Doubt

Many Christians at some point in there life doubt their faith. They ask faith shaking questions like: Is Christianity really true? Is it crazy to think that a God came down to earth as a human? Is there really a God? Where’s the evidence? Addressing questions of doubt is important, especially questions regarding your faith and worldview. After all if Christianity is untrue why pick up and carry the cross? Why subject yourself to a faith that alienates you from others? That claims that belief in Jesus is the only way to heaven, and an unbelief in this God-man sends you to eternal hell? If Christianity is false, what is true? What should I do with my life? How do I deal with life around me? Is this life all I really have?

These life reflective questions are probably why many Christians suppress their doubt and don’t want to think about it, let alone talk about it. There is a rational fear of open the Pandora’s box of doubt. Doubt can unravel your faith, and this can have drastic effects on ones life. Faith is tied to so many aspects of your life. It is tied to family and friends. Faith is tied to social and political affiliations. Faith is tied to one’s worldview and gives meaning and understanding to life. When faith is eroded by the acid that is doubt, things start falling apart. Friendships that were once based on a common faith become strained. Comfort that was once found in life’s trails is no longer there. Hope for new life is gone. Why would anyone want to jeapordise all this and let doubt creep in? We humans have a great talent of staying away from pain and chios. We mentally compartmentalize tragic events so that we can go on living. We try to find order when life is out of control. We suppress our feelings of doubt in our established framework, whether that’s religious, political, or social.

But what do you do when you find yourself in the position that I’m in where you have opened the box of doubt and can no longer close it back up? I really don’t know. I figure a good starting point is to try to find some answers. Like any difficult decision, it is best to have all the data in front of you, then weigh both sides, and then take the step forward in faith and choose.

But how can anyone really find definite answers to these ultimate questions? How can I arrogantly say that I will figure this out, when people over the last 2000 plus years are still struggling and fighting over these questions? But what is the alternative? Should I just forget about these questions and not waste my time to “figure it out”? If God is real and wants me to believe in Him, shouldn’t it be easier and more obvious? I don’t know. To give up seems a bit lazy. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. I feel that I have to thoroughly research the Christian faith if I can come to grips with either accepting it or rejecting it. I’m tired of just waffling in my doubt. I need to get my butt in gear and work on it.