever become a saint, I will surely be one
of darkness” (1). Hart writes about this darkness in his book. Hart observes, “Darkness
of an interior kind, and even a sort atheism, are not inimical to faith, and
certainly not to Christianity and Judaism” (3). St. John of the Cross wrote of
the dark night of the soul in the sixteenth century.
Hart
chooses to write of melancholy instead of depression. He does not see
melancholy or skepticism as sinful. In addition, melancholy does not
necessarily indicate clinical depression. Hart thinks that skepticism is
compatible with faith. He insists that a mature faith includes skepticism. He
distinguishes it from cynicism. Hart defines skepticism as “to fix one’s gaze
on, to look into, to examine, to observe. It has to do with inquiry,
consideration, investigation. It isn’t synonymous with doubt, and it isn’t the
antithesis of faith” (17). He seems to be thinking of unbelieving doubt. He
insists again: “Skepticism, again, is not the same thing as doubt, but rather
the act of looking hard at things for the purpose of discovering and
understanding what may be true about them” (18). The author argues that
skepticism is beneficial to the Christin. Hart writes: Skepticism “is firmly
rooted in a Hebrew concept of faith, one that instinctively distrusts human
reason, recognizing its fallibilities and limitations, but embraces relational
trust in a self-revealing and self-interpreting God. It is a faith open to
questioning God, examining His ways, complaining to Him, and even expressing
exasperation and impatience at his silence” (23).
The
last chapter of Knowing Darkness Hart
discusses faith. He notes that this is what the book is actually about. He
seeks to correct false views of faith: “Faith is not good feelings. It isn’t
rationalism. Nor is it superstition” (127). The author states that faith is not
“static or flat.” He thinks faith is “dynamic,” ever changing. Faith is “living,
growing, changing, and it is integral to a human being’s very existence and
maturing” (129). This idea makes a lot of sense to me. We do not stand still. So
our faith must not either.
The
author describes why he believes skepticism is necessary for faith: “Skepticism
will always preserve him from the false forms of faith —the emotionally
dependent, the rationalistic, the irrational and superstitious. It will also
preserve him from the sort of perennial popular and philosophical atheism that
has plenty of argument and rebuttal, but not much else. Skepticism will always
doubt the value of doubt itself, because doubt — as opposed to faith — explains
nothing about the most essential mystery of humanity” (133-134).
In
addition, Hart notes that friends are a gift of God. Friends will help us to
get through the tough times. I would add they also make the good times better
and help us to flourish in life. This is a truth even Aristotle saw.
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