I doubt to believe

Doubt tends to have a lot of bad press in the Christian faith.

Doubt is often seen as the opposite of faith. So if you doubt then it must be because you are a fallen unbeliever. In fact so bad is this seen in some churches that it’s illegal to mention to anyone that you might have doubts.

There is a difference between the doubt of a believer and the doubt of an unbeliever. Doubt for the believer is not about unbelief – although it can lead that way if left unchecked.

Now don’t misunderstand me because I know that Jesus encourages us not to doubt. Living in a constant attitude of doubt will have a negative effect on your relationship with God. However it is nonsense to assume that nobody ever has any doubts.

I know from talking with many Christians that nearly every Christian (great and humble) goes through periods of doubt, even though few ever mention it.

Jesus must have understood that we would doubt otherwise he would not have bothered to tell us not to do it.

The thing is that if you have doubt don’t suppress them and don’t assume it makes you a bad Christian.

Doubting is often an avenue to greater faith.

There are many different reasons for doubting and I don’t have time in a blog to cover them all.

If you have the time and inclination then read this book (for free):

http://www.garyhabermas.com/books/thomas_factor/thomas_factor.htm

It’s an excellent book all about how and why Christians doubt and how to deal with it in your life.

Times of doubt can be hard and worrying. It can feel like all the things you have based your life on are falling apart. Try to understand though that if you keep working through your doubts then you can build an even stronger faith. I don’t mean this to belittle those whose doubts don’t lead to greater faith but just to encourage those who doubt to explore and not give in too easily.