An Ambiguous African Adventure

I am going to begin by revealing my ignorance: I had never previously heard of Cheikh Hamidou Kane or his book, “Ambiguous Adventure” until Thursday’s lecture. However, in the short time that I listened to him, to excerpts from his book, and to others’ accounts of his him, I was deeply impressed. He walked and spoke with a quiet but confident dignity. He maintained that throughout his travels and tumultuous life, he had never abandoned his faith. He has lived through a period of Africa’s history that no one really understands, yet he remains hopeful. Additionally, at age 83, he is travelling to America to speak to students, most of whom do not speak his language. I have placed his book on my summer reading list.

            The metaphor that Kane uses in his book startled me at first. The Doctrine and Covenants refers to “that which is of God” as “light.” Kane, instead, represents faith with shadow. His explanation proved adequate to set my mind at rest though—faith can indeed be referred to as a “shadow of things to come.” We learn that God works in mysterious ways, and that He sees, not on the “exterior,” with quantities, qualities, and concrete data, but on the “heart.”

            As a BYU student, or perhaps simply as a Christian with a Westernized education, I was in a unique position relative to Kane’s ideas. One might even say that I am on my own ambiguous adventure. The quest to understand how scientific reasoning and religion can coexist is something to which I can relate. In a world where the “facts” often complicate the already confusing world, we seek a truth that will help us understand our role in it. I have taken a similar path to the Knight, looking forward to God’s coming with that mixture of certain hope and incomprehensibility that characterizes faith, while seeking an education that will allow me to live “in the world.” I must agree with Kane; we need both darkness and light in order to do our work here.

            I appreciate that Kane did not simply stand on an anti-Western/science soapbox. His openness allowed me to think a little more deeply. I am reminded of Ernest Hemingway’s story, in which a man who just attempted suicide was deemed “happy” because “he [had] plenty of money.” As Kane reminded us, the exterior is important, but without a strong inside, or foundation, a person is lost.