On the Absense of Faith

From a letter to Louise Abbot on a Saturday in 1959:

"I think that there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is a child's faith and alright for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously as every other way, though some never do.

"What people don't realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can't believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it, and leave the rest to God." --Flannery O'Connor

This confirms what I've thought for a while, but never heard verified--I'm rather convinced that if someone doesn't believe that he has faith, but is praying for it and desiring it, there is indeed a form of faith present (perhaps the most difficult kind, as O'Connor indicates). Indeed, as faith gets closer and closer to its object, it often has less and less of a sensual experience of the object, but this doesn't make it any less real. Rather, it is more real when it is less able to sense its object (cf. Christ telling Thomas that he is blessed for seeing and believing, but they are even more blessed who haven't seen and yet believe).

The difference between agnosticism and atheism, then, are of the utmost importance. Furthermore, it seems to me that there can be an agnosticism that is not concerned with or open to God, as well as an agnosticism that is turned toward and open to Him. In this vein, I want to include a quotation that Fr. Schall points to in a footnote in his essay, "The Secret Presence of God: The Holy Spirit, The Giver of Life":

"There is an important truth to be recognized here: we cannot set bounds to the action of the Spirit. The Spirit is free. As Paul says: 'Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom' (2 Cor 3:17). It is important to remember this in our relations with other people, even if they do not share out faith, even if they belong to other religions. The Holy Spirit may truly be present in their hearts. This means that when Christians meet with people of other religions they should not feel that they have everything and the others have nothing, rather they should be ready to recognize this presence of the Spirit in the other" (Michael L. Fitzgerals, M.Afr., Titular Bishop of Nepte, "Dialogue Based on Respect for Spirit's Action in Others," L'Osservatore Romano, English, June 21, 2000, 10.)