Ok, I'm reading this book by Tim Keller called "The Reason For God". So far it is a great book! In the opening chapter he brings up the issue of doubt. He made a really profound statement that I have been thinking about ever since. On Page 17 of the introduction he states" All doubts, however skeptical or cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs. You cannot doubt belief A except from a position of faith in belief B."
That got the wheels spinning for me about the doubts that I have as a believer. All the doubts that I have are really a belief in something else. Can I identify the underlying belief that is at the root of the doubts that I wrestle with?
For example:
I sometimes have trouble believing that a miracle has occurred. Someone may say to me, "God healed me from my migraine headache!" To which I will respond outwardly" Praise God! That's awesome!" But on the inside I am really questioning if a miracle really took place or if the migraine headache just went away. Why do I doubt that it was a miracle? It could be that I believe that God only does miracles in big ways like blindness, leprosy, and raising the dead. Or , more likely, because my experience with people and their propensity to claim God did something that He in fact, did not do, I believe the person telling me the story is embellishing or just emotional.
What doubts do you struggle with and what are the corresponding beliefs that accompany them?
2 comments:
So if I doubt that you're really doubting, but in fact just trying to pass on a belief, is that a belief that I doubted the doubt? Just saying...got to think about that side of the spectrum too.
So true Mike! I think you got this one figured out!
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