Giving Faith the Benefit of the Doubt

The Victorian Era in the 19^th century is often referred to as “the age of doubt.” During that time important scientific discoveries were challenging prevalent religious thinking, and some of that has carried over to the present day. It seems we’ve turned into ‘the doubtful society,’ as we cast skeptical eyes on politicians, the media, education, and especially every dimension of spirituality. In the 1960s, demonstrators shouted, “Question authority!” Since then, we’ve come to question virtually everything. 

Doubt, in the opinion of some, is the enemy of faith. They regard questioning or expressing anything about biblical teachings as evidence of disbelief. Some might contend we’re to operate on the basis of ‘blind faith,’ refusing to allow doubts to invade our thinking. 

 

There are dangers to this, however. The Barna Group, a research organization that studies how cultural trends and religious belief intersect, released a report that nearly 60 percent of young adults leave the church after leaving home – with doubt being a central cause. Of those surveyed, 36 percent said they rejected their faith because of unanswered questions they had; 23 percent left their church roots because of doubts about their faith.

In my experience, however, doubt need not function as an adversary of faith. Instead, it can serve as an asset for strengthening it, much as the challenge of lifting weights serves to strengthen muscles. Rather than discouraging expressions of doubt and uncertainty, maybe they should be embraced as avenues for deepening one’s convictions and drawing closer to the Lord. Because if God isn’t big enough and strong enough to handle our questions and doubts, He certainly isn’t worthy of our trust.

 

We find this perspective affirmed throughout the Scriptures. In Genesis, Abram and Sarai were advanced in years, yet she’d not been able to give him a son through whom God would fulfill His promise to “make [him] into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). As years passed, their doubts grew until Sarai decided to have her maidservant Hagar serve as a surrogate. 

 

Hagar conceived and gave Abram a son, Ishmael, but God in effect told him, “That’s not what I planned.” Later the Lord restated His promise, declaring, “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations…. As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her” (Genesis17:5-16).

 

Did Abraham respond with, ‘Okay, great!’? Nope. He “fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’” (Genesis 17:17). Doesn’t this sound like a man who had more than a few doubts?

 

Laughter must have been a big part of the Abraham-Sarah household, because when a divine visitor later tells Abraham, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son,” eavesdropping Sarah “laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’” (Genesis 18:10,14).

 

Could you blame them? Decades beyond their physical prime, Abraham and Sarah surely thought their window of opportunity for parenting had slammed shut. Even if God had promised to the contrary. The key is how the Lord responded. He didn’t get huffy and say, “Well, if you don’t believe Me, forget it!” One year later the aged couple did have a son, Isaac, and over the centuries since, Abraham indeed has become the spiritual patriarch to many nations.

 

This is hardly an isolated example. The Psalms show King David, described as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), often expressing his doubts and fears. In Psalm 42:3 he wrote, “My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, ‘Where is your God?’”, and in Psalm 43:2 he complains, “For you are the God of my refuge. Why have you rejected me?” But time after time, God proved His faithfulness to David.

 

Jesus Christ repeatedly warned His disciples of events that were to come, even that they would betray Him, but when He was arrested by Roman and religious authorities, “all the disciples deserted Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56). Despite having spent three years with Jesus, the disciples turned into a doubting, fearful lot.

 

Consider the disciple Thomas, perhaps the poster guy for doubt. He’s often called “doubting Thomas.” When Jesus first appeared to the disciples following His resurrection, John 20:24-29 reports that for some reason Thomas wasn’t there. When he heard the other disciples declaring, “We have seen the Lord!”, Thomas reacted with indifference, as if to say, “Yeah, right.” 

 

He needed proof. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it.” Soon Thomas got his proof. Jesus didn't chastise him to being skeptical; instead, He showed His nail-scarred hands to the disciple and asked him to place in his hand into His side. Thomas had no option but to cast his doubts aside and respond, “My Lord and my God!”

 

What Jesus said next is something we all should take to heart: “Because you [Thomas] have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Of necessity, genuine belief and trust in Jesus Christ requires our faith to overcome our doubts. But doubt can serve as a great teaching aid. 

Confessing our questions and doubts can inspire us to pray, consult with others, and most importantly, dig into the Scriptures for answers. That doesn’t mean we will know all the answers to our questions – but in the process we can get to know God in a much deeper way.

Healthy Skepticism Isn’t a Bad Thing

Skepticism. There seems to be a lot of it these days. Have you ever felt skeptical about something, especially of late? I know I have. 

 

For a long time, we’ve been told to “trust the science.” However, science is never “settled.” Discoveries are made constantly that upset previously held conclusions. Also, it has become apparent ‘the science’ can be as much defined by ideology and agendas as it is by facts. Sometimes there’s reason to distrust the science.

We’re moving into the teeth of a crucial election season. Candidates will be preening and posturing, promising we can trust them – but not their opponents. However, we’ve learned that 20 campaign promises and $6 will get us a small latte at our favorite coffee shop. If experience has taught anything about politics, it’s that we have reason to be skeptical.

 

If we look closely at any of our revered institutions – the news media, entertainment, the business world, education, even religion – we’ll find more than enough examples to justify skepticism. And you’ve probably learned we can’t believe everything we find on the Internet or social media. 

 

Perhaps it has always been this way, but it’s evident that more than ever, we’d be wise not to believe everything we see and only half of what we hear. 

 

So where does that put us when we’re considering the teachings and hallowed truths many of us have embraced from the Bible? Christianity certainly has its share of skeptics – maybe more than its share. But over the years I’ve learned that healthy skepticism isn’t a bad thing.

 

One dictionary defines skepticism as “the method of suspended judgment, systemic doubt, or criticism.” I like the term, suspended judgment. We encounter lots of people holding the attitude of, ‘I’ve made up my mind. Don’t confuse me with the facts.’ But suspended judgment doesn’t seem as certain or as dogmatic. It’s more, ‘I don’t know yet. I need more information before reaching a conclusion.’

 

Would you be surprised to know the Bible presents numerous skeptics in both the Old and New Testaments? Even some of its central figures?

 

Take Moses, for example. After seeing the burning bush and encountering God, Moses was understandably skeptical when the Lord said, “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10). Moses, who was tending his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep before spotting the flaming bush, uttered the Hebrew equivalent of “Say what?!”

 

In the next verse we read his response: “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Even after God gave him detailed instructions, Moses was still shaking his head. “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you?’” (Exodus 4:1). This obviously hadn’t been on Moses’s to-do list for that day.

 

Finally, the Lord provided two signs to convince him, along with agreeing to let him bring Aaron, his brother, along to assist. Moses shrugged his shoulders and thought, ‘Okay, we’ll give this a shot.’ Can we call him a reluctant prophet?

 

Then we have Gideon, a fellow who was minding his own business threshing wheat when an angel suddenly appeared. The angel declared, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). I can imagine Gideon looking around and thinking, ‘Who? You talking to me?’ He replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” referring to the Israelites being attacked by the Midianites, Amalekites and some other ‘ites.

 

After some discussion about what God wanted him to do, Gideon remained the skeptic. He demanded proof in the form of two signs involving a wool fleece and the morning dew on the threshing floor (Judges 6:36-40). Only after God had performed the signs did Gideon surrender his skepticism and take on the mission the Lord had given to him.

 

We could cite many others including: Sarai (later renamed Sarah) who laughed when she heard that despite her advanced age, God was going to give her a son (Genesis 18:10-15). The Jewish priest Zechariah, when he was informed his wife Elizabeth, also “well along in years,” was going to have a son (Luke 1:11-20). Jesus’ disciples immediately following His resurrection, and especially Thomas, who demanded proof they weren’t dreaming or having hallucinations (John 20:24-29).

 

We could criticize each of these for not having enough faith to believe what they were told. But we find another brief account in the book of Acts confirming that healthy skepticism isn’t a bad thing. The apostle Paul had been speaking in the Greek city of Berea. It states, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

 

Describing them as having “noble character” suggests they were teachable and willing to learn but diligent to determine if what Paul was saying aligned with the Old Testament prophecies. They listened as skeptics but were open to receiving the truth.

 

Scottish evangelist and scientist Henry Drummond once made this observation: “Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is ‘can’t believe’; doubt is ‘won’t believe.’ Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness.” 

 

So, if at times we find ourselves questioning what we believe or wondering about something in the Bible, that’s all right as long as, in Drummond’s words, we’re “looking for light,” rather than being “content with darkness.” As Jesus declared, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

It Helps When We Know How Things Will End

With football season only a couple of weeks away, avid fans are anticipating the excitement, anxiety and uncertainty that starts with the opening kickoff and continues until the final seconds tick off the clock. The excitement comes from watching athletes competing against each other, seeing them perform at levels that average guys like me can’t even imagine doing. We marvel at their strength, speed and skill.

 

The anxiety and uncertainty, however, are caused by not knowing the final outcome of the games. Especially in rivalry games, or contests when the teams seem evenly matched, nails are chewed, feet paced, TVs yelled at, and things even get tossed in frustration. When the favorite team falls behind, we wonder, ‘How will they be able to catch up?’ Even when our team is in the lead, we fret over whether they can hold onto the winning margin.

Would our nerves be on edge and emotions so close to boiling over if we knew the outcome in advance? Of course not. If you’ve ever recorded a game to watch later and took a peek at the final score, viewing the replay didn’t make you as nervous. Right?

 

It's similar with watching a fast-paced movie thriller or reading a riveting murder mystery. The suspense keeps us on edge, even if we have a strong suspicion good will conquer evil at the end. But if we’ve read the “spoiler alert,” or if someone has already told us it was Mr. Mustard in the library with the candlestick who did it, we’re not as likely to hear Carly Simon’s “Anticipation” running through our minds.

 

These days there’s lots to feel anxious and uncertain about. Covid-19 has become the virus that refuses to go away, despite the vaccines, masks, social distancing and shutdowns we were told would deter it. “Inflation” has returned to our vocabularies, with prices for gas, groceries and just about everything going up. Many of us have decided watching the news isn’t good for our mental and emotional health, with the relentless gloom-and-doom, “the sky is falling” reporting. Living in constant fear and doubt aren’t good neighborhoods.

 

We find ourselves on edge, our tension levels high, because in life – as in sports and entertainment – we often don’t know how things are going to end. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some way to be able to turn to the last page and learn everything is going to work out?

 

Actually, there is a way. One many people choose not to use. It’s the Bible, which candidly and honestly records humanity’s faults and failings, but also presents God’s solutions – including a happy ending. In fact, Jesus Christ declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). 

 

He also asserted that by following Him, we can have confidence things will end very, very well. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms…. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

 

Fear and uncertainty regarding the future have been a common companions throughout history. Writing to Christ followers in ancient Corinth, the apostle Paul gave this assurance: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed…then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’… But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:51-56).

 

Because of this great, unwavering promise, we can embrace for ourselves the admonition Paul gave to his young protégé, Timothy, reminding him, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

 

So whenever we find ourselves feeling fearful or anxious, for whatever reason, we need to remember God has already written the ending to this grand story. It will be glorious, more joyous than anything our finite minds can imagine. 

We read in the final book of the Bible, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4). 

Don’t you just love happy endings? 

What Should We Do During Times of Doubt?

Raise your hand if you have found the last 12 months or so to be difficult, confusing, even painful. The rest of you, raise your hands for not being truthful. Because in one way or more, 2020 and so far in 2021 (aka 2020, version 2.0), have perplexed us, confounded us, and maybe even unsettled our faith.

 

With chaos manifesting itself in so many forms – pandemic fears and mandates, extreme weather, political madness, the abrupt and drastic departure from “normal” – one could hardly be faulted for wrestling with periods of doubt. For non-believers, the go-to question has been, “How could a loving God allow this?” Even for believers, we’ve probably all had times when we wondered, “Lord, where are You?”

 

However, during less stressful, more predictable moments, doubts can emerge as well, from just about anywhere. A few days ago, a friend admitted her faith had been shaken a bit while reading a challenging section of the Old Testament, one of those portions of Scripture that make us think, “Wait! What?” What she read didn’t seem to mesh with the God of love, grace and mercy, manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, the New Testament shows to us.

 

Even though we’d like to deny them, doubts are actually an integral reality of the walk of faith. We see this throughout the Bible. The Israelites were a classic example. Every time circumstances got a bit difficult, they were ready to throw in the towel and trudge back to Egypt. “Hey, Moses! Yeah, we were slaves, but at least we had leeks and onions and a little bread!”

 

Reading the accounts today, we wonder, “Come on, Israel, after all God had done for you – being freed from Egypt, walking through the parted Red Sea, being given manna, then quail to fill your bellies – how can you doubt Him?” But they did. Repeatedly. It was an attitude of, “Yahweh, what have You done for us lately?” No wonder Moses smashed the first set of the 10 commandments in anger and frustration.

 

We see this over and over in the New Testament as well. By the time the man approached Jesus with the son possessed by a demon, the Lord had performed many miracles of healing and restoration. Explaining his son’s plight, the man said to Jesus, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” To which Jesus replied, “’If you can?’… Everything is possible for him who believes” (Mark 9:22-23).

 

The list of biblical doubters could go on and on, but we can’t omit Mr. Doubter himself, doubting Thomas, the skeptical disciple. Ole Tom hadn’t been there when Jesus appeared to the other disciples following His resurrection, so when he heard the others declare, “We have seen the Lord!”, his response was in the “yeah, right” category. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it” (John 20:25). He was probably president of the Galilean Skeptics Society.

 

Even when Jesus appeared a second time, with Thomas in attendance, the disciple was hesitant. Jesus addressed his doubts. “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Finally, Thomas set aside his incredulity and responded, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28).

 

We’re tempted to dismiss dubious Thomas, but aren’t we like that? There’s no need to rehash the trials and travails of the past year, but we’ve probably all wondered why God has seemed silent, even absent, when a loved one has died or suffered greatly from the virus. Or when financial woes have set in, or when an unexpected, unrelated crisis only added to our dismay.

 

I heard recently that studies have shown more than 70 percent of atheists lost their faith after going through difficult circumstances. That’s the case for people like Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking and many others. But just because God doesn’t respond the way we want Him to, when we want Him to, doesn’t mean He’s not there – or that He doesn’t care.

 

So what are we to do as such times when nagging doubts don’t want to disperse? There are no easy answers, but for one thing, don’t deny the doubts. Going back to the story of the man with the demon-possessed son, when Jesus assurance him that everything is possible for those who believe, the father replied, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). God isn’t threatened or befuddled by our doubts or questions.

 

We also need to make sure we’re listening to folks who will affirm our faith, not undermine it. As Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together…let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Faith isn’t intended or designed to be embraced and lived out in isolation.

 

God knows our minds and our thoughts, so we can be honest in approaching Him. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

 

And lastly, press through our doubts, reminding ourselves of what the Lord has already done in our lives and trusting He will continue to hear us and meet our needs. “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6-8). God is always at work, even when we can’t see or understand what He’s doing.