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The cleric, Don Cupitt, dubbed by the media as ‘the Atheist Priest’ died on Saturday at the age of 90. One of the best known philosophers and theologians of his generation, he wrote more than 50 books but it was his 1984 television series – Sea of Faith – which made him a household name, loved and loathed in equal measure. Cupitt used the programmes to engage with some of the greatest philosophical thinkers and the questions they asked about the nature of God, in doing so he challenged aspects of the Christian faith that many people held dear.

During the airing of the programmes, Cupitt would receive more than 60 letters a day some telling him that he was destroying the very nature of faith itself; others thanking him for finding the language for thoughts that they had never found the courage to say out loud. Forty years on, numerous Christians still credit the shaping of their beliefs to Cupitt and his controversial, radical views, whether or not they joined him in ‘taking leave of God’.

The title for the television series was taken from a poem by 19th century writer Matthew Arnold, which talks vividly of the sea of faith’s ‘melancholy, long, withdrawing, roar’. Today, forty years on, we live in a world in which many feel the tide of faith has gone out even further than it had in Don Cupitt’s day, and, in which people of faith can feel their cherished beliefs being undermined and challenged. If the tides turn and it feels like we have been left high and dry, rigorous thinkers like Cupitt can help people reassess what they believe about the world they live in and how to live well in it.

In the days following his death, I have been fascinated by the range of people who posted on Social Media their reflections about how Don Cupitt and his thinking affected them. These even include people who attribute to him their conversion to a more traditional form of faith than his, no doubt to Cupitt’s surprise. And I am reminded once again of the importance of asking courageous, uncomfortable questions without knowing where those questions will lead us. The best religious traditions invite us to reason and think deeply, an idea captured beautifully in Isaiah where God says “come let us reason together.’
Jesus famously answered most questions he was ever asked with another question. While we are tempted to believe that wisdom is found in the quality of our answers, thinkers through the ages have maintained that, in fact, true wisdom is seen in the quality of our questions.

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