Prayer 24: Doubt

Don: Although it might be possible, after one understands the stages of faith, to recognize where one stands in one’s own journey through them, the journey seems not to be under one’s direct control. It has its own natural progression, which I like to think of as the kindling of the inner light, as the spirit working on the heart.

The primary ingredient of the transition from stage 2 to 3 is the questioning, doubt, uncertainty, ambiguity, and so on of stage 2 tenets and belief systems. Stage 2 people tend to regard any doubt about things of the spirit and about god him- or herself as something to be avoided at all costs.

To eliminate doubt in one’s life one must adopt one of two extremes. The first extreme is to believe everything. The second is to believe nothing, to doubt everything. It seems to me there can be no other way to eliminate uncertainty. Either extreme requires no thought, no analysis and weighing of things. One simply says: This is the way things are. Period. The first extreme might be called fundamentalist faith; the second, radical skepticism.

Many if not most of us are somewhere in between these extremes. We feel it is important to weigh, to analyze, things. A person in stage 1, who by definition has no belief system, will tend to feel and respond to the attraction of the “static certainty” of a stage 2 belief system if s/he comes across or is introduced to one. Static certainty is the place where everything makes sense, the answer to every question is known, there is a key text that contains those answers, and there are no open, ambiguous, unresolved issues–no uncertainties.

In stage 3, there is destructive and constructive doubt. If one continues to question, and to examine and analyze one’s doubts, one eventually regains a sense of certainty but it is not static; it is flexible and dynamic. It is a certainty that retains an ability to absorb and accommodate new understanding, new data, fresh insights.

It is I think true that most normal, rational, people are puzzled or intrigued or sometimes even obsessed by the unknown. One’s curiosity is to a large extent governed by one’s personality. While some people go through life without much curiosity, willing to do what they are told without needing to question or analyze, most of us are not like that. Even atheists and agnostics are just as obsessed with the concept of god as are people who believe in god. They come to a completely different conclusion, of course (and perhaps an ambiguous one) but they are no less interested in or obsessed by the subject than are believers.

Very few lack a sense of some grand dimension to the universe, about which they know nothing. Most people sense that there is something “out there”—some force, some energy, some ethic—that is bigger, better, stronger than themselves by such orders of magnitude that it is outside the realm of scientific knowing. It is a common notion that unless one knows everything about everything, then one has incomplete knowledge. This is as true of the metaphysical and the spiritual as it is of the physical. What is it we do not know about god or religion or things of the spirit? This is the question that triggers transitions between stages of faith.

If knowledge is limited and therefore imperfect, then at least some of my knowledge and ideas and beliefs must be wrong. We don’t, and especially our churches do not have, the framework and the methodology to assimilate the ever increasing flow of new ideas and knowledge and build them into a dynamic spiritual or religious paradigm. Many denominations and doctrines have not changed in centuries, and they have no mechanism for letting in new ideas.

Under these circumstances, the options are either to simply ignore new ideas, which results in a great deal of cognitive dissonance in the people of those denominations, or to dismiss and reject the new ideas as being untrue. Stage 3 allows a person to continue to grow in faith, to continue to have a faith experience, but without having to completely reject their old beliefs or to completely accept the new ideas confronting them. It enables one to work through the period of doubt and uncertainty and yet emerge from it still as a member of a community of faith within a concept of faith.

Last week, Pastor Ariel asked how people in the various stages of faith would view the bible. It seems clear that stage 1 people would not see any validity and morality in it. It would be just another book. Stage 2 Christians would view it as the literal and veritable word of god. A stage 3 person would concede there are good things in the bible but also so many inconsistencies, ambiguities, and contradictions that it does not make much sense. To the stage 4 Christian, the bible is a book of great truth, the scientific validity of whose individual parts and stories is irrelevant: What is relevant is the underlying truth in them and the spiritual invigoration they impart. The things that don’t make sense only add to the mystery, and serve to make it more interesting and exciting.

Doubt can be a poison or a medicine. Stage 3 doubt is a disabling poison that can lead to inaction and undermine faith and one’s relationship with god. But it can also be a potent medicine that helps a person move out of the stage of static certainty and into the stage of dynamic certainty. Passive, poisonous, paralytic doubt can wreak havoc and unhinge otherwise correct and useful notions. In contrast, doubt that causes action is a tonic.

The component of fear in doubt, which arises as doubt shakes one’s faith and one’s moorings start to slip, is rarely a fear that god is changing. We tend to fear that change occurring within ourselves is jeopardizing our souls. But as Jason has noted, this has nothing to do with salvation. God loves us as individuals and can save us as individuals in any and all stages of faith.

Religion is like a language. It has rituals and liturgy that differ among different groups and that express beliefs and faith in different ways. We may “speak” different liturgies, even in stage 3, but we share a common core faith. To make doubt a virtue, we must be prepared to enter into a pretty exhausting place of tension in our minds. We must not run from that place as though faith did not exist there. We must recognize that faith is just as active there as faith in either a static certainty phase or in a dynamic uncertainty phase. We must not fear the loss of faith. We must understand god’s help has to be put in the service of building faith, of making faith grow, of answering questions that allows one then to continue to have a rich faith life.

Religious structure—churches—should be just as interested in nurturing the faith of the stage 3 doubter as they are of the stage 2 believer. Instead, they strive to press everyone into phase 2 static certainty and keep them there. They should be prepared to live with, to engage, and even to encourage those entering the questioning phase and impress upon them that they are embarking on a legitimate phase of spiritual growth which is necessary if they are to find a more living, vibrant, dynamic, and flexible faith.

The primary task of the stage 3 person during their transition is to continue to seek. If s/he does so, and perseveres, then they will, by God’s grace, transition into a state of more flexible certainty; a certainty not about doctrine but about god, an understanding that god wants to be a part of one’s life and wants to lead it and to be active in it.

The bible is full of stories about doubt. Great doubt is evident in the great prayers of Job and Gideon and so on that we have studied lately. Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Thomas the disciple, and other scriptural giants all showed evidence of doubting, of wondering. Even Jesus questioned, in the Garden of Gethsemane, whether his crucifixion was really necessary, was really god’s will. And on the cross: “My god, my god, why have you forsaken me?”

It seems to me a common misconception that doubt is a tool of the devil. But constructive or “holy” doubt, which spurs action and continues the quest, is not only not evil, but is indeed a Christian virtue in and of itself. Jesus talked about the simple faith of a child, and the children never stop asking questions. God seems to anticipate this degree of questioning in those who seek him. As we have seen, he might not answer them, but the important thing is that the questions are asked. As a Christian virtue, and as a powerful component of faith, then constructive doubt ought to be encouraged.

Harry: Atheists and agnostics often spend a lot of time on the question of god. I have been through such doubt and as a result I feel closer to god than ever before. But everything has changed. What convinces me that god exists is the evident fact that everyone is prompted by the god spark, the inner light, the holy spirit within them to search for him or at least for some deeper truths. And who knows that atheists and agnostics don’t find them? Their divorce rate is lower, they are more inclined to obey the civil law, and they are quite the opposite of what a Christian might assume of them.

As Don said, children question everything yet (for the most part) are troubled by nothing. To them, the world is not a fearsome place and Truth is not all that important. I think that god cares less that we understand who he is than that we regain that sense of serenity.

Chris: In the religious environment in which I was raised doubt was regarded as a bad thing that ought not to occur since one supposedly knew the Truth. But I could not help questioning from time to time the likelihood that what I knew really could amount to ultimate Truth. We try to squash such doubt, but over time we come to realize that it catalyzes our spiritual journey, our transitions through the stages of faith.

The question seems to me to be: How does one help people get through that period of doubt? In my environment, being in stage 2 meant one had arrived, yet I did not feel that I had arrived. How could we help people like me utilize that uncertainty, that doubt, to move forward spiritually?

David: It’s not doubt per se that is damaging; rather, it is what results from doubt, which is usually disillusionment, and disillusionment is the real danger. So can we turn the result of doubt into a positive product rather than the negative product of disillusionment?

Children believe in illusion, in magic. They have faith in the power of their parents to take care of their every need. Over time, they of course come to realize that much of what they think they know is in fact illusion, and they begin to doubt. But unless the resulting disillusionment is overwhelming, the child does not lose faith in the parent just because of doubt. Rather, s/he learns or realizes that s/he has been “raised” to a higher level of understanding. So doubt is necessary, but if the degree of disillusionment can matter.

Disillusionment about external things such as a holy book or preacher can dim the inner light but if it does not, then faith remains intact and may very well be strengthened.

Harry: The inner light helps one get past disillusionment and through the transition to a higher stage of faith. Disillusionment is part of the process.

Ada: Disillusionment is hard at those times when god seems far away and seems to be doing nothing to dispel one’s disillusion. But there is nothing to do but wait.

Harry: Fear, doubt, and disillusionment are necessary parts of the transition process. Alice’s stage 5 faith, which is simply faith in and practice of universal love, helps one through any transition. It helps one, for example, recognize the spiritually valuable and valid lessons in the bible even after one has ceased to believe that the bible itself is the word of god. It follows that it helps one find similar value and validity and truth in the texts of other religions. A person in stage 5 seeks god’s word wherever it may be. A god who spoke only through, say, the Christian bible would be a pretty small god!

Robin: In Isaiah 1:11-18, god vents his anger at the Israelites for having adopted sinful ways:

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me,Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.”

“I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer,I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

God is willing to reason. Can we then learn if we do not doubt?

In Luke 24:13-45:

And behold, two of [the disciples] were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.

And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight….They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate [m]their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,…

So at first their eyes are restrained by god and then opened by god. This suggests to me that doubt is ok, and that as long as we remain faithful god will reveal to us what we need to know when we need to know it.

Harry: The writer of Isaiah is criticizing his own religion in saying that there are more important things than religious ritual. What’s important to god is loving humanity, yet some expressions of love are rejected by religion.

The reason religions are so diverse–why there is no single, universal religion–must be that god has not revealed the truth to any of them. I believe that is not his purpose and his will anyway. His will is that we love and care for one another.

Kiran: I like the notion that the transition to stage 4 enables one to build upon one’s existing “data set” rather than abandoning the old and starting anew. A person moving from stage 2 to 3 could go either way. I would rather not have to abandon everything I think I might know, because those beliefs have made me what I am, for better or worse. Rather than reject and abandon them, I would like to look for whatever spirit might underlie them. Understanding the spirit underlying the passage in Isaiah that Robin read just now is a case in point.

Robin: I agree. It’s like learning language, which we start one word at a time as babies. As we grow more proficient, we don’t throw away the baby talk—we build upon it.

Jay: To me, the question of doubt is not about whether it is good doubt or bad doubt. It is what it is: Doubt. In scripture, one does not find much support for doubt. Wherever doubt occurs in scripture, there is usually an admonition attached. Scripture does not view doubt as a positive thing. But the admonishment is not for doubt per se but about what it causes. Doubt robs us of the power of faith to move mountains. I don’t know of any scriptural examples of “holy” or “constructive” doubt.

Michael: Sometimes, doubt can be fun. At others, it can be very hard. I feel one learns much more when going through a stage of doubt, including, as Harry has pointed out, that the beliefs of others may be just as valid as mine and that we are united through love.

David: To me, the key is that faith with doubt is possible. Uncertainty is vindicated by quantum science. A quantum—a subatomic particle—is on and off, up and down, left and right… until it is observed. It then become on or off, up or down, and so on. It becomes a certainty. Uncertainty and doubt are a basic state of things, it’s just the way it is. That so many overcome this basic state by observing their inner light is evidence that faith, too, is in the very nature of things. Faith and doubt are just two sides of the same coin.

Don: Jay has thrown down a gauntlet with regard to the question of good vs. bad types of doubt! We’ll pick it up next week.

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