In a recent video, Steven Furtick, the Word of Faith charlatan CEO of Elevation “Church” in Charlotte, NC asked the audience what the “opposite of faith” is. Some responded “doubt,” others responded “fear.” Furtick offers up another suggestion.

You tend to think sometimes that if you have doubt then you don’t have faith. That the presence of doubt indicates the absence of faith. But one priest said the opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty.

Interestingly, without giving a name, he attributed this quote to a “priest.” Of what religion this priest is, he doesn’t say, but the quote is actually not attributed to any priest. At least not a priest of God. It is a quote by a liberal, progressive activist and author, Anne Lamott in her book, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. The full quote is below:

The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within, for the sense one was born with, the sense, for example, to go for a walk.

Of course, they are both wrong about faith–the Bible does not describe faith this way. In fact, the Bible defines faith exactly the opposite of how they describe it. Hebrews 11:1says, “now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” and Christ has assured us that His word is true. Faith is not something you do. Faith is not “trying to believe” something that you can’t know. Faith is an assurance granted to the believer from God Himself and apart from faith in God, we can know absolutely nothing. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

But what else would we expect from a Scripture-twister?