I have been in a conversation recently about doubt. Most specifically, the question that has risen is, “Can a true Christian doubt God at the most fundamental level.” A girl just wrote to me and said that she often envies Christians who don’t ever doubt. I told her that there is really no such thing. All people doubt!
Let me be clear (for this is something that many people would disagree with me on): I don’t think that belief should ever be conceived of as “black and white.” No, don’t go there. I am not talking about some form of relativism with regard to the nature of truth (i.e. there is no such thing as truth). What I am saying is that people vary with regard to the strength of their beliefs. And I am saying that this can vary from time to time. Belief can go up and down. In other words, belief is not something that you either have or you don’t.
I have already revealed my proposition (i.e. a truly born again believer can doubt). Let me define “fundamental level.” What I mean is that a Christian can doubt to such a degree that they even doubt the very existence of God. Yes, I am assuming that you have done the same. I have and sometimes still do.
Where did this come from? I had a different conversation today when a lady, whom no one would ever expect, came to me in confidence expressing her inner pain. “I have recently been doubting the existence of God,” she told me with much trepidation. I think that she was most surprised that I was not surprised (well, maybe a little).
A dictionary definition of a straight line is “the shortest path between two points.” The definition of doubt, at least from one perspective, is the line that bridges our faith and perfect faith. I am under the assumption that no one has perfect faith. If this is true, then everyone’s faith is lacking in some respect. This lack will take on different forms for different people and different circumstances. Sometimes it will show itself though particular habitual sins. Sometimes it is our own pride. Many times it takes the form of doubt at our most fundamental levels.
I don’t believe that this is wrong. Let me step back and rephrase. In a fallen world with fallen people—and Christians who are still battling the flesh—should we expect anything else? Do you really believe that once you become a Christian doubt is no longer a foe? So it is wrong only in the sense that living in a fallen world is wrong. It is bad to the degree that being a resurrection short of full redemption is bad.
These are the words of another who sent me an email today (it has been a day full of this issue for some reason): “I lived for so many years doubting as religion was crammed down my throat, and watched those very same people live in hatred and judgement…now I know that Christ is not about rituals, dogma, and I was so relieved to find out it was OK to question…I just didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
I can’t read too much into this, but my assumption is that many people, like the one above, are afraid to make a commitment because they have worked under the unfounded assumption that our faith must be perfect. J.P. Moreland once said if someone believes 51% and disbelieves 49%, they are a believer in that which holds the greatest percent.
Do Christians doubt? Of course we do. But this does not mean we don’t believe. You may be at 63%, 95%, or 51%, but know that your ability to rise above 50% is of the Lord. He is with you and will hold you tight. Doubt is a necessary by-product of imperfection. It is a necessary evil that accompanies us on our road to belief.
338 replies to "Can Christians Doubt?"
I fully agree! And I mea, come on! Is’nt everything always super magnified with God? So if I were to doubt Him or His promises in the least, wouldnt it be just as great? So I would have to concur that without a doubt (ha), doubt is something that will effect every Christian’s walk. Look at Martin Luther 😉
I find my most common areas of doubt come in the areas of exactly the breadth and nature of what it means to be “right with God” and within His grace. As I get older and, I hope, wiser, I also become more humble in this regard. How likely is it that the form of worship and belief about God that I grew up is the “one and only” way? Just lucky? While I still believe that the basic teachings of the Gospel (as opposed to so much of what is stressed in evangelical Christianity) is the path God has set out for us, I often doubt if it is the only path.
“Can Christians Doubt?”
Hmm… I’m not sure. 🙂
‘I don’t think that belief should ever be conceived of as “black and white.” ‘
I realize the “black and white” reference here is only to faith but you have expressed a similar view in other areas as well.
Just curious, how do you deal with John, especially in 1 John? He expresses himself through many “black/white”, “either/or” statements.
There are many times that I’ve wanted to convince myself that God didn’t exist, so that I could persuade myself to eat of some fruit. And a very few times that the deceiver made me fear that God didn’t exist.
I believe that both situations are pretty common for Christians.
Neither case indicates outright disbelief in God. The first case is when you desire sin so much that you allow your faith to diminish (all sin is caused by lack of faith). The second case is Satan tempting you to diminish your faith.
Or to put it another way, I don’t believe that most atheists even completely doubt God’s existence. The thirst for justice and mercy are innate, and have to be massively cauterized before someone’s heart is totally hardened.
Hmm… just some related observations…
I think if I thought about my best friend the same way I think about God I’d probably start experiencing doubt about the existence of my best friend, too. I think the reason for this isn’t that God’s impact on us is indirect; I think it’s because He’s so important to us. We don’t want to leave the faintest chance of being wrong.
Also, I’m not comfortable with the whole 50% talk… I can’t quantify doubt that finely, but I doubt 🙂 that I’ve never fallen below 50%. Those times when I did, did I lose my salvation for those few seconds? It just doesn’t seem to fit the Biblical evidence.
It’s clear, of course, that we *have* to believe that God exists, and rewards those who seek Him. It’s also clear that we — at least for some things — have to ask of God “nothing doubting” (James 1:6), although I’m not sure that “doubt” is the best translation there, perhaps the intention is that you’re not striving to prove God’s existence by your request, but rather genuinely asking for what you request. I’m saying that I don’t see a hard line of certainty. Clearly 0% certainty in God is unbelief, if such a thing were possible, but I don’t see how it could be, considering Romans 1.
…so many things to think about here.
Summary: I don’t think a percentage of doubt is a criteria for whether you’re a believer.
Lots of agreement with you. Although I think doubt is something we must fight against by taking every thought captive and seeking Christ. “I believe help me with my unbelief.” I think there’s a reason that’s recorded in the gospels. And to take every thought captive and to tear down any thought or philosophy that seeks to oppose Christ. This is the only way (through prayer and God’s help) that I’ve begun to find relief and when I stop it gets bad and I get really discouraged. I love you guys for your honesty and for the guy who runs this site for his humility.
We also have to remember that the opposite of faith isn’t doubt, but knowledge. There will be a time where we (Christians) won’t live by faith anymore.
Thank you for this post.
I think the newest members of the church must have doubted also. Perhaps the letters they received from the apostle’s pens were more about securing their faith than about addressing specific issues, even though specific issues were most certainly addressed. I am particularly thinking of Galatians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians and Philippians.
There are times when I doubt. As with most of us I guess it depends on which day of the week you catch me on.
If we didn’t have doubts there would be no need for faith.
Yes, Lisa, the greatest example is John the Baptist who sent people to ask, “Are you the one?” John, who was called the “greatest of all men” by Christ struggled in his faith.
I read this somewhere, but it makes sense: Opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty!
Alistair McGrath wrote a fine little book entited The Sunnier Side of Doubt, which some may find useful.
So, what about doubt?
Is commitment to a belief compatible with criticism of that belief? Put differently, is there any value in doubting my beliefs? How much doubt can I have in my beliefs and still hold them to be true?
I can be justified in holding the belief that my wife loves me while still being aware of the logical possibility that she may not love me. To say that I can recognize what it would look like if my wife did not love me is not to say that she in fact does not love me.
See my “Faith and Reason: Friends or Foes?”
Didn’t CS Lewis say that he doubted Christianity was true at times, but he had doubted it was false more as an atheist?
Or something like that?
Opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty!
Faith isn’t believing in something you think untrue, it is trusting in who you know to be true.
Increased certainty in the existence of God (and his faithfulness) enhances faith.
The problem with doubt comes, not when you’re dealing with it in intellectual terms, but in practical terms. The problem comes when you are asked to act on your beliefs.
For example, if I am convinced that, if there is a God (of which I may be 60% sure at that moment), he is a God who desires me to preach and convert others to the faith, how can I really do that effectively if I am only 60% sure of the truth of what I am preaching? How can I ask others to have confidence in something that I am not even 100% sure I believe. It becomes less about confidence and more about probability. I would be telling people that they should believe because it is more likely to be true than not. That’s not really faith, that’s… well, it’s closer to Pascal’s wager.
Also, consider this. You wrote: “You may be at 63%, 95%, or 51%, but know that your ability to rise above 50% is of the Lord.”
But isn’t this something of a contradiction? If I’m only at 63%, then how do I know that my ability to rise above 50% is of the Lord? I’m only 63% sure that he exists in the first place. So logically I can’t be more than 63% sure that he is helping me overcome my doubt.
This is sort of the problem with the way most of my teachers have taught me to deal with doubt. They say essentially this: “It is OK to doubt as long as you come out on the other side still believing in God.” Well, how can you really doubt effectively if one conclusion is automatically ruled out as a possibility? Thus you are stuck in this endless middle ground, not having the kind of confidence necessary to really live the kind of life that your faith requires of you (taking steps that are more guesses than anything else), but unable to deny it either. It renders you incapable of any real kind of intellectual honesty because you can’t seriously entertain the thought of believing something other than what you already know that you’re supposed to believe, at least not without intense feelings of guilt.
Honestly, I am struggling with this kind of doubt myself, and I am finding that even the least bit of doubt is utterly crippling to the walk of faith, especially when it has a bearing on others. With these doubts, I can still try to live a Christ-like life, but when it comes time to preach it to others, I find the doubt to be utterly paralyzing. How do you deal with this?
I’m very sorry this was 6 years ago, but. Gary Habermas has wrote a lot on this crippling doubt. Check out the material on his sight garyhabermas.com check out the books section. The Thomas factor and how to deal with doubts are amazing resources. Blessings to you.
I think these are 2 verses that really trip people up when it comes to doubting and looking down on those who do, especially in more legalistic circles:
Hebrews 11:6 – and without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
James 1:6-7 – but he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord
“With these doubts, I can still try to live a Christ-like life, but when it comes time to preach it to others, I find the doubt to be utterly paralyzing. How do you deal with this?”
I believe this is why the Lord commanded that we be baptized and partake of His Supper.
So that we might have assurance amidst our doubts.
Just another article that goes against the Word of God. Author is saying doubt is ok while Jesus is encouraging to have no doubt. Author’s standards and Jesus’ standards are as far away as the East is from the West.
Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Mat 21:21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
Mark 11:23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
James 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
I think our Christian writers need to get back to respecting the Word of God as it is written without manipulation or alteration.
Did anybody wonder that why there was no Bible verse given to back up the claim that doubt is ok? Today many times people are trusting their own imagination instead of trusting God’s Word.
Vinod, yours is a very sad, sad statement and completely misses the point of the article.
We all cannot walk on water like you apparently can.
Os Guinness, in In Two Minds: The Dilemma of Doubt and How To Resolve It (1976), makes the point that the opposite of belief is not doubt, but unbelief. Doubt, he argued, is the state of being in two minds at the same time; it is to be a double-minded person.
Seemed to normalize doubt for me.
Vinod Isaac,
Our entire way of being goes against the Word of God.
That’s why He had to come and be staked to wood for us.
If you don’t agree, I would ask that you read Luke 14:33 and see what else Jesus said we must do. And then honestly ask yourself if you are doing it.
Thank you.
Vinod yes, our entire way of being does run contrary to God (Romans 8:7). It’s Paul says in Galatians 5:16-17 that the flesh and Spirit are at odds with each other.
But he also indicates in Romans 7 this will pose a continual struggle within us, and that may too cause doubt.
You need to cut your doubting brothers and sisters some slack.
Lisa,
No it doesn’t miss the point.
Jesus has rebuked so many times saying “O you of little faith”. Point of what Jesus said is if you don’t have faith you need to increase it.
Mat 6:30 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Mat 8:26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Mat 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Mat 16:8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?
Mark 9:22 “And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Mat 17:16 “So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”
Mark 6:5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.
Mark 6:6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Do you see that there are tons of places where it says exactly opposite to what author is saying in his article? I can give you many more verses where Jesus said “Your faith has made you well”
Vinod Isaac,
When Jesus says, if you had faith you could move mountains, or when He says you could tell that tree to jump into the sea and it would…He is not spurring us on to greater faith but rather He is pointing out that WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH OF IT.
It is not the amount of faith that we have that is the important thing, but the object of that faith that is important.
God has many of us by a thread on our collar…but He has us nonetheless.
Hi Steve,
you asked
“If you don’t agree, I would ask that you read Luke 14:33 and see what else Jesus said we must do. And then honestly ask yourself if you are doing it.”
My answer is yes I am doing it. I have renounced my way of doing things and have embraced God’s way of doing things. The things that were dear to me are no more my first priorities.
I wanted to go for Electronics Engineering and was adament on it but Lord asked me to go for Computer programming. Well kicking and screaming I finally ended up in Computer programming.
He didn’t say renounce “your way of doing things”.
He said, “renounce all that you have.”
Get rid of everything.
Steve,
you said
“It is not the amount of faith that we have that is the important thing, but the object of that faith that is important.”
That is just a way to twist things. Jesus did say repeatedly “O you of little faith”. Either it is amount or object doesn’t matter all that matters is that we need to replace dobut with faith.
Yes most of the time it is very hard to do but it is essential. Situation you see on ground makes more impact on human brain than the things unseen. Reality on the ground obscures our view of what God is going to do or God is able to do.
We all like to do what is easy but if we go one step further and tap into the area of faith we can see much more of God’s hand moving.
Vinod Isaac,
I’m glad that you have such a great handle on things.
“Thank you Lord that I am not like other men”
Vinod,
I’m trying to figure out what you think CMP was saying.
Is it something like this? “It’s OK to doubt–if you find yourself doubting, that’s not a problem to be fixed. It’s just the way things are. It’s fine to stay that way.”
Hi steve,
Check these two links.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Luke+14%3A33§ion=0&version=str&new=1&oq=&NavBook=lu&NavGo=14&NavCurrentChapter=14
http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=1438&version=kjv
first one is Luke 14:33 KJV with strong’s numbers. Second link is meaning of greek word that is not translated in Luke 14:33 which you find as just * with underline. That word means himself so if I interpret like you that will mean that one need to get rid of himself. Well ofcourse I am not going to kill myself.
I think that underlines your problem with the interpetation of that verse.
Vinod Isaac,
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
I’m glad that you are spending every spare moment helping others and “giving youself up”.
I’m sure that you always go to the prisons and visit the incarcerated, I’m sure that you go to the nursing homes each weekday after work and that work in the homeless shelters on the weekends, foregoing watching T.V., or taking vacations for yourself.
I’m sure you live on a very thin margin of income and give the rest to the poor.
I’m glad you are doing all those things that Jesus wants us to do. It proves that you do have strong faith.
Vinod Isaac,
I’m curious, what do you think faith is or what is your definition of the term?
And how does one “increase their faith”? Are their steps to be taken, or how does one gage when their faith has increased or stayed the same?
Hi steve,
From where you get that list of items to be done? I don’t read them in the Bible.
How much of it did Jesus do? I don’t see Him doing any of what you have written.
Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Jesus didn’t say deny yourself and go to nursing home or homeless shelter. All He said was “follow Me”
Don’t take me wrong. I am not saying that all the things you mentioned are wrong. What I am trying to say is those things don’t equal “follow Me”.
Thanks Joshua for that question.
Desciples asked very same question.
Luke 17:5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
Jesus replied like this.
Luke 17:6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Well desciples can say Jesus we don’t need another lecture we want our faith to be increased. What did Jesus do here? He just increased their faith. Believe me after hearing this 6th verse desciples had more faith than they had in verse 5.
How? they heard the Word of God
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If people just stop listening to teachers who destroy faith and start hearing God’s Word they can increase their faith.
Every time you read the Word of God pause for a moment and think “do I believe that verse or passage”? Can I believe it unaltered?
Also, we need to take every thought captive and replace doubtful thoughts with the truth from God’s Word.
Vinod Isaac,
I have no doubt that you are a Christian. I went to your website and you proclaim Jesus.
But you have a lot to learn about the law of God. It’s demand upon us is relenting.
Jesus said “when I was in prison you visited me, when I was sick you came to me” (Matthew 25:36)
We flat out refuse to live the way that Jesus tells us to live.
We might do those things once in awhile, when it is convenient and won’t take too much of our resources (and even then our motives are not pure).
But we are selfish at heart and need a Savior.
“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If you are one (a real sinner) then you qualify.
That’s the Good News.
So what does one do when they come across a verse like Matthew 21:21?
Are they suppose to read that verse again and again until they have the faith to literally move mountains and throw them into the sea?
Again, I’m confused at the method by which you are employing the use of the Word of God in “increasing your faith”. Is human reason used in this process or is it purely based on what the text is telling you at the time you read it? In other words is it based on your subjective experience with God through reading His Word?
Hi Jugulum,
I will put it this way. Any one who reads CMP’s article, his/her faith will go down like stock market goes down.
Jesus tells us quite plainly that we DO NOT HAVE FAITH THAT WOULD AMOUNT TO THE SIZE OF A MUSTARD SEED.
He gives us faith. We don’t need much (Thanks be to God!).
Some have weak faith and some a stronger faith. Whatever we have…it is enough.
Vinod,
That didn’t answer my question. It tells me what you think the ramifications of CMP’s post are. It doesn’t tell me what you think CMP was saying.
I’m going to repeat my question–because (1) it’s difficult to tell what you mean without being clear on what you think you’re disagreeing with, and (2) I think there’s a good chance that you misunderstood the point of the post.
What do you think CMP was saying? Is it something like this?
“It’s OK to doubt–if you find yourself doubting, that’s not a problem to be fixed. It’s just the way things are. It’s fine to stay that way.”
Or in other words, what do you think was CMP’s main point?
Hi steve,
Jesus said “when I was in prison you visited me, when I was sick you came to me” (Matthew 25:36)
I don’t see a connection of this verse with “deny yourself”. A real Christian will do lot of such things by himself because of the nature of Christ put in us.
I remember somebody asking me for financial help and I was myself in financial trouble that time. I went ahead and helped him anyway and I told him he didn’t need to repay me back.
Another time I was in big financial trouble. Some believers helped me and they said the very same thing that I don’t need to repay them although I told them that when I get money I will reply.
Till that time I had seen people who give money and come back often and ask that when I am going to repay. So I could see that in the love of Christ we do it not expecting anything in return while the world out their does it expecting return with interest.
Far greater than doing these things we proclaim that Jesus saves. Out of compassion we help and we have to do it but if we can not move with compassion for the dying world that is dying in sin we are not following Him.
We don’t have that burning desire to reach to 6 billion people of the world and are satisfied with small things we do for the Lord then some thing is seriously wrong with us.
Vinod,
What or who exactly is the object of your faith? Is it in God or the ability to have faith?
Vinod I think your causing me to become a doubter……
Hi Joshua,
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The more you read the Word and put your trust on it, faith will automatically increase.
No matter if you repeatedly read the same portion over and over again or read different portions.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
Col 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…..”
Man, I doubt almost everything sometimes. The existence of God, the veracity of Scripture, the truth of Christianity. What else have you got? Serve it up and I’ll doubt it.
As someone hinted at earlier, maybe I accept Christianity only because of where I was born and grew up. Had I been born in the USSR would I be an atheist? If in India, a hindu? Japan, buddhist? It is said that if you hear something often enough, you’ll believe it’s true. I was born in a “Christian” nation, therefore exposed heavily to Christianity, which I accepted. That does not make it true.
Other faiths hold their beliefs with great conviction, willing to die (and to kill) for them. Yet we say their beliefs are false. How do I know mine are true? Because I believe them? Because my “Faith” is strong? I find that to be a terrifying possibility. I look with dread on the possibility that I’ve invested my life in something that may not be true, so I constantly look hard at my beliefs to see if they can hold up under examination.
I can easily imagine a scenario in which fear of death leads to development of religion. McCartney sings “At the end of the end, It’s the start of a journey to a much better place.” That could just be wishful thinking because he wants to see Linda again, and cannot bear the possibility that she is forever ended. We don’t want life to end. And that’s just an extension of the same survival instinct that makes my backyard chickens panic when a coyote gets in the yard. So we make up an afterlife and sing songs about it. I’m reminded of the rabbit poets in “Watership Down.”
It’s easy to doubt.
In the big picture, doubt can be helpful, because it makes me examine evidence for what I believe. Maybe it’s even essential. I think we could say that the whole field of apologetics is founded on doubt. And apologetics has established tremendous evidence for Christianity and given me “reason to believe.” My beliefs are stronger and more settled by the fruits, if you will, of doubt.
Jesus tells Niccodemus that “the Holy Spirit creates faith when and where He wills”.
It is a gift of God, and is not automatic.
This stuff is not magic, you know.
Hi lisa,
That’s a wrong question. That’s a trick of devil to divert people away from trying to increase their faith. Some body has brain washed the believers with such tricky questions.
“ability to have faith” is not an object of faith.
object of faith is obviously “God”.
question is how much faith or trust do we have on God and God’s ability?
I am sure you may have heard Billy Graham narrating wheel barrow story.
He turned to the crowd: ‘How many of you believe I can
roll a man across?’
Everybody shouted they believe but when asked to get into the wheelbarrow no body was ready. That is the level of faith we have when It comes to put God’s Word into practice in our own lives.
Question is when Jesus asks do you believe can we say yes Lord we believe and can we really act on that faith?
Mark 9:24 “Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief.”
steve,
I don’t see Jesus saying that to nicodemous. May be you are trying to quote something else?
Here is what Jesus said.
John 3:12 “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
I don’t know what you mean by it is not automatic or it is not magic.
Hi Jugulum,
I repeat what I said that CMP’s article is designed to destroy faith. Devil has played his tricks that people don’t believe and keep doubting.
This articles just serves the purpose of Devil and contradicts everything Jesus said.