Author: "Doubt is essential to faith. Faith, by definition, requires uncertainty. Answering 'I don't know' to most religious questions isn't just honest, but humble."
“Doubt is essential to faith. Faith, by definition, requires uncertainty.”
This is a sad but common misunderstanding. The Bible says the opposite is true: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1 NET)
This is a sad but common misunderstanding. The Bible says the opposite is true: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.” (Heb 11:1 NET)
Just when you think you’ve heard it all.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
For the guy who says that he would sooner confess a porn addiction and a lack of belief in God … excuse me, but God sent His Son so that pornography could be A) forgiven and B) overcome. But if you have no belief in God, then you have no hope for your porn addiction (other than modern secular humanist Freudian brainwashing - excuse me - psychotherapy) so your solution is forcing others to “tolerate” your sins. Thus, having a porn addiction is a small problem when compared to eternity. But not believing in God is THE problem FOR ALL ETERNITY. So, that comparison was like fretting over a tiny crack in a car’s windshield when the car has no engine, no wheels and a badly bent frame. Or a bad paint job on a house whose roof has more holes than swiss cheese and is about to collapse because the foundation is crumbling. This fellow knows this. He was just making Bible-believing Christians seem intolerant and hypocritical - and himself a better Christian - by using an example that he knew would make Bible-believing Christians look bad before the world so he can make himself look more introspective, more intellectually honest, and better educated by comparison. The guy is basically on the road to religious liberalism - becoming someone who is a functional deist who believes that morals and ethics common to all the good religious traditions leads to heaven - and is trying to justify it by making believers look simple-minded and hateful. For instance, he chooses to bash Pentecostals. Well, lots of Pentecostals have testimonies of having experienced or witnessed faith-healing and other miracles. I know that I certainly did when I was a Pentecostal. So, should the person who was instantly, miraculously, medically-confirmed faith healed such as myself have “doubt that is essential to faith”? So, would my saying “yeah, I was healed of both a lifelong and worsening asthma condition AND kidney damage caused by longtime overuse of asthma drugs, but I still doubt the existence of God” be not only honest but humble? And that was just one (or rather 2, since my lungs AND kidneys were healed) in one day. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, didn’t see or perform a single miracle in his entire lifetime! So I should just ignore that and profess some sort of doubt or faithlessness as to whether Christianity is superior to Islam?
Now of course, I am not advocating some experience-based Christianity. (If I were, I’d still be Pentecostal!) It is just that this fellow is willfully ignoring that the multitudes of Christians that have been martyred over the years didn’t have the luxury of this high-mindedness. Stephen didn’t have it when they were throwing rocks at his head, Peter didn’t have it when he was being crucified upside down, and neither did the millions of Christians in Sudan when they were faced with either converting or being killed.
It’s amazing. It is OK to doubt the existence of God, but not of evolution. It is fine to question (and thereby challenge and tempt) God, but not abortion and homosexuality? Again, this guy is less interested in his own lack of belief than in attacking those who actually do believe. People like this guy are worse than Sam Harris and Chris Hitchens.
Now of course, I am not advocating some experience-based Christianity. (If I were, I’d still be Pentecostal!) It is just that this fellow is willfully ignoring that the multitudes of Christians that have been martyred over the years didn’t have the luxury of this high-mindedness. Stephen didn’t have it when they were throwing rocks at his head, Peter didn’t have it when he was being crucified upside down, and neither did the millions of Christians in Sudan when they were faced with either converting or being killed.
It’s amazing. It is OK to doubt the existence of God, but not of evolution. It is fine to question (and thereby challenge and tempt) God, but not abortion and homosexuality? Again, this guy is less interested in his own lack of belief than in attacking those who actually do believe. People like this guy are worse than Sam Harris and Chris Hitchens.
Solo Christo, Soli Deo Gloria, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura http://healtheland.wordpress.com
Slow down Job. I am not quite sure he is saying all that you said he was saying or implying. Besides, he was summarizing what someone said to him. (in regards to the P comment) His point was that people look down more on doubt and not so much on other things, like P. Yet, we all could probably point to a time in our Christian faith where we had some degree of doubt, but we don’t ever share that. On the other hand, we easily share our P addiction or other sinful behaviors.
I, like Mike, don’t agree with his view of faith, but his point is valid that doubt is highly frowned upon while other sinful habits are ok to talk about. Perhaps if we were more open to letting people admit they struggle with doubt, more churches could retain people, especially young adults.
I, like Mike, don’t agree with his view of faith, but his point is valid that doubt is highly frowned upon while other sinful habits are ok to talk about. Perhaps if we were more open to letting people admit they struggle with doubt, more churches could retain people, especially young adults.
More specifically on doubt. Consider John the Baptist:
John 1:
John 1:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”Matthew 11:2-3
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
I’m surprised you guys are objecting here.
I figured the author would be Tim Keller. Read the intro and first chapter of Reason for God.
“I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
I figured the author would be Tim Keller. Read the intro and first chapter of Reason for God.
“I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
I am not saying that a true Christian will never struggle with doubt. I am saying that (according to Hebrews 11) doubt is not a necessary component of faith. This does not contradict Matt 11:2-3 or Mark 9:24.
Having studied Hebrews 11, I’m convinced that faith is our spiritual eyes (the eyes of our understanding) being opened to see spiritual (invisible) realities:
True believers may be uncertain about where the life of faith will lead them on earth, but they are certain about their eternal reward:
Having studied Hebrews 11, I’m convinced that faith is our spiritual eyes (the eyes of our understanding) being opened to see spiritual (invisible) realities:
- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. (Heb 11:1 NET)
- By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible. (Heb 11:3 NET)
- By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen… (Heb 11:7 NET)
- These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. (Heb 11:13 NET)
- By faith [Moses] left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. (Heb 11:27 NET)
True believers may be uncertain about where the life of faith will lead them on earth, but they are certain about their eternal reward:
- Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Heb 11:6 NET)
- By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going…. For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb 11:8, 10 NET)
- [Moses] regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward. (Heb 11:26 NET)
Mike, I did not take this quote
I took it to mean that without doubt existing, faith is meaningless. Something that is certain and provable to all does not require faith. <= That feels different than doubt being a necessary component of one person’s faith.
I agreed with most of his thoughts, but Mark 9:24 has always resonated with me.
Doubt is essential to faith. Faith, by definition, requires uncertainty.to mean that doubt is a NECESSARY component of faith, as you stated.
I took it to mean that without doubt existing, faith is meaningless. Something that is certain and provable to all does not require faith. <= That feels different than doubt being a necessary component of one person’s faith.
I agreed with most of his thoughts, but Mark 9:24 has always resonated with me.
Rachel, I just read the article again, and I’m sure you and I are reading Boyett differently. To me, the article was just another example of unhelpful, unbiblical, postmodern drivel. For example, the statement: “Answering ‘I don’t know’ to most religious questions isn’t just honest, but humble.” If the religious questions he’s referring to are questions the Bible clearly answers, then answering “I don’t know” is sinful, not humble. Reminds me of G. K. Chesterton’s statement: “A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed” (Orthodoxy, pp. 27-28).
I believe you are saying that faith implies the possibility of doubt. I agree with that statement. But I don’t think that is Boyett’s point. He reflects the modern world’s understanding of the concept of faith, but not the Bible’s teaching of the concept of faith. To the modern world (and Boyett), faith means I’m banking on something that I’m pretty sure is reliable. (For example, the coach of the Detroit Lions might say, “I have faith in my team, and I think we’re going to the Super Bowl.” Hmm….) In Scripture, faith means I clearly see realities that unbelievers are blind to, I embrace those realities, and I am motivated to act according to those realities. Hebrews 11 and 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 are influential in my thinking here.
What I’m arguing for is vital in sanctification. Boyett states, “These days, if I have faith, it’s in my willingness to follow the teachings of Christ despite my hesitations. Faith, for me, is action.” This is dreadful counsel. For me, the opposite is true. If I have hesitations regarding the truth of God, Christ, salvation, and eternity, I am particularly susceptible to temptation. If I doubt even for a minute the truth of the Bible, I am 100 times more likely to give in to temptation. “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (1Cor 15:32 NET). 100% certainty in the truth of God and eternal life is the most powerful defense against temptation. This is what it means to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16 NET).
I do not write these things off-the-cuff or as a knee-jerk reaction to the article. I’ve done a lot of thinking, studying, and conversing about this very topic. Certainly I would encourage a fellow believer to be open about their doubts, and it would be wrong of me to demonize or reject him/her for struggling with those doubts. But the way to help doubters is not to celebrate their doubting (as Boyett does), but to help them combat their doubts with the sure promises of Scripture. Ultimately, though, our hope is not in our ability to believe and never doubt, but in Christ our perfect substitute.
Dan, I don’t recall disagreeing with the intro and chapter 1 of The Reason for God, but it’s been a while so I should read it again. I do recall Keller writing something like, “Why don’t people ever doubt their doubts?” That thought has been particularly helpful to my wife in some of her struggles with doubt. Mark 9:24 is one of her favorite verses as well.
I believe you are saying that faith implies the possibility of doubt. I agree with that statement. But I don’t think that is Boyett’s point. He reflects the modern world’s understanding of the concept of faith, but not the Bible’s teaching of the concept of faith. To the modern world (and Boyett), faith means I’m banking on something that I’m pretty sure is reliable. (For example, the coach of the Detroit Lions might say, “I have faith in my team, and I think we’re going to the Super Bowl.” Hmm….) In Scripture, faith means I clearly see realities that unbelievers are blind to, I embrace those realities, and I am motivated to act according to those realities. Hebrews 11 and 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 are influential in my thinking here.
What I’m arguing for is vital in sanctification. Boyett states, “These days, if I have faith, it’s in my willingness to follow the teachings of Christ despite my hesitations. Faith, for me, is action.” This is dreadful counsel. For me, the opposite is true. If I have hesitations regarding the truth of God, Christ, salvation, and eternity, I am particularly susceptible to temptation. If I doubt even for a minute the truth of the Bible, I am 100 times more likely to give in to temptation. “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (1Cor 15:32 NET). 100% certainty in the truth of God and eternal life is the most powerful defense against temptation. This is what it means to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16 NET).
I do not write these things off-the-cuff or as a knee-jerk reaction to the article. I’ve done a lot of thinking, studying, and conversing about this very topic. Certainly I would encourage a fellow believer to be open about their doubts, and it would be wrong of me to demonize or reject him/her for struggling with those doubts. But the way to help doubters is not to celebrate their doubting (as Boyett does), but to help them combat their doubts with the sure promises of Scripture. Ultimately, though, our hope is not in our ability to believe and never doubt, but in Christ our perfect substitute.
Dan, I don’t recall disagreeing with the intro and chapter 1 of The Reason for God, but it’s been a while so I should read it again. I do recall Keller writing something like, “Why don’t people ever doubt their doubts?” That thought has been particularly helpful to my wife in some of her struggles with doubt. Mark 9:24 is one of her favorite verses as well.
Discussion