Ambiguity is beautiful

“It all depends,” we say when we take context into consideration as we assess a situation. Reality rarely offers black-and-white certainty. While we learn to live with ambiguity in our daily lives, there is a growing demand for black-and-white answers on public ethical issues. There is tension between these two approaches to living a good life – and having a good death.

Ambiguity in public ethics

Two decisions by two respected jurists and the public reaction to their rulings on the Freedom Convoy illustrate this tension and its impacts. A year ago, Justice Paul Rouleau, head of the Public Inquiry into the 2022 Public Order Emergency, decided that the use of the Emergencies Act to end the trucker blockades in February 2022 was justified and legal. On January 23, 2024, Justice Robert Mosley in the Federal Court ruled that this application did not meet the strict technical requirements in the Emergencies Act and was illegal. In public discourse, supporters of the Freedom Convoy cite one ruling and their opponents cite the other. However, what struck me when I read both rulings, is that both jurists recognized the high level of ambiguity and, remarkably, each judge acknowledges they could have come to a different decision. That is reality. If our public discussion about freedom and the common good considered all rights and responsibilities, as the judges did, we could find reasonable solutions to prevent similar threats to public safety in the future.

Ambiguity in Christian approaches to ethics

End-of-life care is an area of ministry and ethics that requires dealing with the ambiguity between individual cases. The federal government’s decision to delay expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for cases involving mental illness seems wise to allow more time to work through challenging details – and perhaps reduce the use of this issue for political polarization. More time might lead to more nuanced public discussion about rights and responsibilities that come into tension in eligibility criteria and the adequacy of safeguards. Ironically, I predict MAID will end up in court where judges may show more awareness of real-life ambiguity than our public or church discussions do.

When the 2024 CRCNA Synod considers taking a position on MAID, I hope it will recognize the complex circumstances present in most cases and the realities of modern health care. I wish we would talk more about our posture in pastoral care rather than take abstract positions. Then we would lead the way in advocacy for spiritual care to be an essential element of end-of-life care, helping patients make wise decisions. That is far more important and constructive than making this the next hot button issue in the ongoing culture wars.

Bible stories are full of ambiguity. Learn to be wise, says Jesus, and he used stories to teach us the art of living well with ambiguity. I learned more about the Biblical approach from a thoughtful book titled The Sin of Certainty by Peter Enns. Now I am looking for a book titled Ambiguity is Beautiful.