Dealing with doubt

 Even the strongest of Christians may have times of doubt. Billy Graham tells the story of a period in his life when he began to question some things he was preaching. At a conference he was asked to lead early in his ministry he walked into the woods near the conference center and began to ask God if the Bible was really true. After a period of time he rose to his feet absolutely convinced that the Bible was true, his faith was true and his calling was to preach the truth. Perhaps his most famous line after that experience was "The Bible says...."

Studies find that nearly 60 percent of young people leave the Christian faith after their 15th birthday. A number of reasons have been identified, but one of the major ones is that no one is willing to answer their questions. They may have serious questions and doubts about Christianity, but they find their church is not a safe place to ask those questions or express their doubts. One 17-year-old girl told me that was the case in her youth group. She asks a lot of tough questions and spends much time reading her Bible, but she said when she asks questions in the youth group she is either ignored or given simplistic answers that really do not answer her questions. Unfortunately, this is too often the case.

Churches must be a safe place for people to ask their questions. No person should be made to feel ashamed for expressing doubts about their faith or for asking questions. In fact, questions should be encouraged for they show the person is thinking critically about Christianity, and answering the questions may help them solidify their faith.

There are two warnings when we attempt to answer people's questions or address their doubts. One, we don't want to make up answers when we don't know the answer. Young people are especially tuned to such answers and can see through them. It's far better to admit that we don't know and we will attempt to find the answer and respond to them at that time. There will also be some questions we will never be able to answer, and we need to honestly admit that. Here is where the faith factor of Christianity comes into play. But, we don't want to fall back on that response too often. There may well be an answer to the question that we can find with a little research.

The other warning is that we need to understand the purpose of the question. As someone has said, behind every question is a questioner. We need to know the questioner so we can understand what is behind the question. If a six-year-old child asks, "Who made God?" that is a much different question than if it is asked by a university biology professor. In the first case, the child is probably asking out of genuine interest. In the second case, the question may well be asked as a challenge to Christianity or being asked because the professor is honestly seeking God and needs answers to some of his questions. Our answer would be the same in both cases but would need to be framed differently. It's important to know the questioner and the reason behind the question before answering.

Jesus asked a lot of questions, and He was not afraid of questions. We need to be like Him. Don't be afraid of questions but respond to them truthfully, biblically and with grace.

Is it a sin for a Christian to doubt?

Most, if not all, Christians have times when they begin to doubt some aspects of their faith. They may even doubt if they are really Christians or even if God exists. Are such doubts sin? I do not believe so. I know there have been times in my own life when I've doubted some aspects of Christianity. I've questioned some things God was or was not doing in my life or the lives of others. Working through those doubts actually strengthened my faith as I believe it can for all believers.

The best well-known doubter in the Bible was the apostle Thomas. Because he was not present when Jesus appeared to the other disciples he refused to believe it happened. Unless he could personally see Jesus and feel the wounds He had experienced on the cross he would not believe. Jesus appeared to them again and presented Himself to Thomas who then believed. Tradition tells us Thomas was later martyred due to his Christian beliefs and preaching. When his doubts were answered his faith increased to the level where he willingly gave up his life proclaiming the Kingdom of God. I think it is important to note that Jesus did not criticize Thomas for his doubts but responded to them in a way that erased them.

What do you do when you begin to experience doubts? The first step is to acknowledge them and begin to talk to others, such as a pastor or other mature believer. Seek out books that can answer the doubts. Begin to doubt the doubts. You can probably list a number of reasons why your doubts are not credible. Do so, and carry that list with you. When the doubts begin to trouble you, pull out your list of why those doubts are not credible and voice them out loud. Ask God to help remove those doubts from your mind. Recognize that those doubts do not come from Him but from the enemy of our soul. You are engaged in spiritual warfare. Use the shield of faith and sword of truth to attack the doubts.

Because our doubts can help us grow in our faith accept them for what they are and find ways to overcome them. Do not let the enemy cause you to believe that God is angry at you because of your doubts or that your doubts are sin. There will be times when every Christian will have doubts, will question something they have been taught. Use those doubts as stepping stones to a more mature faith.

Do atheists have doubts?

I have just finished reading Surprised by Doubt by Joshua Chatraw and Jack Carson as part of my morning devotions. It is a very good, honest look at how most Christians will struggle with doubts at some time in their lives. The authors draw a lot from the writings of C. S. Lewis and their own experiences of struggling at times to understand God and what He was doing in their lives. Probably most of us have had times in our Christian lives when we thought that "this isn't what I thought being a Christian would be like." At times like those is when doubts can begin to creep in. Certainly, I've had such times in my own life, and I appreciated how the authors addressed those doubts and offered practices to help overcome them.

From that book I began reading Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn't by Gavin Ortlund. I'm still in the early pages, but as the author addresses some of the beliefs of the New Atheists the question came to mind as to whether atheists ever doubt their atheism? Over the years I have read a number of apologetical books that do an excellent job of defending Christian beliefs against those offered by atheists. I am not of a philosophical mind so I am amazed at easily these Christian writers tear apart the alternative theories proposed by the New Atheists such as Dawkins, Krauss, Harris and others. I'm also amazed at how shallow those theories are especially as they are being offered by persons with such high academic standing.

So the question came to me: do these individuals ever begin to question that perhaps they are wrong, that God does exist and is the creator of all the universe? With so much evidence to disprove their points, how could they not have doubts? Perhaps they cannot afford to have doubts. After all, their books are selling well, and that would change if they decided that they were wrong and became Christians. Of course, Jesus challenged that way of thinking when He said, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mt. 16: 26)"

Psalm 111: 10 tells us "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Being atheists I would assume they have no fear of God, but how can anyone push any possibility of the existence of God out of their minds? Paschal's Wager is that if there is even a 51% possibility that God exists a person would be a fool to reject Him. While the arguments for God cannot absolutely prove the existence of God, they certainly take us well beyond the 51% threshold.

Yes, Christians can have times of doubt in their lives, but most of us will not let those doubts take us away from belief in God. We use those times to grow in our faith and find Christ to be even more real. And, yes atheists can have doubts as well, and sometimes those doubts lead them to faith in Jesus Christ. Among some notable atheists who came to believe in God are Antony Flew, Alister McGrath, Francis Collins and many more.

When you are talking to someone who expresses the belief that there is no God, do not give up on that person. He or she may be struggling with doubts you do not know. If not then, perhaps later. Keep praying for those individuals, keep sharing your faith as opportunities present themselves, and keep believing that God will break through their doubts and lead them to see that Christianity is true.