On doubt and belief
Sunday, March 12th, 2006
This is Sharon’s inaugural post on my blog. :) I wrote the following intro, but she takes it from there.
A former professor of mine, Dr. David Mills, said that “doubt is a bridge to belief.” But many Christians instead see doubt as dangerous ground to be avoided at all costs. The following letter (which has been circulating via email) was written in response to a recent article in the Washington Post which I recommend reading. I have removed the author’s name since I am not sure who he is, and I am not sure he would want his name plastered on the internet, and I am sure he meant well. The letter is in maroon, and Sharon’s response is in cyan.
Subject: A Moody and Wheaton Grad Turned Agnostic NY Times Bestselling Author
This is a sad story of Bart Ehrman, a 50 year old graduate of Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College, who turned to agnosticism seven years ago. After Moody and Wheaton, he studied biblical languages at Princeton Theological Seminary and began teaching at Rutgers where he began to wrestle with God and the reality of suffering in the world.
He then started teaching at UNC Chapel Hill when seven years ago, not only did he marry for the second time, but he stopped going to church all together and rejected the faith.
Unfortunately, it seems that Ehrman views evangelicals as not dealing with tensions in the Bibles that seem to be contradictions and difficult issues such as sufffering in the world because too many just give simple pat answers such as “that’s just the way it is.” Let’s strive to wrestle with these tensions to find these answers.
However, let’s also beware of the dangers of doubt in our faith and doubt in the reality of the risen, Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, I believe the slide down the slippery slope always begins with our affinity toward immorality.
Let’s stay pure and strong in our faith.
Let’s finish this race together, brothers and sisters!
See you all at the FINISH LINE!!!!
It is always the case that in philosophy we sometimes encounter tough questions that don’t have any easy answers. Anytime someone begins to question anything there is a danger that they may end up rejecting some things they previously believed were true. It is especially tough for those who still believe (or in this case those who are still Christians) to see this kind of thing happen. However, I have to say that I find more danger in the type of attitude that this forwarded message espouses than in the “dangerous” slippery slope of doubt.
It is true that doubt can be a slippery slope, but this tends to be the case most often when the doubt is wedded with cynicism or skepticism. When used properly, doubt is actually a very important means of arriving at truth. It is an unwillingness to evaluate one’s own deepest beliefs and convictions that leads to the type of extremism we see in some parts of the Middle East today. Doubt is essential to avoiding unhealthy dogmatism and fundamentalism.
However, doubt should be paired with a genuine search for truth. This means that while it is healthy to doubt, it should be seen as an aid to inquiry, not as an intrinsically valuable activity. I believe it is the responsibility of every Christian to be well-informed about their beliefs and their motivations for accepting those beliefs. I also believe that we should at some point along the way submit our beliefs to a certain amount of scrutiny. God is a God of order and of reason, and He is big enough to provide answers to those who genuinely seek!
I think that Ehrman is right – many evangelicals do not deal with tensions in the Bible that certainly seem to be contradictions. But I think he is wrong that there are no answers to be found. Nevertheless, my response to him is not to rally the troops to give another hurrah for Jesus because at least we all still believe. Nor is it to remind my fellow Christians to remember how dangerous doubt can be. Rather, it is to try to engage the issue – why is it that Ehrman has rejected Christianity? Are his reasons legitimate? If not, then perhaps he can be shown that they are not. Yet if they are, then are there also sufficient reasons to hold to the faith we have?
So, I say that instead of sending out warning messages, we should be diving into doctrine, philosophy, theology, history, etc. to increase our knowledge of this wonderful world God has created and explore some of His divine mysteries. Then we should engage those who have rejected Christ with hearts of love and minds filled not with fear, but with truth.
This is Sharon’s inaugural post on my blog. :) I wrote the following intro, but she takes it from there.
A former professor of mine, Dr. David Mills, said that “doubt is a bridge to belief.” But many Christians instead see doubt as dangerous ground to be avoided at all costs. The following letter (which has been circulating via email) was written in response to a recent article in the Washington Post which I recommend reading. I have removed the author’s name since I am not sure who he is, and I am not sure he would want his name plastered on the internet, and I am sure he meant well. The letter is in maroon, and Sharon’s response is in cyan.
Subject: A Moody and Wheaton Grad Turned Agnostic NY Times Bestselling AuthorThis is a sad story of Bart Ehrman, a 50 year old graduate of Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College, who turned to agnosticism seven years ago. After Moody and Wheaton, he studied biblical languages at Princeton Theological Seminary and began teaching at Rutgers where he began to wrestle with God and the reality of suffering in the world.
He then started teaching at UNC Chapel Hill when seven years ago, not only did he marry for the second time, but he stopped going to church all together and rejected the faith.Unfortunately, it seems that Ehrman views evangelicals as not dealing with tensions in the Bibles that seem to be contradictions and difficult issues such as sufffering in the world because too many just give simple pat answers such as “that’s just the way it is.” Let’s strive to wrestle with these tensions to find these answers.
However, let’s also beware of the dangers of doubt in our faith and doubt in the reality of the risen, Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, I believe the slide down the slippery slope always begins with our affinity toward immorality.
Let’s stay pure and strong in our faith.
Let’s finish this race together, brothers and sisters!
See you all at the FINISH LINE!!!!
It is always the case that in philosophy we sometimes encounter tough questions that don’t have any easy answers. Anytime someone begins to question anything there is a danger that they may end up rejecting some things they previously believed were true. It is especially tough for those who still believe (or in this case those who are still Christians) to see this kind of thing happen. However, I have to say that I find more danger in the type of attitude that this forwarded message espouses than in the “dangerous” slippery slope of doubt.
It is true that doubt can be a slippery slope, but this tends to be the case most often when the doubt is wedded with cynicism or skepticism. When used properly, doubt is actually a very important means of arriving at truth. It is an unwillingness to evaluate one’s own deepest beliefs and convictions that leads to the type of extremism we see in some parts of the Middle East today. Doubt is essential to avoiding unhealthy dogmatism and fundamentalism.
However, doubt should be paired with a genuine search for truth. This means that while it is healthy to doubt, it should be seen as an aid to inquiry, not as an intrinsically valuable activity. I believe it is the responsibility of every Christian to be well-informed about their beliefs and their motivations for accepting those beliefs. I also believe that we should at some point along the way submit our beliefs to a certain amount of scrutiny. God is a God of order and of reason, and He is big enough to provide answers to those who genuinely seek!
I think that Ehrman is right – many evangelicals do not deal with tensions in the Bible that certainly seem to be contradictions. But I think he is wrong that there are no answers to be found. Nevertheless, my response to him is not to rally the troops to give another hurrah for Jesus because at least we all still believe. Nor is it to remind my fellow Christians to remember how dangerous doubt can be. Rather, it is to try to engage the issue – why is it that Ehrman has rejected Christianity? Are his reasons legitimate? If not, then perhaps he can be shown that they are not. Yet if they are, then are there also sufficient reasons to hold to the faith we have?
So, I say that instead of sending out warning messages, we should be diving into doctrine, philosophy, theology, history, etc. to increase our knowledge of this wonderful world God has created and explore some of His divine mysteries. Then we should engage those who have rejected Christ with hearts of love and minds filled not with fear, but with truth.
