Conviction or Doubt

I was watching a late-night Christian call-in show that asked its viewers to answer the question "Why are Skeptics not Convinced?" It was interesting enough that I'm making this OP. I'll keep this fluid. Whenever I try to be impartial and objective, I just screw up.

There is an argument by C.S. Lewis of some reknown. In it, Lewis claims that when trying to decide whether or not Jesus spoke truly, we are lead to three and only three possibilities. Jesus must be a) a liar, b) a lunatic, or c) telling the truth. For various reasons, Lewis posits that any rational person would conclude from this that Jesus was the true Messiah. Unfortunately, there are many rational people who are not convinced by this argument.

When I pondered my own reasons for not being convinced, I realized that it's for pretty much the same reason I can't accept most arguments. I have nothing against Christianity, but I am an incurable Skeptic. Well over most of the time, I don't even believe my own beliefs. I don't trust myself. Each conviction I have is thus a temporary affliction. C.S. Lewis could have (theoretically) a perfect argument. I could even (again, theoretically) agree with it. But I'd still have this nagging doubt to tell me that I probably missed something.

Anyone who has left home without first turning off the stove knows what that inexplicable and dreadful uncertainty feels like.

Skeptics make very poor believers, and it has nothing at all to do with who made the claim or even what the claim is. Skepticism is an attitude, similar in nature to being a pimply nerd with confidence issues. You can't thrust a religion upon that and expect it to be supported for long.

So, why I am not utterly amazed and convinced by C.S. Lewis' argument for the divinity of Christ? I say it is due to my inability to believe things in general: I am, quite simply, a Skeptic. The answer is in the question.

If knowing true things about reality is considered sane, then I consider myself quite mad indeed. By corrolary, likely a large segment of the population is mad, as well. I can't establish who is sane without being sane myself, and being unable to do that I cannot in the least determine if C.S. Lewis was sane. So, I simply cannot verify what a fully rational person would decide about the mental state of Jesus, and I don't know if Lewis could either. And thus, I simply don't know. Not knowing: that is Skepticism.

It's not that Skeptics don't want to believe in all the difficult things Christians believe. Like, we aren't avoiding taking responsibility for our actions by intentionally disbelieving in universal sin or divine punishment. We simply have a hard time believing in anything, for the same reason some people always seem to sabotage their romantic relationships. In the case of beliefs, evidence certainly helps ease the conscience, but lack of evidence doesn't.

But even with all the evidence in the world, a Skeptic still is inexorably drawn to disbelief. we are all inert to some degree, and that is the inertia of a Skeptic. For instance, I don't choose to believe in evolution and not to believe in creationism. I'd say it'd be closer to the truth to say that my brain doesn't want to believe in either side. This is why theories improve over time. Scientific beliefs crumble and change because science is, at least to some degree, Skeptical.

So, I think I have adequately answered the question of why Skeptics are not convinced of the divinity of Christ. Skeptics are not people who are convince-able. Anyway, from this, it's pretty easy to see also why Skeptics have a hard time permanently subscribing to any formal religion, belief, or belief system.

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I think the initial question, although interesting, can actually be resolved quite easily by defining what is meant by "Skepticism". In a roundabout way, that's what this post has been. A Skeptic is someone who is never convinced. I'm relatively satisfied with my answer. If you must disagree, fine, but I'd rather take this a step further.

The question I would like to ask: Is it superior to have convictions or doubt? Should one be a Skeptic or a believer? To elaborate, you don't necessarily have to assume Christianity here, nor am I exclusively talking religion. I want to know if there is anything fundamentally flawed in either conviction or in doubt.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/iDyS7ElfqQ8/viewtopic.php

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