Admitting I Don’t Know Is Good For My Spiritual Progress Posted in: Faith

A follower of religion might fear that by admitting any uncertainty they risk losing their faith. Easier and safer (and certainly more cosy) to just pretend I know rather than I choose to believe … and bury deep any doubting thought as the work of a devil. That somehow it is a fundamental to maintaining and cultivating faith that one never entertains any type of doubting.

I propose however that just the opposite is true. Maybe in the beginning a little self-deception probably does no harm, but very soon I argue, dishonesty of any type becomes an increasing impediment to genuine spiritual growth.

The main reason is that thinking one has attained complete done-and-dusted absolute vision leaves little room for appreciating and celebrating divine arrangement in the lives of others when their aspirations are different to ours. But I think seeing the divine in all life is at the very ABC of spiritual consciousness … we all come from God … in effect we are all brothers and sisters. How strange it is that so often religious zealots see anyone outside their sect in terms of other. Probably much more so than an average atheist.

In my personal journey I have recently decided to resurrect my use of ‘I believe’ … and even added the strapline ‘but I might be wrong’. To my amazement my faith and convictions did not evapourate into thin air, but I started feeling a freedom not experienced since my youth. And my ability to see and celebrate the divinity of others has become re-ignited, which has got to be good for my spiritual progress.