Is it wrong to have doubts? Doubts about the goodness of God? The power of God? The Bible and the person and work of Jesus? Is doubt antithetical to faith or does faith have room for doubt?
Those are good questions. In the lives of many believers there have been multiple moments of transcendence – times of profound connection with God where He feels like the one who is more real. Perhaps, there haven’t been an abundance of those encounters for some of us but there likely have been a few – enough to satisfy the skeptic in us. But we quickly forget these brief glimpses of glory; blinded by the busyness of life doubt can begin to resurface steadily in our lives. For others this paragraph leaves room for tremendous doubt because they wonder if they have every experienced anything like what is described above.
Doubts can be distressing. Doubts can be a bothersome burden to bear, especially when you’re staking your life, your purpose, your destiny on the belief that God is real and he has revealed himself in Jesus. This is, perhaps, why some Christians fear delving too deeply into issues like suffering and evil cautious not to rock their own faith creating soil for the seeds of doubt to grow.
Is doubt a bad thing?
Doubt is not necessarily a bad thing. Doubt can be a prerequisite for truth. Truth is discovered on the other side of doubting lies. Skepticism can be a healthy exercise provided the skeptic is willing to be skeptical about her skepticism. In a similar manner a degree of doubt can be beneficial in the journey towards truth.
Some have sought to make doubt a sin. Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin- doubt is a lack of faith, therefore, doubt is sinful. I think this is a misapplication of the above verse. Doubts when addressed to God are part of the underbelly of faith that is often ignored. We need to make a distinction between doubt and unbelief.
“Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is I can’t believe unbelief is won’t believe. Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness. Loving darkness rather than light – that is what Christ attacked, and attacked unsparingly.”
Unbelief is a refusal to believe. Doubt is often a part of belief. We should be for honesty and against obstinacy; a crucial lesson for anyone working alongside young people in a faith setting. The problem is we easily deceive ourselves and obstinacy masquerades as honesty in our lives. Nowhere can this be more apparent than when discussing the problem of evil. Sometimes ‘ I can’t believe in God because of evil’ when translated into honesty means ‘I won’t believe in God because of evil’. Romans 1 cautions that we have a tendency to suppress the truth of God in our unrighteousness meaning that our primary problems with God’s existence aren’t intellectual – they are moral. We have trouble admitting God’s claims on our lives and the existence of evil provides a ready excuse to wipe His authoritative figure from our worldview leaving man as the measure of all things. This is unbelief dressed up as intellectual honesty and it is hard to sniff out making it unhelpful (and likely counter productive) to accuse another of this type of sneaky subterfuge. Still it provides us with a much needed warning when sorting through our own issues of belief and doubt in light of evil and suffering.
How do I deal with doubts?
Embrace them as a part of life. Don’t fear doubt. Our knowledge is limited. We don’t know everything – sometimes I doubt that we know much of anything in the big scheme of things.
But what do I do when I am experiencing significant doubts about my faith that cause me acute, emotional suffering? Many things can be said in response to that question. Address those doubts to God in prayer. Be around people who have strong, unflagging faith. Borrow their faith; for a time live vicariously though them until their faith rubs off on you.
Be a part of believing community. Don’t isolate yourself. If you want to grow cabbage you have to find an environment in which cabbage can flourish. You may need a certain type of soil, a moderate amount of sunshine and a climate with a reasonable rate of precipitation. Likewise, if you want to overcome your doubts spend time in a environment that will nurture your faith. For example, when you are in Christian community you will likely meet people who have suffered to a degree that you find unimaginable and unbearable. Yet those same Christians have maintained a robust faith in God. It’s difficult not to have your faith bolstered in the presence of such people. These saints are scattered throughout our congregations every Sunday morning and they are often the unsung heroes. There familiarity with God has been forged in the furnace of affliction so let their faithfulness fan the flame of your faith.
If you have intellectual doubts keep reading and studying. In this authors experience most (if not all) objections that I’ve read directed towards the Christian faith are answerable. Meditate on the cross of Christ and the person of Jesus. Suffering and evil is the hardest question to contend with but God addresses it at the cross of Jesus Christ.
And remember – ‘Don’t doubt in the darkness what God has revealed in the light’. God will never let you go!
-Chris
Chris' Corner 