Being a Christian and having doubts could be very unsettling. You could question whether you can have doubts or perhaps fear that God will punish you for them. You may feel more and more cut off from other Christians because you are afraid to talk to them about your difficulties.
Doubt is part of human experience
Uncertainties affect us all. Scripture contains accounts of doubtful persons. Asaph describes his difficulties in the Old Testament book of Psalms, while two of Jesus’ own disciples—John the Baptist and Thomas—share doubts in the New Testament. Later on, we shall examine their experiences in further detail.
On the other hand, doubts might sometimes be seen positively. Hence, rather than letting them cripple us, we might see them as indicators that we should be especially vigilant about a number of unclear issues in our life. For instance, we can question if we’ve adequately prepared for a job project presentation or our next exam. Thus, uncertainty may serve as a driving force to ensure that we make the best possible plans of action. Therefore, doubt has a good side.
In Tim Keller’s words, “a faith devoid of some doubts is like a human body devoid of antibodies.” Individuals who blithely live their lives too busy or apathetic to ask difficult questions about the reasons for their beliefs will eventually find themselves helpless in the face of catastrophe or the incisive questioning of a knowledgeable skeptic. If a person has neglected to calmly listen to her own concerns over the years—doubts that ought to be dismissed only after thorough consideration—her faith may crumble virtually instantly.[1]
Doubters in Scripture
- In a Psalm, Asaph shares his own struggle, struggling to understand how God could be good while there was prosperity of evil people. The queries directed at him, such as “How can God know?,” had a profound impact on him. Is the Most High aware of anything? (Psalm 73:11). They felt safe enough to act however they liked since they believed God to be blind or ignorant.
- John the Baptist questioned Jesus’ status as Israel’s Messiah and Savior. He had realized that the majority of Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Since John was actually incarcerated, his understanding of the situation was severely constrained. He asked Jesus through his followers, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” because he was curious about the responses. According to Matthew 11:3.
- Because he was not present when Jesus appeared to the other disciples, Thomas [questioned the resurrection]. He made the identical request for proof that the other disciples had made. In John 20:25, he stated, “I will never believe unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side.” Thomas was the type of person who preferred to learn things on his own rather than relying on the experiences of others.
Understanding doubt better
Let’s distinguish between a few different kinds of uncertainty by identifying their underlying origins and motivations. In your life, one or more of these may be at work.
Causes
- Intellectual skepticism regarding core Christian beliefs such as the presence of God and spiritual reality, or regarding particular Christian doctrines such as the resurrection of Christ, can give birth to doubt. It’s possible that you’ve been asked difficult questions about your beliefs by others and have been unable to respond. You started to ponder about this yourself.
- Emotional factors can give rise to doubt, which frequently leads to a lack of faith in God. Even when you may not accept the existence of God, you may wonder if He is the kind of God who actively participates in your life. Maybe you are experiencing unpleasant setbacks or the death of a loved one, which makes you feel as though God is far away or nonexistent. You might find yourself wondering if He exists at all, or you might just feel too broken and numb to be certain of anything.
Motives
- You have doubts because you really want to know the answers and are prepared to work hard to discover them. Your main goal is to increase your level of comprehension.
- You feel doubtful since you don’t think your inquiries will receive a satisfactory response. This could be due to presumptive philosophical beliefs: you might subscribe to the idea that there are no definitive answers to queries concerning spirituality or life’s purpose. Alternatively, you might believe that beliefs are only valid if they are supported by reason and empirical evidence. Maybe you’re not prepared to deal with the fallout if some of your questions are answered, which is why you’re acting this way. You genuinely decide to cling to your misgivings; in fact, you may even start to regard them as a “cool” way of living. You actually wish to distance yourself from God.
Therefore, doubts have the power to strengthen or damage your relationship with God. If you ignore them and let your problems pull your thoughts and emotions away from God, they have the power to destroy your connection with Him. If you view your doubts as stepping stones toward a deeper knowledge of faith, they can also strengthen your relationship with God.
Ways to go
There are a few things you can do in the event of doubt:
- First of all, seek God in prayer and express your feelings of doubts to Him and ask Him to help you. In the Psalms we find people freely expressing their questions to God. “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1). Even Jesus cried out in despair at the cross: “My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46 quoting Psalm 22:1). So, in the midst of all your struggles, do keep your lines of communication with God open! He loves you as His child and will not reject you. He will come through to you, even though it may take a while. Believing that, is a matter of trust. You cannot demand anything from Him, but of course you can ask Him for specific answers and also for a reassuring experience of His presence. Jesus came through to Thomas. He took Thomas’ questions seriously and did not condemn or reject him, instead He invited him to look closely at the evidence of the marks in His body: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27).
- Secondly, seek the company of fellow believers in whom you can confide. In spite of how you feel, just keep going to church or other fellowship meetings: these are places God can speak to you. In Psalm 73, Asaph testifies that when he went to the house of God, he received understanding and a broader perspective. Besides, make an effort to get in personal touch with knowledgeable people with whom you can discuss your questions and doubts. John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus Himself to question Him. That is how he got answers: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matthew 11:4-6). John then knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel, as Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled by these prophetic acts of Messianic ministry.
- Thirdly, inform yourself intellectually. Some great thinkers have struggled with doubts and have come up with great answers. There is so much great material you can find in books or online. There are interesting debates you can watch and see how different opinions interact. It should not bother you that God’s existence cannot be proved or disproved like a mathematical theorem. The good news is that there is a lot of supporting evidence that points to His existence, like the existence of order in the universe. Science cannot explain this order. It must presuppose it in order to explain anything. Besides this, there are many more matters that you cannot find rational explanations for and yet you act on them as if they are true, like moral imperatives. We all know that we ought to keep our promises, regardless of whether science or rationality can prove this to be true. Science can only establish facts, but cannot tell us what our moral duties are.
These are just a few instances of thought-provoking research questions that can be helpful to you in the event that you have any remaining doubts. Please make use of the resources listed at the bottom of this post.
Conclusion
It’s possible that as many of your questions are addressed, your doubts may be cleared up. It’s also possible that as time passes, your uncertainties just lose their hold over you. You just learn to live a life of faith where unanswered questions are a part of it, and you stop being crippled by them. However, you can still have uncertainties in your mind even as you look for solutions. Allow them to inspire you to explore your difficult concerns further and locate others with whom you can engage on an intellectual, spiritual, and emotional level. The most crucial of all is this: James 4:8 states, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
[1] Timothy Keller (2008-02-14). Penguin Publishing Group, “The Reason for God” (Kindle Edition, page 192).
Some helpful resources
- Tim Keller
- “The reason for God“
- Sermon series: Overcoming objections
- William Lane Craig / Reasonable faith
- Posts on doubt
- N.T. Wright
- Interview: Broken signposts: How Christianity makes sense of the world
- Podcast: Ask NT Wright anything
- “Unbelievable?” Premier Christian Radio
- Online apologetics course: Confident Christianity: Evidence for God and Answering Objections
