Writerly Wednesday: Power of Words

I haven't been doing much writing lately. I'm hoping to get motivated soon to start a real project. Oh-hum...we'll see. I have gotten back to reading, though.

Today I started our December selection for bookclub, Three Cups of Tea, and came across a sentence that made me stop and think a bit:

"But despite the smooth surfaces of his parents' unquestioned faith, Mortenson hadn't yet made up his mind about the nature of divinity."

"The smooth surfaces of his parent's unquestioned faith" is what stopped me. I find the description curious. I've never thought of using "smooth surface" to describe a person's faith. Is it a positive or negative description? I suppose you could say positive because it gives you a picture of someone whose beliefs are unruffled, continuous, and never-changing. But you could also say negative because it brings to mind a faith that is hard and superficial.

And then there's the word "unquestioned". I don't believe true faith is ever unquestioned. I think by questioning we grow. By questioning, God prompts us to dig deeper into His love and understanding of Jesus's work for us on the Cross. The Bible is full of saints who have questioned and doubted. Adam and Eve started us off and we've been going ever since. Sarah doubted God's ability to do what He said He would in her life. Job questioned God's goodness. Jonah questioned God's plan. Over and over again, we find psalmists crying their questions to God in their prayers and songs. Jesus answered his disciples' doubts, especially Peter and Thomas.

I wrote this as a Writerly Wednesday post because it made me think about the power a writer has in choosing words. I'm sure as I get further into the book, I'll glean more on the authors (one of them being Mortenson himself) view of faith, specifically Christianity.