"Certainty is the great enemy of unity" is a line from “Conclave”, a 2024 thriller film. In the film, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (see pic below) organizes a conclave to elect the next pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about the major candidates.
So he opens the appealing deliberations at the beginning of the conclave:
"Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end. ... ... Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore, no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on."
I watched most of the movie, including this speech (before falling to sleep towards the end), and felt a bit puzzled by it. Some say that he was encouraging the college to embrace uncertainty, which makes sense.
I feel words below (from online) describe the meaning well:
"Certainty pretends there are unambiguous answers when there are only better or worse ones, and they need to be worked out. Certainty permits and enables prejudice. Certainty denies the need for thought. Certainty is the precursor of conflict."
Actually, my choice of this phrase was triggered by the current conclave. If you think politics is complicated and dramatic, add religion into it - the mixed cocktail gets even more interesting
.
So far, the black smoke poured twice from the Sistine Chapel chimney already, signalling the 133 cardinals taking part have voted but didn't reach a two-thirds consensus required to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church on the 1st and the 2nd day.
Who will be the next Pope at Roma? Only time will tell. I ain't religious but just a curious observer.
Regardless, life is full of uncertainties, be it political or just daily life. Personally I don't really like it, but same as most of us, have to live with it.
Let's embrace our imperfect world and try to make best of it. Cheers!
So he opens the appealing deliberations at the beginning of the conclave:
"Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end. ... ... Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore, no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on."
I watched most of the movie, including this speech (before falling to sleep towards the end), and felt a bit puzzled by it. Some say that he was encouraging the college to embrace uncertainty, which makes sense.
I feel words below (from online) describe the meaning well:
"Certainty pretends there are unambiguous answers when there are only better or worse ones, and they need to be worked out. Certainty permits and enables prejudice. Certainty denies the need for thought. Certainty is the precursor of conflict."
Actually, my choice of this phrase was triggered by the current conclave. If you think politics is complicated and dramatic, add religion into it - the mixed cocktail gets even more interesting
.So far, the black smoke poured twice from the Sistine Chapel chimney already, signalling the 133 cardinals taking part have voted but didn't reach a two-thirds consensus required to elect a new leader of the Catholic Church on the 1st and the 2nd day.
Who will be the next Pope at Roma? Only time will tell. I ain't religious but just a curious observer.
Regardless, life is full of uncertainties, be it political or just daily life. Personally I don't really like it, but same as most of us, have to live with it.
Let's embrace our imperfect world and try to make best of it. Cheers!
