The Lenten journey towards faith and true belief needs to take into account its counterpart - doubt. As we take an inward journey into a spiritual desert, many people believe that doubt is the enemy of faith. Doubt is a scorpion-like danger to avoid, lest it attack. But, the author suggests, during Lent we need to take doubt as seriously as faith. This is a risk but the absence of risk in life is a sure sign of mediocrity. And Lent can thus be seen as Easter in disguise.
The Falling of Dusk concentrates much on the role of doubt in the life of Jesus himself, from the temptations in the desert to his last gasp on the cross. Dominiak argues that doubt was an essential component of Jesus's faith. But often he expressed his doubt in the form of angry response, 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' Jesus was a Jew, and Jews arrive at the truth through argument. Indeed in the book of Job, God says to Job, 'Stand up like a man and answer me'.
This book is based around seven chapters, representing the celebrated Seven Last Words of Jesus which have long been a popular devotion (even set to music by Haydn), but Dominiak has given these Seven Last Words an entirely original interpretation to make this perfect Lent reading.
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