Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Limits of Doubt

Trends come and trends go. One of the advantages of middle age is watching them go. Take Christian fashion for example: you can recognize a Christian hipster these days by their vintage jackets, skinny jeans, iPhone 4’s, and their in-your-face doubt.

Doubt is all the rage. Articulate and earnest Christians are shedding the fashions of their predecessors by posting their doubts online and in print. Thoughtful folks like Jason Boyett and Rachel Held Evans not only wrestle with the faith as they received it, but chronicle their journey of doubt for others to share. They are talented and sincere Christian writers, sharing their experiences. Yet it seems to me doubt has become a badge of authenticity among 20 and 30-somethings. Is doubt the new mark of a follower of Jesus?

It’s worth noting that doubt belongs in the Christian story. Gospel accounts of the resurrection include the doubts of Jesus’ closest followers. As noted in a previous post, doubt does not--and should not--exclude us from worship. Jesus bridged the gulf of open rebellion and sin in order to restore relationship with humanity; a little thing like doubt certainly won’t hold him back. The earliest Christian community followed Jesus’ example and did not reject those who struggled to believe (John 20: 24-31 is an excellent example). Nor can I blame others for expressing their doubts. Honesty trumps mindless conformity. The demand for agreement on certain points of doctrine has damaged people’s faith as much as the open confession of uncertainty.

Yet there are problems with the popularity of doubt in our day. The rush to embrace doubt may be a needed correction within some quarters of Christianity, but it comes with a price. I’d like to suggest six considerations worth keeping on the front burner along side the current dish of doubt simmering today.

Doubt can be the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work. In every generation the essentials of faith become polluted with the non-essentials of Christian culture. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is moving in a new generation of believers to question whether every detail of Evangelical faith is actually required by God. In every age religious expressions are infused with political, social, and intellectual agendas that have no real bearing on the Kingdom of God--we just like to think they do!

Never trust anyone who hasn’t wrestled with doubt. The person who receives the words of Jesus without any questions is someone who hasn’t really heard the words of Jesus. The Son of God is an equal-opportunity offender. Saul of Tarsus was a first-rate Jewish scholar who believed he was doing God’s work by persecuting Christians. After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus he spent three days, blind and alone, reconsidering everything he previously believed to be God’s will. If Jesus is real, everything changes.

Don’t confuse doubt with seeking. We seek in order to find; sometimes we doubt in order to avoid seeking. Jesus appeared to Thomas because his doubts were reasonable; Thomas responded with the declaration, “my Lord and my God.” God invites us to seek--even to question--yet he assures us he can be found. The witness of scripture and of the centuries is that God reveals himself to those who seek him. Too many people consider doubt an impartial quality, as if doubt is somehow above the fight. Instead, doubt is a method, and like all methods it has its limits. Doubt is a useful tool, but a terrible destination.

Doubt is not the opposite of faith. In his useful book, God in the Dark, Os Guinness points out that unbelief is the opposite of faith. Unbelief is the willful choice to not believe even after the questions have been answered. Doubt can spring from honesty or confusion; unbelief springs from the will. In the final analysis, even our intellect is called to obey.

My doubts are my doubts--they don’t have to be yours. Sometimes the religious establishment can be guilty of a stifling orthodoxy. It’s equally true that the next generation can be guilty of demanding uncertainty of others. I might think your faith is nothing more than Christian superstition but that does not mean I’m called to change your mind. I suspect God is more interested in whether we play nice together than whether we all sign the same creed.

The object of faith is a Person, not a proposition. For twenty-five years I’ve loved my wife. After twenty-five years I don’t pretend to understand her! How much more the unfathomable Creator? The book of Job reveals the essence of faith is relationship, not precept. I may doubt my understanding of God, but I trust I will never doubt him.

He is my destination, and I hope my heart is like St. Augustine's, "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until we find ourselves in you." Peace.

10 comments:

  1. i think this may be one of my favorite posts yet. it's true that among some groups doubt may be the creed that binds and, in an odd way, also the creed that excludes.

    i think this post strikes well the fine line of learning to believe with integrity. while, as this post points out, healthy people doubt, unhealthy people do too. to me, doubt is a healthy symptom that lets me know i have a curable disease. it is similar to the gazing-through-a-dim-window metaphor of st. paul, which, while part of our reality, it is far short of our destiny.

    i guess it's easy sometimes to mistake doubt for humility. humble folks are very transparent about their limits, but they don't park and build their lives on that landscape. as you point out, it may be part of the sojourn, but it's not the destination.

    great post Ray, this is a very timely word, especially for the 20 & 30 somethings where uncertainty can be a rite of passage.

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  2. Fantastic post Ray. I've been concerned about the doubt wallowing that can happen out there. "Messy" is another word that we can use too often, forgetting that just as doubts can sometimes be resolved, our messes can be cleaned up. Your six points are fantastic. I'd love to see this series expanded upon in an ebook or something like that. This is timely and on the mark.

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  3. "Honest trumps mindless conformity"... could not have said it better.

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  4. "Doubt is all the rage. Articulate and earnest Christians are shedding the fashions of their predecessors by posting their doubts online and in print."

    I've noticed this trend online, but yet these same doubts are difficult and often shameful to express in real life, particularly in churches. Perhaps Christians have no outlet but to resort to blogging?!?

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  5. This is a helpful post. I just realized that it seems my faith has grown stronger since I began to acknowledge that my doubts don't make me a bad Christian.

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  6. Ray: Love this post, and have linked it and discussed your points today from my blog.

    http://blog.beliefnet.com/omeoflittlefaith/2010/10/trendy-doubt.html

    Thanks for contributing to the conversation!

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  7. I'm personally not quite sure WHAT my doubts have done to me. I'm not even sure what my doubts are. Yet I fight to hold on to faith. Is it cool to doubt? Perhaps. But it's been acceptable to lie about it, in church, for years. We're taught to "speak the truth" when we really don't know if we even believe it or not, and that feels really dishonest when we boil it down to hard facts. So, perhaps, it's not DOUBT that is becoming "cool", but honesty.

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  8. Excellent post!

    As one who has struggled with serious doubts about the Christian faith and my personal beliefs over the past several years, I think it is nearly impossible for faith to develop and mature without being subjected to doubt. Throughout the turmoil of not knowing what or why I believe, I have found myself extremely isolated. Honestly questioning your presuppositions is neither easy nor popular. But I think it is an important and necessary process on the journey towards spiritual maturity and understanding.

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  9. "Doubt is all the rage. Articulate and earnest Christians are shedding the fashions of their predecessors by posting their doubts online and in print."

    I've noticed this trend online, but yet these same doubts are difficult and often shameful to express in real life, particularly in churches. Perhaps Christians have no outlet but to resort to blogging?!?

    ReplyDelete