Doubt is not always bad. If we handle it in the right way, doubt can spur us on to a richer, more satisfying and deeper faith.
Everyone experiences doubt at some point in their lives. This can affect our relationships with each other. Drawing on his own counselling ministry and research, the Christian writer and philosopher, Gary Habermas, observes in his excellent Dealing with Doubt that ‘Doubts concerning the ideas or persons most important to us might be called an almost universal fact of life.’
This is true both for religious people and atheists, for matters of faith and any other area of life in which we have to deal with things of significance.
CS Lewis reflected on his own experience of periods of doubt as both an atheist and a Christian:
‘Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable; but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable.’
Uncertainty is a part of human existence. That means that doubt is, too.
Doubt is not always bad. As we will see, Jesus doesn’t condemn it in the disciples. Moreover, if we handle them in the right way, periods of doubt can spur us on to a richer, more satisfying and deeper faith.
We should also note that doubt isn’t simple. We can be tempted to imagine that it is always an intellectual phenomenon. In reality, those involved in counselling people experiencing periods of doubt in different contexts have found that there are actually different types of doubt, each of which requires its own response.
In this passage we see Jesus’ response to three types of doubt.
- Doubt in the emotions
- Doubt in the mind
- Doubt in the will
Emotional Doubt
In Luke 24:36 Jesus’s first words to his disciples when he appears to them after his resurrection are ‘peace to you’
The first species of doubt is emotional. This is where doubt arises largely from our feelings rather than a particular intellectual problem. Habermas estimates that more than ⅔ of doubt he has come across in church is actually emotional.
Doubt can often seem to be about ideas when actually it is about feelings.
This is a classic example. The disciples have been through a terrible trauma. They are utterly exhausted. They are also scared, probably angry, have been betrayed by their mate, and seen everything they believe in apparently crash around their ears.
They are having a very bad week.
In the midst of tiredness, hunger, and pain we can begin to doubt in a visceral way.
Lewis expresses it in this way:
Our faith in Christ waivers not so much when real arguments come against it as when it looks improbable–when the whole world takes on that desolate look which really tells us much more about the state of our passions and even our digestion than about reality.
When we experience this type of doubt we need to be healed, not persuaded. That is why Jesus just says: ‘Peace be to you.’
This healing has three parts:
- Physical:
Get some sleep. Take some time off work if you are burnt out. Do something fun. Eat well.
For example, I never take seriously anything I think after 10pm. It’s tiredness talking.
- Mental:
If you are assailed by an idea you know to be false (like I’m too awful for God to love), identify the idea, name it, and challenge it with truth. Memorising Scripture is good for this.
- Spiritual:
Learn to pray, particularly contemplative prayer. If you struggle to think of ways to pray, speak to me.
Intellectual Doubt
Second, we can experience doubt in our minds.
This is what is going on in Luke 24:37-39. The disciples are struggling to believe that someone really could rise from the dead. They can’t get their heads around it. So Jesus offers them evidence to explore.
Every thinking Christian at some point will have questions about the faith.
They might be about the reliability of the gospels: how do we actually know that Jesus lived and died and rose from the dead?
They might be about the existence of God: what arguments are there for believing that there is something more than the material world?
They might be about specific questions such as the problem of evil or reconciling scientific discoveries with the content of Scripture and the faith.
These questions are not new – they have been well canvassed by some of the most brilliant minds in the history of the world, from both science and philosophy. And many of those asking these questions end up as Christians.
So how do we deal with this type of doubt:
- Maintain a strong devotional life.
Staying in the Scriptures, and have a regular pattern of prayer feeds our minds and our souls.
Lewis said:
‘…make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious reading and church-going are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed.’
- Look for answers.
Jesus offers his disciples evidence for his claims. There is really, really good evidence for Christianity.
The questions we have are ones that brilliant minds have considered (not least Lewis himself). If you are really struggling with doubt in your minds about a particular question, look into it.
- Be patient.
None of us is that smart and we need to be patient if we don’t get everything right away. Some things are really difficult. God is really big. We are really small.
That doesn’t mean don’t apply your mind. It does mean having a healthy humility about your capacity to reason to the answer on every question in your own time.
Doubt in the Will
The third type of doubt flows from the will.
This means that God is asking us to do something we don’t want to do. It is usually characterised by knowing the facts but not being willing to do the thing they seem to imply.
This is suggested by what Jesus says in Luke 24:46-49.
By this stage the disciples know that Jesus is alive. The question is, are they going to go and tell anyone about him?
Types of challenge that can cause this species of doubt can include ethical problems (I really want to sleep with my boyfriend even though I know I shouldn’t), to come to church (I know I should go but I want to stay home) or missional (I know God wants me to do something for him but I don’t want to).
This type of challenge can lead to doubt. It isn’t a rational process: we rarely think ‘I don’t want to do [X] so I don’t believe anymore’.
Rather it manifests itself in raising up small, ‘picky’ issues that on any objective view aren’t really relevant to a life of faith or in refusing to accept, or even really consider, any answers or explanations that are given to apparent problems. The dispeace or uncertainty therefore continues and nothing can touch it.
This happens because faith isn’t just a question of belief but of action. It implies a choice about what I will do – what Paul describes as the obedience of faith.
How do we address this type of doubt? Jesus’ response to the disciples suggests two things:
- We need to exercise our wills.
Ultimately only we can choose to follow Christ. By God’s grace, every one of us has that agency. We are treated like grown-ups.
It can be hard, painful and require the support of friends. But the choice is ours.
- We need the Holy Spirit.
Christ knows that the task is too difficult for them to do on their own. It is too difficult even to begin on their own. I think that is not only because they need the power to do it. It is because they need the courage to choose it.
This implies prayer. When we are facing a hard choice, we need to be those who come to Jesus and ask for the Spirit’s power to choose well. Or even to desire to choose well. Don’t underestimate the power that is available to one who seeks it.
Application
I’ve offered ideas about how we respond in each of these areas as we have gone along. Nevertheless, I want to close by offering some general principles for dealing with doubt.
- Keep together.
Doubt, whether in our minds, emotions or wills is not something to be ashamed of or gone through alone. Talk to people.
Obviously, be careful who you speak to if it is personal. But this is part of why God puts us in churches.
For example, if you are wrestling with the problem of evil or the relationship between Creation, evolution and Scripture, come and talk to a pastor or theologian. You can even email me. I won’t judge you; the chances are I have thought about the same things.
If stuff is hard emotionally and you are starting to doubt your faith, talk to a friend or life group. You might find something as simple as a hug, or crying with them, makes a huge difference. Or it might take much longer.
But use each other.
- Keep praying.
Above all else, keep Christ before you. If you are wondering if it’s worth it, I would ask: why not? What are you losing by continuing to pray and to come to church? And often it is through prayer and worship that we find ourselves united to Christ in a way that relativises all our doubts.
- Keep humble and be patient.
Always remember how small even the smartest and most together of us are compared to God, the universe and the things we are dealing with.
There is such a big temptation to want to rush to conclusions or take immediate action in response to every thought. I cannot stress how important it is to resist that temptation.
Be patient. With yourself, with God, with the answers. Stuff takes time to heal, to find, to understand and to accept.
Doubt is not always bad. If we handle it in the right way, doubt can spur us on to a richer, more satisfying and deeper faith.
Deep Church 