Secularism cannot cope with being wrong. Part 3

Secularism cannot cope with being wrong

Part 3: The importance of assurance

Religious assurance is equally powerful. As well as making mistakes being a part of the human condition, so is the anxiety to live life well. The truth is, of course, that life is difficult. Most people have to struggle to some degree, and for many life is almost constant struggle. We find ourselves with this wonderful, extravagant gift of life, only to realise that it is rather short, usually filled with some (or a lot of) suffering and injustice. We are very vulnerable, and it is difficult to realise our goals and desires. What we want is to reach a conviction that we have found the ultimate in life; to consider that, whatever our shortcomings, failings, disappointments and limitations, we have reached the heights of what life has to offer, and have acquired a share in what is deepest and most satisfying in life. The religious believer has this readily to hand. In their relationship with God, through his love for them, and by his grace suffusing their lives, religious people gladly confess that they have found life in all its fullness.

The secular person is simply unable to do this. I think this is true on a point of principle, for without God, there is nothing obvious that qualifies as “the fulfilment of life”. It would certainly differ for each person, though, no doubt, common themes would emerge, and we can image secular people -certainly those fortunate enough to live in the UK today – reaching old age and feeling a deep peace and contentment that they have fulfilled all their worldly ambitions – in the way their family and working lives have worked out, and in their enjoyment of the good things of creation. It still doesn’t have the sense of completeness and certainty that a religious person has through their assurance, and the secular person remains a hostage to fortune, should all their worldly achievements crumble to dust in some catastrophic event. Clearly, in practice, a large proportion of people are likely to feel that life has been a disappointment, and their youthful dreams turned out to be mere fantasies.