The Necessity of Doubt
Kelly James Clark's When Faith Is Not Enough
J. Daryl Charles
July 1, 1999
When Faith Is Not Enough,
by Kelly James Clark,
(Eerdmans, 1997) 224 pp., $18.00
Life consists of a whole in which two worlds intermingle—the natural and the supernatural, the former supported and measured by our senses, the latter characterized by the impartation of divine grace. Faith concerns our attempt to see unity in these two. For many, the faith life is a balancing act: trying not to be too cerebral while trying not to be too spooky. Presbyterians and Pentecostals, Catholics and charismatics, all may drink from the same mainstream of historic Christian tradition, but they express it in ways that, at times, seem worlds apart. Style and confessional distinctives aside, however, the life of faith, as every Christian in time discovers, is extremely vulnerable. For faith is a relationship with the Creator-God. It involves the mind, the will, our feelings and emotions—indeed, the whole fabric of which is so utterly complex that no two people have the same religious experience or share the exact same viewpoint, ever. When in a friendship I suffer disappointment, the result is personal pain. That pain, however, does not justify a break in the friendship. The crucial issue is whether the existing trust is strong enough to bear up under the strain. Will the friendship mature? When Faith Is Not Enough is written with simple directness and supreme delicacy. Its author, Kelly James Clark, demonstrates great care to see the unity of the two worlds that intermingle—the sense world and the divine economy. He writes honestly and engagingly, dispensing no pat answers for the difficult questions that haunt us. He wrestles, agonizes, struggles with "the shadow of doubt" that, during seasons of our lives, casts its pall ...
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