How To Be An Agnostic
Bible-believing, traditionalist and infallibilist became virtually syn-
onymous with Christian, Islamic and Jewish commitment. It was
in a similar time-frame that modern militant atheism took hold as
a cultural force.
It is sometimes said that science gives rise to a world of ‘two
cultures’ – one is the culture of science and the other is the
culture of art (or perhaps religion). However, I believe that the
polarisation is somewhat different today. If my experience is
anything to go by, and the analysis of this chapter is right, then
positions that might be thought of as on opposite sides of the
two cultures divide are actually just different aspects of the same
culture – the culture with a lust for certainty. This is the reason
why it is surprisingly easy to make the leap from belief to disbe-
lief. It also lies behind the various forms of intellectual closure
that lurk in both atheistic and theistic discourse – a rejection of
possibilities both human and divine in favour of apparently sure
grounds to stand on. The question, then, is where the oppo-
site of this culture of certainty can be found, a worldview that
embraces uncertainty, wise ignorance and unknowing – God the
question.