This is your place to publicly comment on the topics and issues addressed in Speaking of Faith programs. React in a personal way, and put into words what the programs mean to you.

Share Your Reflection about "The History of Doubt."

Reminded Me of The Subdudes (June 12, 2005)
I have enjoyed your show many times. Today's topic (doubt) reminded me of a wonderful song by a group called The Subdudes. It's called "It's so hard" and it's on a CD called Annunciation. The lyric begins "When I was a little altar boy, I swear it gave me so much joy. I could really feel that amazing grace." It goes on to describe, both musically and lyrically, the same feelings which led me into and out of the seminary. You might enjoy hearing it. Anyway, thank you for doing what you do.

John Malone
Charlottesville, VA (WFFC, 89.7 FM)

What About Unitarian Universalists? (June 12, 2005)
I really enjoyed listening to A History of Doubt. However, I don't understand how you could broadcast an hour on doubt and not mention Unitarian Universalists. If you come to a Unitarian Universalist church, you'll find a congregation full of doubters. Our ranks are full of those who doubted their birth faith and sometimes suffered because of those doubts. Then they discovered that they could revel in those thoughts and search for answers as a Unitarian Universalist. As we sing in one of our hymns "to question is the answer." Thanks for your excellent programs.

Ed Dobrowolski
Morrisville, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

The Essential Nature of Doubt in Hinduism (June 7, 2005)
While it is not very often that views from eastern religion, particularly from intellectual traditions of Hinduism, are mentioned on your show, I would like to share with you that doubt has always been very central to the rational, intellectual movements in Hinduism. In fact the largest part of Hindu literature deals with the clarification of doubt and curiosity. Case in point is the most well-known scripture Bhagavad Gita or "divine song."

Arjun the great warrior is paralyzed by the doubt that fighting in a battle where his own family members are his enemy, is not worth fighting for. His mentor and friend Krishna then talks to him about his doubt regarding life and death, action or inaction, faith and doubt. The whole of this text, most sacred of texts in Hinduism, deals with not only existence of doubt, but clarification of that doubt in teachings of Krishna.

Sanjeev Singhal
Frederick, MD (WYPR, 88.1 FM)

Searching for the Perfect Philosophy (June 6, 2005)
You asked for feedback on the interview with Jennifer Michael Hecht in a tone that suggested you were afraid much of it might be negative, so I thought I'd tell you how enlightening I found it. Of course, I am a doubter myself but didn't know that's what it was called. Like Ms. Hecht, I just knew I wasn't comfortable with "atheist" or "agnostic." Both emphasize what I'm not instead of what I am.

It was interesting to hear Ms. Hecht's thoughts the same week as the piece "God Said Ha" by Julia Sweeney ran on This American Life here in Vermont. The next step in my search for a perfect philosophical fit, now that these folks have helped clarify what we reject in religion, and why, is a guest who can help define the positive aspects of us non-theists', non-believers' spirituality and ethical foundations. What gives us joy, inspiration, confidence, moral compass, comfort etc. in the absence of religion?

The reason I am drawn to your show is because I expect someday you will address this. It was alluded to in Hecht's work, as it was in that of the woman who has spoken on the spirituality of science on your show. It is that rapturous aspect of pastor John Ames' response to the world around him in Marilynn Robinson's marvelous Gilead that transcends his religiosity, and of the ideas about God that Julia Sweeney and I both imbibed in our childhood churches but later found to have little to do with anything in the Bible or the doctrinal credos religious folks must swear to. Perhaps it is the source of concepts of beauty, love, and goodness that inspires our greatest works of art, especially music, and our best concepts of a godhead. But I don't know how to express or define these things. Surely someone does. If so, I hope you can find this person for your show. Thank you for your good work.

Lynne Fitzhugh
Washington, DC (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Unusual for a Show to Address Unbelievers (June 6, 2005)
Even though I am an humanist who does not believe in the existence of a sentient, all-powerful God, I have been enjoying your explorations of faith and ethics on your program. I particularly enjoyed your recent program on "A History of Doubt" with Jennifer Michael Hecht. I find it, unfortunately, very unusual for a public show to acknowledge that unbelievers can be moral and ethical; that someone who does not believe in the existence of a God can still be a questioning, seeking person appreciative of the majesty and mystery of the universe and filled with awe at the complexity and beauty of the various life forms in this universe. I find it so much more miraculous that the universe in general and life in particular have evolved the way they have without the direction and intervention of a God, than to believe that a deus et machina has directed it to be so. Thank you.

Gabriel Epstein
Silver Spring, MD (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Skepticism and Politics (June 6, 2005)
It was reassuring to hear Jennifer Michael Hecht's thoughts on skeptics. When I was a child, I dreamed of being mayor of my hometown. More recently, I've found myself thinking that I would not, after all, be suited to politics. With my doubts and uncertainties, I often feel at odds with the certainty I hear expressed from successful politicians. Ms. Hecht's program reminded me that many great political thinkers are skeptics. Surely my world would be much poorer without Benjamin Franklin and Lucretia Mott.

Lillian Shuey Picchione
New York, NY (Listens via Web Audio)

Too Broad a Definition (June 6, 2005)
The recent show with Jennifer Michael Hecht was incredibly worthless. The notion of doubt, which of course was central to the show, was defined so generously that the term lost any real significance. Anybody that ever once entertained a question about some matter became part of Hecht's history. This program might have been saved had the interviewer been able to notice this confusion. But, alas.

Timothy Herrman
Mesa, AZ (Listens via Web Audio)

Welcoming Doubters (June 5, 2005)
I listened with interest to the discussion this morning about doubt. As a Christian, I was also interested in the quotes from Job and Ecclesiastes. However, I was disappointed not to hear mentioned the last chapters of Job and Ecclesiastes— in which both writers give glory to God as the final answer to all of their doubt.

Basically the way I see it is that doubt will produce one of two responses: either the person will turn towards God, or turn away from God. In all of the cases cited from the Bible, the doubters took their doubt to God. They yelled at God over what they saw. Another person that did this is David. They did not turn away.

This is what is missing from our churches today; those who doubt are (in general) treated as pariahs, which tends to turn them away from God. I pray for the day to return that we in the Church will be merciful to those who doubt, and keep pointing them towards the Source.

Begbaaji Tola
Indianapolis, IN (WFYI, 90.1 FM)

Open to Doubt and Faith (June 5, 2005)
I was gratified to hear this week's segment on doubt. I was raised by atheists; Christianity has never played a part in my belief system. Neither, for that matter, would I characterize myself as an atheist. A mystery is a mystery. For me, the crux of this mystery is "Why these laws of physics?," a question I can't answer. Like your speaker, I feel no need to go further — clearly the human mind cannot even contain itself, let alone the entire universe.

On the other hand, I live in the Bible belt. My Christian friends find me a puzzle. The culture here is so steeped in religion that it's hard for many to picture a world without it, let alone a world in which one's morality is not based on religious teachings. Still, I am always open to the prayers of friends, after all, what do I know? (Enough to reject Billy Graham as a bigot and a social climber. Ditto for the Pat Robertsons and G.W. Bush's of this world — I'm not naive, and I do resent seeing Christianity hijacked by the manipulative and greedy.) But for the many around me who are sincere and devout, "Never deny" is my motto. So we live in peace.

Sarah Asher
Lexington, KY (WEKU, 88.9 FM)

Doubt and Belief (June 5, 2005)
I was recently initiated into a Sufi organization. Sometime later, after being diagnosed with walking pneumonia, I voiced my dissatisfaction to a fellow mureed about my failure to quit smoking. Because smoking is an issue which slows spiritual progress he advised me to ask our Shaykh for help. The next time I met with the Shaykh I asked if he could help me with my smoking addiction. He kindly nodded his head. Within seconds I felt my lungs clear, and I could breathe freely again. I have not craved a cigarette since.

On another occasion, while writing a letter at home one night, I felt a distinct tingling in my "heart center." I wrote off the sensation as a byproduct of my new found energy since being initiated. The next day a senior mureed phoned and expressed his regret that I did not receive a message to attend an unscheduled zikr at the Mosque the night before. I knew immediately the message he was referring to was the tingling I had felt in my "heart center." I was stunned. From then on I have driven straight to the Mosque whenever I have felt that tingling, and always I arrive just in time for an unscheduled zikr or meeting.

I cite these "miracles" to communicate a brief point. Since I have been initiated, a thought has taken root in my Being — where there is not belief there is doubt, where there is not doubt there is apathy. Doubt leaves an opening for belief, however slight. When we doubt we are waiting to be convinced. Without belief, without doubt, we are truly lost.

Tom Nagle
Clarkston, MI (WFUM, 91.1 FM)

The Strength to Doubt (June 5, 2005)
As a teacher, I spend a much of my time trying to guide and encourage students in developing the tools of critical thinking — and much time wondering why it is so hard to do so. Listening to this program today, it struck me that one obstacle to good analytic and critical thinking is a fear of doubt. Perhaps for my students, and for many of the rest of us (including our leaders), doubt is equated with weakness and is then a flaw, not a strength. I look forward to reading Dr. Hecht's book and following these ideas more deeply, and thinking about how to make doubt a part of my classroom practice.

I'm also intrigued and energized by the synthesis of intellectual and spiritual ideas generated through the inquiry into doubt. How exciting to juxtapose Maimonedes and Ben Franklin! I'd like to add Shakyamuni Buddha to the mix. One of the basic tenets of much Buddhist practice is atta dipa, "follow your own light." The Buddha's final instruction to his "followers" was not to follow, but to question and test his teachings for themselves. The zen questions which today are known largely as silly stereotypes ("what is the sound of one hand clapping?") are not intended to be answered, but to create ever-deepening doubt. Korean zen practice is especially concerned with meditating on the hwadu, a question like "What is 'I'?"

In such practices, doubt is the means to enlightenment — it is essential, not heretical. I thought Zen Buddhism was unique in this, but another's post reference to Paul will be sending me back to my Bible to learn more. Thanks for the opportunity to develop these ideas!

Amy Vondrak
Bordentown, NJ (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Error in Program (June 3, 2005)
When listening to the program today, I heard the erroneous statement that Diogenes was pre-Socratic. Socrates died in 399 BC while Diogenes encountered Alexander the Great who died in 323 BC. Alexander was tutored by Aristotle, who, as I tell my students, was the "grand student of Socrates." Diogenes was clearly post-Socratic.

Louise Pistell
Stevenson, MD (WYPR, 88.1 FM)

New Vocabularies for Doubt (June 3, 2005)
Thank you for another great program. This program on doubt gave me new vocabularies for exploring my own doubts and beliefs. I cannot help but think that it is because of this tradition of doubt that we have the opportunity to hear you, Krista Tippett and your guest Jennifer Hecht — two women, carry your message to us. It seems that doubt is associated with progress in all human endeavors including culture, politics, economics, and science. And where it is prohibited so is progress.

Charles Park
Garden Grove, CA (KPCC, 89.5 FM)

Technology Serves Spirituality (June 3, 2005)
Your program is wonderful. I listen as much to online recordings as to the program itself, as it airs early on Sunday, which is a day whose mornings are devoted to worship. I am an active Episcopal layman, and I find that your program has enriched my life. For example, I've purchased Prof. Zornberg's books on Genesis and Exodus, and am working my way through them, with the Old Testament books in my Pocket PC for reference. So technology serves spirituality. I love it.

My religion professor at the University of Redlands, a Baptist clergyman turned academic, Doug Eadie, taught me to not to trust those who want to posit doubt as the opposite of faith, something to be avoided. He said that the opposite of faith is fear. This distinction has stood me in good stead at several points in my life, and I hold to it still. Thank you.

Richard Adams
Chicago, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)

On Faith, Belief & Doubt (July 17, 2004)
I finished the book about 10 days before the interview with JM Hecht was broadcast on July 14, 2004. I enjoyed the book very much, and I think it took great courage to take on so broad a topic. The book challenged me to examine some of my own assumptions; perhaps like many readers I rummaged around in the book, seeking the set of philosophies that best suited my own tastes and tendencies. Mostly I applaud Dr. Hecht's championing of doubt: that it is perfectly acceptable to confront the Great Questions by saying "I'm not sure, I don't know." She shows us that, throughout history, some of the wisest men and women have been the most doubtful.

Robert Goggin
Atlanta, GA (WABE, 90.1 FM)

On Faith, Belief, and Doubt (July 15, 2004)
I heard parts of this show as I was drifting off to sleep. It made much sense as I'm not only doubtful, but fail to understand the folly of those who follow any doctrine blindly. It must be the reality that one must have some reason—no matter how nutty—to explain their lives. I will buy the book. Ms. Hecht is most articulate.

Barbara Rosenbaum
Brewster, MA (WCAI, 90.1 FM)

Learning Not to Believe (July 11, 2004)
Thank you for your wonderful program today! I am fascinated by the dilemmas of belief and doubt. How strange it still seems for a true believer, raised from infancy to believe comprehensively and with full commitment in the fundamentalist Christian God, to have achieved a satisfying state of doubt! My doubt at this point is certainly close enough to atheism as to be indistinguishable from it in practical terms: I merely do not fully commit to the belief that there is no God; rather, I now assume it.

I spent my childhood actively assimilating evangelical fundamentalist Christianity as it was practiced and believed by my family. Part of my childish brand of acquiring this deep belief was asking questions about the elements that puzzled me, and I tried on the answers I got with full enthusiasm.

It is just that the questions have never gone away. How do you really know that God is there, or that He is speaking to me or guiding me? The feelings I have change, so I must have to resort to my thinking. Heresy. Faith is the answer. But if faith is the only way to know God, why did He give me a brain that wonders? That is the question that eventually led to the ruin of my faith and the blossoming of a spreading skepticism — tinged with a little cynicism.

By the time I was ten, I was asking those questions aloud, and by the time I was twelve, I had learned not to. By fifteen, they were well suppressed, but by twenty, a full crisis began to surface. It lasted for years, and I longed for something like "Fundamentalists Anonymous" so I could find someone who shared my experience and who could help still the maelstrom.

It was what I l learned in seventh grade science that eventually rescued me, although it kept me living in distinctly separate and parallel worlds of science and religion for a very long time. I learned that inquiry, especially systematic inquiry, and particularly open-ended inquiry, is a very good thing. I learned, slowly, to harness some of the arguments in my head.

The very hardest thing has been to understand morality in the absence of an absolute moral Authority, or, in fact, of any moral authority. It doesn't really do to just make it up as we go along, because any competing standard has equal force. And gliding along with tradition carries the danger of repeating endlessly the mistakes of the past. Science has helped again, this time in the thinking of evolutionary psychology, a field of study that posits a subtle genetic foundation for the way our brains are wired and way we make decisions. Basic morality, the concepts of right and wrong, fairness, and altruism, appears to be rooted in our biology. It isn't necessary to believe in an external, non-demonstrable being to explain the pervasive sense of right and wrong that virtually all humans share.

I am careful not to actually "believe" in science, although I accept and practice scientific principles. Some other means of asking questions and explaining the world will eventually replace science as we know it, just as science has largely superseded religion as a practical explanatory and exploratory system of thought, and if I am alive to see it, I will use my carefully nurtured ability to keep asking questions to espouse it: I will make a leap of doubt into the next way of wondering.

Lin Gulick
Elkton, MD (WHYY, 91.0 FM)

Thank God for Doubt! (July 11, 2004)
Doubt is the yeast of faith! I put no trust whatsoever in the so-called "faith" of any adult who has not encountered at least one spiritual crisis in their lifetime. If they've changed religions a few times, I trust their faith even more. Religious doctrine and practice can be taught and passed down through generations, but true faith can only be discovered, forced through the sieve of one's own questions, doubt, and soul.

If an adult practices the religion of their parents because it is what they were "taught," or how they "were raised," then they have memorized facts on command, without the experience of faith. In our culture and current political, I see far too many people in positions of power practicing the religion of the head, instead of giving witness to the faith honed by doubt and born of the heart and soul.

Athena Murphy
Anaheim, CA (KPCC, 89.3 FM)

Perfect Timing (December 14, 2003)
I turned off the radio this morning, sick of hearing about the spider hole in which Saddam was found. I picked up a book recommended by my therapist, The Question of God by Armand Nicholi, hoping for an objective presentation of the beliefs and arguments of Freud and C.S.Lewis, only to be discouraged by the author's obvious bias, starting with his premise that there are two basic assumptions: the universe is random and life a matter of chance or an "Intelligence beyond the universe" provides order and gives life meaning. Well, I don't believe in that "Intelligence" but think that life nonetheless has meaning.

I put down the book and reluctantly returned to the radio this afternoon and was thrilled to hear the interview with Jennifer Michael Hecht—at last a position I can relate to: one can question and doubt in order to find meaning; doubt is not nihilistic; morality, integrity, wonder, ritual, community, mystery, the feeling of faith and the magical quality of the human experience do not belong to any one doctrine.

I am going to the bookstore first thing tomorrow (after the plumber locates the source of the leak that has made a hole in my bathroom ceiling—from the ridiculous to the sublime?) to get Hecht's book, Doubt: A History. Thanks to Speaking of Faith and Host Krista Tippett for the excellent and inspirational program and insightful interview. Thank goodness I tuned in when I did—a happy and meaningful coincidence!

Delia Taylor
Washington, DC (WETA, 90.9 FM)

Doubt Is the Wrong Word for My Views (December 13, 2003)
I enjoyed the program, and the viewpoint and scholarship of Jenifer Michael Hecht. I was raised in the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran Church that believes that the Bible is literally true, married in the Methodist Church; and my wife and I left all churches in the early eighties and have gone our own way.

Having gone my own way, I do not think that doubt is a correct description of my views. I now strongly believe the same things I actually think. One of my beliefs is that there cannot be a God as a solution to the question of where all this complexity came from, because a God would have to be more complex and, if created have come from a being even more complex. Evolution works fine for me — all of the principles can be seen in more rapidly reproducing organisms and genetics is a powerful science with real applications.

Another of my beliefs is that man is the creator of God and belief systems. God-creation is the job of the theologian, the pastor, the story-teller, the movie maker, and everyone, to some extent. God can always be invoked to explain mystery and, yes, it can provide some ideals.

I resonated with the statements in the program that said that skeptics are not the opposite of religious people. As a viola and violin player, I often participate in other people's religious services and weddings. Somehow, I am okay with participating in the music but do not participate in any creeds and still hate almost all sermons because they stand unrebutted.

Though I am not the opposite of religious people, I generally see religion as a negative force in the world. All these spiritual and religious and ecumenical people, especially if also political are regularly "confessing" their belief in things that aren't so. They can easily be led by those with selfish motives (or even those who seek a modest living) or by who those who seek power.

Douglas Schanzenbach
Chaska, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Simply Amazing (December 16, 2003)
As a spiritual non-believer, I found this show on Doubt to be among the best "Speaking of Faith" I have ever heard. I never realized that I needed a history,.. yea, even a bible,... of my own to help me work through my doubtful take on existence. I am delighted and excited to find this subject being talked about with such respect and intelligence.

Most of the world's geniuses have been doubters, it seems, and it makes me feel so good about my beliefs to have them on my side.

Stephen Hoffman
New York, NY (WNYC, 820 AM)

Recognition of Doubt vs Assimilation (December 12, 2003)
I have never heard the book of Job spoken of in the way you have in the interview with Ms Hecht. I have always been intrigued by the tone the book has; it has represented a challenge to me, of certain sentimental beliefs. The way it begins with a casual question by the 'top' deity, "Where have you been?? It almost appears that the two (god and devil) are playing with each other like two guys at a bar.

It does express the human quality of the bravado surrounding the circumstances and conditions leading up to a bet. So it is an interesting take you have on this. Too many times in our society we opt for our defense mechanisms and forget about the test "by fire" which Paul speaks of. We forget the urge to "test out these things to see whether or not they are so" also as he said. Our palms become sweaty when we understand that our own very heartfelt beliefs need this same kind of scrutiny. So we begin to defend against all cost, and " enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn away and lose the name of action."

So while heat and stress might not ALWAYS be the best environment for test or scrutiny. When something disturbs me I know that it could be rare chance for me to examine a cherished set of beliefs.

Glen Westlund
Fargo, ND (KCCD, 90.3 FM)

It's About Time (December 15, 2003)
I frequently listen to "Speaking of Faith," even though as a "doubter" much of what is said I feel somewhat estranged with. I do appreciate the show when discussions around faith, ethics, and moral questions are focused upon. I am not always in agreement with what is said, but I am very glad that SOMEONE is discussing these very important issues because I don't hear anyone else in the media talking about these things.

I found Dr. Michael Hecht's insights very confirming for where my own thinking has gone over many years of study and reading, and I look forward to reading her new book. I was especially glad to hear her confirm for me the idea that doubters are not "just" atheists or agnostics. I do think that most of us who lean toward a skeptical/doubting way of perceiving the world are far more open to other ways of seeing the world than in the past when there was an atheistic dogma that was as narrow as any fundamentalist. I also agree that moral questions are NOT the exclusive territory of the church/clergy/religious arena. I appreciated her discussion of the third century BCE Greek philosphers, Diogenes, Epicurus, etc. and how their thoughts have shaped a rational way of looking at ethics.

Please include more discussions like this. I am thinking of a "debate" between Dr. Michael Hecht and someone on the faith side would be an interesting program. Keep up the good work!

Scott Cullen-Benson
Oakdale, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)

Living in the Moment (December 15, 2003)
I was glad to hear, during the discussion of Epicureanism, the idea that we should be in touch with our senses and work to experience the present as fully as possible, and also that happiness is goal of paramount importance. Our own Constitution places The Pursuit of Happiness on the same high plane that supports Life and Liberty. It is refreshing to me to hear this affirmed. As the rock group the Eagles say in the song 'Already Gone', "So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key".

Paul Simons
Levittown, PA (WHYY, 90.0 FM)

A History of Doubt (December 14, 2003)
Your program "A History of Doubt with Jennifer Michael Hecht" was a great gift and a joy to hear. It showed me how I have internalized the idea of the narrow the labels of various (contemporary) religions, agnostic, or athiest. I really thank your guest for her clear thoughts on this ridiculously limited way of thinking about the choices of how to think about and present the vastness of the actual issues of human thought about the nature of existence. And for her historical review of the great doubters. I will buy her book, and I thank-you for the exceptionally interesting and deep program.

Phil Virgo
Gaithersburg, MD (WETA, 90.9 FM)