Two Kinds of Skepticism
Sep 9th, 2009 by Mark Lefers
Tim in the comments quoted an excellent passage from Andrew Peabody. It was so good that I wanted to highlight it here as a separate post.
There are two kinds of scepticism,—that of the heart and that of the intellect. The former is adapted to make unbelievers; the latter, to make Christians. The fomer will not look at the hands and the side, because it is determined not to be moved morally and spiritually as they would move the honest soul; the latter insists on seeing the wound-marks, because it wants to know the precise truth, and therefore avails itself of whatever evidence God has given. The scepticism of the heart hates the light, and will not come to the light, lest its deeds be reproved. The scepticism of the mind is that which cannot believe without sufficient evidence. It proves all things, and holds fast that which will stand the test. It examines both sides of a question, and adheres to that which imposes the least strain on its belief. Such a mind needs only to have the evidences of Christianity fairly presented, to yield to it entire and cordial faith. Many of the firmest believers, many of the ablest defenders of the truth as it is in Jesus, belong to this class of minds. In this sense, Lardner, Paley, and Butler, whose contributions to the Christian evidences are invaluable, and will be so for generations to come, were pre-eminently sceptics. They would not believe, without examining the hands and the side, trying all the witnesses, testing the objections against Christianity with the opposing arguments, weighing coolly and impartially the evidence, real or pretended, on either side; and the result was a faith in Christ, which sight could hardly have rendered clearer or stronger.
God has made many such minds, and they are among the noblest and best of his creation.
– Andrew P. Peabody, Christianity and Science (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1874), pp. 250-51.
In dealing with my own doubt and interacting with others who doubt or have lost their faith, I have seen these two kinds of skepticism. In my own case I have had both kinds of skepticism. The skepticism of the heart is less frequent and comes when I am just tired of searching for God, and say to myself, “The hell with it!” But luckily these moments are few. Unfortunately, most of what I’ve found on the internet has been of this variety. These sites are full of hate and bitterness; rejecting opposing arguments just because they are opposing arguments. The more healthier and productive skepticism is what Andrew describes as “skepticism of the mind”. This is the kind of skepticism which will look at the evidence farely and go where the data leads them. This is the type of skepticism I aim for.
And God bless you in it!
Ahh, yes, the supreme arrogance of each brand of Christianity that considers it’s self the One True Faith™. What kind of skepticism leads to other faiths? There are an equal amount of Christian sites that expound hate and bitterness. I’ve had my olive branch cut off or set on fire more than once. I love that Peabody feels that the only right way of being skeptical is the way that leads to accepting his belief system.
Mike,
I agree that both sides are guilty of a “gut skepticism”, a skepticism of anything one dosen’t like, or want to be true. I think that was what Peabody was trying to get at. Granted he gives his opinion that a thorough analysis of the evidence will lead to Christianity, but I don’t have a problem with someone giving their opinion. I think the value in this quote is the warning against the “scepticism of the heart” or what I would term “gut skepticism”. This is similar to the analogy of a skeptical dial.
I agree that skepticism for the sake of skepticism is bad. Peabody just came off as a little smug.
Mike,
That’s not a word that leaps to mind when I think of Peabody. Why not actually read around in the book — Mark has provided a hyperlink — before jumping to conclusions?
Thank you, Tim. Maybe I’ll pick it up at some point. I prefer not to read lengthy pieces on the computer, I’d rather have a book in hand.