Doubt is the title of one of my favorite movies.
Released in 2008, Doubt is a drama set in 1964 that stars Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Sister Aloysius Beauvier and Father Brendan Flynn, respectively.
Streep's character is a rigid and suspicious principal or Mother Superior at a Catholic school in the Bronx; Hoffman is a kindly, wise priest assigned to the school.
Both have their doubts about each other.
Father Flynn doubts the wisdom and benefit of the school's traditional strict customs; Sister Aloysius Beauvier is devoted to these practices and has her doubts about the behavior of Father Flynn around young boys.
Many viewers of the movie might have their doubts about the accuracy of the portrayal of Catholic education.
Was it really so rigid, physical and regimented during that period? As a student at dear old St.
Barnabus in the 40's and early 50's, trust me - if anything, the mayhem and whackiness was understated in the movie.
However, no Father Flynn character of the time ever devoted any out of the ordinary attention to me, except in good ways.
The movie aside, what is doubt? The definition of doubt is to be undecided, skeptical and to disbelieve, distrust and/or regard a claim as unlikely.
Sounds good to me but the very idea of doubt has a negative connotation for some, especially believers.
Christians are taught a Biblical account of Thomas the Apostle, a disciple of Jesus who had the gall to doubt Jesus' resurrection and the chutzpah to ask to feel Jesus' wounds before he could be convinced that anyone could rise from the dead.
(The painting is The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio, c.
1601-1602.
) Can you imagine being criticized for questioning such a claim? Only a crazy person or someone brain-dead would fail to scoff at, let alone doubt, such a thing.
Wouldn't you, if told someone rose from the dead? Why should it have been otherwise back then? Let's revisit the whole idea of doubt - and make it a virtue, not a sin, to refuse to cede higher ground to faith - credulity without reason or evidence.
Are there times when it's wise and healthy to doubt? Of course.
I'd vote for nearly every time, about nearly everything.
But then, what else would you expect of an infidel? It seems to me that very few guidance counselors, doctors or coaches, for instance, would say something like this to their clients, patients or athletes: You should consider doubting a bit more! It's just not done.
Well, maybe doubt should be given more respect.
Twenty years ago, a fellow in California who had flunked the bar exam 48 times (before finally passing) gave this advice to a candidate who failed the exam seventeen times - never doubt yourself.
Why not? On occasions, when we embark upon hair-brained notions that just might be truly ill advised, a bit of doubt might be just the thing.
A second opinion leading to a course correction can be a reason-send (the rational equivalent of a godsend).
Fortunately, many rational people have had kind words for doubt.
Tennyson wrote, There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.
(In Memoriam.
); Shakespeare gave us this, Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise, the tent that searches to the bottom of the worst.
(Troilus and Cressida).
Maybe we should give reality more respect.
Who has not harbored, even devoted futile energy, to a really bad idea? Many ideas seemed pretty good at the time, and no one suggested otherwise.
The fact is some courses of action richly deserve more doubt than we give them.
There are obstacles that can't be overcome, regardless of motivation levels, training, dedication and good faith.
Not everybody, for example, is cut out or otherwise blessed with the inherent capabilities to win the Tour de France or become a rocket scientist, a brain surgeon or, in the case of the guy who flunked the bar 48 times, a lawyer.
In the case of the movie Doubt, the scrutiny of all concerned was sensible and responsible - but of course one has to know when to decide for or against, to upgrade doubt to resolution, act accordingly and move ahead.
There are some things about which I have no doubts, such as the value of REAL wellness for the pursuit of a quality lifestyle.
So, stay open to possibilities and try to look on the bright side of life.
I'll end this with a little joke: I know someone who has studied so much philosophy he doubts if he exists.
Released in 2008, Doubt is a drama set in 1964 that stars Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Sister Aloysius Beauvier and Father Brendan Flynn, respectively.
Streep's character is a rigid and suspicious principal or Mother Superior at a Catholic school in the Bronx; Hoffman is a kindly, wise priest assigned to the school.
Both have their doubts about each other.
Father Flynn doubts the wisdom and benefit of the school's traditional strict customs; Sister Aloysius Beauvier is devoted to these practices and has her doubts about the behavior of Father Flynn around young boys.
Many viewers of the movie might have their doubts about the accuracy of the portrayal of Catholic education.
Was it really so rigid, physical and regimented during that period? As a student at dear old St.
Barnabus in the 40's and early 50's, trust me - if anything, the mayhem and whackiness was understated in the movie.
However, no Father Flynn character of the time ever devoted any out of the ordinary attention to me, except in good ways.
The movie aside, what is doubt? The definition of doubt is to be undecided, skeptical and to disbelieve, distrust and/or regard a claim as unlikely.
Sounds good to me but the very idea of doubt has a negative connotation for some, especially believers.
Christians are taught a Biblical account of Thomas the Apostle, a disciple of Jesus who had the gall to doubt Jesus' resurrection and the chutzpah to ask to feel Jesus' wounds before he could be convinced that anyone could rise from the dead.
(The painting is The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio, c.
1601-1602.
) Can you imagine being criticized for questioning such a claim? Only a crazy person or someone brain-dead would fail to scoff at, let alone doubt, such a thing.
Wouldn't you, if told someone rose from the dead? Why should it have been otherwise back then? Let's revisit the whole idea of doubt - and make it a virtue, not a sin, to refuse to cede higher ground to faith - credulity without reason or evidence.
Are there times when it's wise and healthy to doubt? Of course.
I'd vote for nearly every time, about nearly everything.
But then, what else would you expect of an infidel? It seems to me that very few guidance counselors, doctors or coaches, for instance, would say something like this to their clients, patients or athletes: You should consider doubting a bit more! It's just not done.
Well, maybe doubt should be given more respect.
Twenty years ago, a fellow in California who had flunked the bar exam 48 times (before finally passing) gave this advice to a candidate who failed the exam seventeen times - never doubt yourself.
Why not? On occasions, when we embark upon hair-brained notions that just might be truly ill advised, a bit of doubt might be just the thing.
A second opinion leading to a course correction can be a reason-send (the rational equivalent of a godsend).
Fortunately, many rational people have had kind words for doubt.
Tennyson wrote, There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.
(In Memoriam.
); Shakespeare gave us this, Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise, the tent that searches to the bottom of the worst.
(Troilus and Cressida).
Maybe we should give reality more respect.
Who has not harbored, even devoted futile energy, to a really bad idea? Many ideas seemed pretty good at the time, and no one suggested otherwise.
The fact is some courses of action richly deserve more doubt than we give them.
There are obstacles that can't be overcome, regardless of motivation levels, training, dedication and good faith.
Not everybody, for example, is cut out or otherwise blessed with the inherent capabilities to win the Tour de France or become a rocket scientist, a brain surgeon or, in the case of the guy who flunked the bar 48 times, a lawyer.
In the case of the movie Doubt, the scrutiny of all concerned was sensible and responsible - but of course one has to know when to decide for or against, to upgrade doubt to resolution, act accordingly and move ahead.
There are some things about which I have no doubts, such as the value of REAL wellness for the pursuit of a quality lifestyle.
So, stay open to possibilities and try to look on the bright side of life.
I'll end this with a little joke: I know someone who has studied so much philosophy he doubts if he exists.
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