Honest Doubt Part 1 - Introduction

I'm going to try to make some brief notes about Richard Holloway's series Honest Doubt being broadcast on Radio 4.

This is about part 1 - the theme was about doubt - how the opposite of doubt isn't faith but knowledge, and there needs to be a bit of doubt in faith.

Well, "doubt" seems to treat religion different to the rest of life. Do we talk about "doubt" in other areas of existence? The point is - an interpretation isn't a fact - how we make sense of things, how we interpret them, is always going to be subject to change.

We are made to change - we use metaphors such as our life's journey, or growing through experiences, but the fact is the essence of being human is to change. To "doubt" something is just to recognise that we have choices, there are different ways to be - doubt is essential to freedom - to doubt something means we have a choice, and that is what is essential to being human.

Some people freeze in the face of choices - they don't know which one to pick - perhaps that is what Holloway is concerned about - this isn't doubt as such, it is indecision. Most people find a path they can follow, even if they know it is provisional and likely to change.

So what I'm saying is, doubt sounds negative, but it is essential to life, any interpretation is open to change and revision, what is wrong with that ?