N.T. Wright to UNC: ‘Doubt is okay’

Finding the balance between faith and intellect at a college campus may be difficult, but for biblical scholar and former Bishop of Durham for the Church of England N.T. Wright, it comes down to one thing.

“You basically have to learn not to be afraid.”

Wright spoke about Christianity and college culture Monday during “The Bible: Who Cares?” an event sponsored by The Veritas Forum, an organization that hosts events at universities to engage students and faculty in discussions about Christianity in everyday life.

“Sometimes a huge question comes at you, and you simply don’t know what to do with it, and at the moment, you know that you don’t have the resources to deal with it,” Wright said.

He said the solution is using a shelf in the mind — a mental place to make note of questions that need answers that you can come back to.

“You will get big questions,” he said. “Don’t abandon everything that you are. You have your own integrity.”

He believes having questions about one’s faith does not weaken it.

“Doubt is okay,” he said. “But you have to learn to be skeptical of skepticism itself.”

Senior Tori Plybon believes that facing questions and temptations that come up in college is part of faith.

“If you just blindly believe in something without being tested, then it’s not true faith at all,” she said.

Wright said campus life should not change the way people practice religion.

“The temptations have always been there,” he said. “We find all sorts of impulses, desires, which can change over time — do change over time.”

He believes prayer, scripture, sacraments, fellowship and community service are ways to maintain good faith.

“These are all ways in which, in scripture, we are told God meets us,” he said.

Senior Molly Marus agreed these practices are useful when it comes to maintaining faith.

“I was very intentional about getting put into a church and finding a Christian ministry on campus where I could go to a weekly Bible study or really just be with other Christians who have similar backgrounds and viewpoints,” she said.

Junior Olivia Edge said that along with being part of a Christian community, personal devotion is key to maintaining one’s faith on campus.

“I think it’s really important to also personally devote yourself to reading the Bible and to prayer,” she said. “I think both of those kind of work together to help you be more confident and to not struggle quite as much.”

Wright said it’s important for students to find people that will hold them accountable for mistakes or stop them from making them and help them understand that no one is perfect.

“We are all projects in the state of getting somewhere,” he said. “But also, all Christians, basically, pray a prayer every day which includes the line, ‘Forgive us our trespasses,’ and we do not expect — ever — to get to the point before we die where we can stop saying that.”

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