Can a Skeptic Be a Believer?

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A well-dressed, middle-aged woman, wearing no makeup, walks along a long wall toward the camera. The footage is in black-and-white. Sadness covers her face like a dew-fall of tragedy. She announces that she received disappointing results from a blood test.

But she soon arrives at a corner, and as she turns it, the sadness disappears and a broad smile decorates her face. It’s the moment she discovers Eliquis!

For those who haven’t seen it, this is a commercial for the anti-coagulant drug that, according to its Internet page, is often used to prevent blood clots. It’s a serious health condition and I don’t mean to downplay something that can help people, but I’m always skeptical – no, cynical - about these and other ads for medicines, which appear to be aired when “people of a certain age” are likely to be watching.

My Grandfather's Scolding and Cursing

My mother used to tell me about her father who, back in the day, scolded and cursed radio programs and announcers. I’m afraid I follow in his footsteps with TV. I don’t often curse them but I find myself being cynical about the hype, especially in commercials and promotions.

Cynicism, according to the dictionary, involves “distrusting or disparaging the motives of others…showing contempt for accepted standards of honesty or morality by one’s actions, especially actions that exploit the scruples of others.” Cynics are also “bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous or pessimistic.”

That pretty much captures my feelings when watching commercials, which I’m forced to do when watching sports and other such events. Otherwise, I’ve stopped watching commercial TV in favor of a paid service. I don’t like being a cynic.

Skepticism, on the other hand, is “an attitude of doubting the truth of something, such as a claim or statement.” It can also be “a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object.”

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In my opinion, God made us skeptics and intends for us to be skeptical. Skepticism is the natural human reaction to a world that continuously and consistently surprises and often disappoints us. I can imagine the skepticism of the earliest humans about a wild animal that appears to be pacific but attacks unexpectedly, or about the harmless appearance of the ocean surf that they know from experience can be deadly.

I believe, in fact, that we should approach God and religion with skepticism but seeking the answers to the mysteries of God and faith with patience and persistence, trying to be open to the possibilities. That’s why I named this blog “Skeptical Faith.”

So I’ve just covered the “skeptical” part of the title. What about the “faith” part?

Faith, first and foremost, is a relationship with God. But it also provides a way of looking at the world and of our place in it. Though not contradictory to science, faith goes beyond the need for “systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses,” the classic definition of the scientific method.

Inferences Are Made

That’s not to say there’s no evidence for the existence of God. Such evidence is, in fact, gathered in a way similar to how scientific evidence is often gathered: by observing effects rather than direct observation. Inferences are made from observations, which are confirmed, or not, through direct evidence. Sometimes the direct evidence requires an arduous search.

With the eyes of faith, people can see the effects of God’s existence all around us, in nature, in the goodness of others, and if we’re lucky, in occasional direct encounters with God through prayer and meditation. And we have the evidence of the testimony of millions of believers through the ages.

Faith is like the microscope or telescope that allows us to “see” below and above the surface of life. Unlike Eliquis, it is also capable of bringing lasting peace and joy. And it can exist alongside a healthy skepticism. Faith-full people are called to accept doubt, which is part of the human condition. Doubt also is part of what keeps believers from being smug or lacking empathy for people who don’t believe.