Back in my undergraduate days a strong emphasis was placed on the acquisition of knowledge. This knowledge-acquisition was evaluated through a massive event of regurgitation known as the final exam. Now I’m not complaining—I excelled at this type of memory work. I synthesized text books and class notes into lists and charts which I could reproduce in significant detail. Here was the problem: some time during my Bible College training I began to associate these lists and charts with the substance of the faith. Faith became something I could know rather than someone I could trust.

It’s easy enough to debunk this error. A quick look at church history accompanied by any modicum of humility will make it clear that we are so often wrong! But once you elevate propositional statements to the level of the faith, it’s hard to back down.

This is the problem Peter Enns tackles with his trademark blunt humour in The Sin of Certainty. You see, the object of faith is not a proposition but a person. A person, who, often confounds our so-called wisdom.

A faith that promises to provide firm answers and relieve our doubt is a faith that will not hold up to the challenges and tragedies of life. Only a deep trust can hold up. (120)

Despite what his critics suggest, Enns is not promoting some variety of radical epistemological skepticism. He is simply reminding Christians that the place of God in our lives must never be replaced by a list of propositions, no matter how confident we are in their truth.

Enns, Peter. The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our “Correct” Beliefs. New York: HarperOne, 2016.