Doubt-Proof
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith, we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”
Hebrews 11:1-3
“Do you think people ever doubt that God exists?” was the question one of my pre-adolescent children asked as we stood in line outside of a barbecue joint near the parish I served on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When the question popped out, I was thinking about something that was weighing me down. Standing next to me was one of the little children that Jesus was so fond of, who was thinking about even weightier matters than I. His frank and honest question helped me get out of my mood.[1] And, of course, the answer to that question had to be just as frank and honest, “Yes.”
In the years since, I have had that question put to me more by grown-ups than youngsters. I think the underlying question is often, “Is it okay to doubt the existence of God?” My answer is only slightly squishy: “It may not be okay, but it is quite normal.” I have come to realize the question usually means those asking are not running away from God, but toward him; they are searching. They have opened their minds and hearts to begin exploring faith.
Peter is probably my favorite of the apostles. The poor and wonderful man had it right and wrong more than all the others combined. One minute he was confessing Christ, the next minute he was confused about Christ. One minute he was walking on water, and the next he was sinking. One minute pledging his loyalty to Christ, and the next he was denying they had ever met.[2] Of all things mystifying, it was upon this shaky person — whom Jesus nicknamed, “The Rock,” that Jesus chose to build the church.[3]
We are told that by the time Jesus’s body was growing cold in the tomb, virtually all of the apostles had given up hope. They had three of the best years of seminary education anyone could hope for. They had actually been with Jesus, seen the miracles, heard the words, and felt His touch. Yet by the time the nails were being pulled from the dead flesh, doubt had consumed them and they had run away. Their story reminds me of a line that has been of help to me over the years from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: “Without doubt, there would be no need for faith.”
Faith gets us through the doubts. Doubts are normal. Alongside the apostles, we are in good company. And we do well to remember Jesus’s gentle, loving and firm reprimand to the most famous doubter, Thomas: “Stop doubting and believe.”[4]
The verse from Hebrews is drawn from what is known as the “Great Faith Chapter” of the Bible because it retells the incredible, miraculous stories of God working with his followers over the centuries and how faith played a key role in each case. But faith, like all good things from God, is a gift. It cannot be bought or earned, only received. Many things can block our faith: our reason, intellect, reluctance to be seen as one foolish enough to embrace things that cannot be proven, fear of placing trust in something that may ultimately not be true, and yes, even our doubt. If we can empty ourselves of all those various things that clog our spiritual arteries, faith will find its way into our spiritual circulation. What we once doubted, we can embrace as truth.
In the last few days of this daily reader, we will be looking at the primary foci of the entire Christian Gospel. Much of what we are told cannot really be proven in a way that we might prove where the first President lived, but we are ultimately not called to live by proof. As the Bible reminds us, “The righteous live by faith.”[5]
Do people ever doubt the existence of God? Yes, of course. I have. Doubt is normal; it is something with which we all struggle, but ultimately, we are called to a place of faith. How then do we find such faith? Know that God wishes to give it. It is a gift. Pray for it. Make sure the stuff that gets in the way of faith is tossed aside. Give yourself the gift of believing in all those wonderful truths shared in God’s story.
Christian apologist Josh McDowell puts it this way:
The most telling testimony of all must be the lives of those early Christians. We must ask ourselves: What caused them to go everywhere telling the message of the risen Christ?
Had there been any visible benefits accruing to them from their efforts—prestige, wealth, increased social status or material benefits — we might logically attempt to account for their actions, for their wholehearted and total allegiance to this “risen Christ.”
“As a reward for their efforts, however, those early Christians were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured, crucified. Every conceivable method was used to stop them from talking.
Yes, they were peaceful people. They forced their beliefs on no one. Rather, they laid down their lives as the ultimate proof of their complete confidence in the truth of their message.
It has been rightly said that they went through the test of death to determine their veracity. It is important to remember that initially, the disciples didn’t believe. But once convinced — in spite of their doubts — they were never to doubt again that Christ was raised from the dead.“[6]
It would be great if there was a pill we could take, an exercise we could do, or a magic mantra we could say that would somehow doubt proof our journey through the Christian faith. There is not, but there is one thing that might aid us. It springs from a scene in Mark’s Gospel, and it is as comical as it is profound.
Jesus had just finished saying, “If you are able. All things can be done for the one who believes.” Someone immediately jumped up and said, “I believe; help my unbelief.”[7] Even the believer needed a little help believing. Maybe that cry, “Help my unbelief,” is a good place to start when we are looking for something that is doubt-proof.
A Question to Ponder
What is there in the telling of Christianity that you doubt? Why? And if you did believe, what difference might it make in your life?
A Prayer
“Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an un-conquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
St. Thomas Aquinas, d. 1274
[1] Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16.
[2] Matthew 16:13–28; 14:22-35; John 13 and 18.
[3] Matthew 16:18.
[4] John 20:27.
[5] Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11.
[6] Josh McDowell, "Christianity: Hoax or History?" (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 1998).
[7] Mark 9:23–24.
