This quote from Tim Keller’s The Reason for God has really challenged my thinking over the past two weeks:

A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the proving questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection. Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts—not only their own but their friends’ and neighbors’. It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them. Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive…

The two questions I wrote in the margin of the book were as follows: “What do I doubt?” and “What is the role of doubt within the context of Christian education?” I would like to talk through the former more personal question now and the latter question in my next post.

When I asked myself the question What do I doubt?, the answer was not immediately apparent. The first place I looked was at the traditional culprit—crisis. At the time of reflection and at the time of writing there is no crisis in my life, relationships, or circumstances. While many people seem to be living in a Dickens novel my life at this time feels more like an Asterix comic (near the inevitable banquet scene).

In the absence of identifiable doubt I started looking at the environment that could lead to doubt and this stark warning “A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.” I thought about the following questions in the context of my own spiritual life and I believe they have wider application among believers:

Am I relying on past spiritual experiences instead of present day spiritual vitality?

Do I refer to things that God has done last year or even decades ago without any thought to what God is doing in my own life right now?

Does the absence of doubt reflect spiritual contentment or indifference?

It is very easy (especially as men) to become invested in work or lifestyle pursuits that appear to fill the God-sized hole that we have in our lives. If life was a game of charades would I be labeled as content or indifferent?

Am I living towards my ultimate purpose?

There are many good things that I could be doing with my time and relationships. But are they the best things? How does my life reflect my ultimate purpose?

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About Jeremy Kwok

Jeremy grew up in Sydney before moving to the United States for tertiary studies. Jeremy completed the BA, MA (History), and M.Div degrees before returning to Australia with his wife Debbie. He currently works for Christian Education Ministries, a company that owns and operates private schools.

6 Comments

  1. George 11 July, 2011 at 7:55 am - Reply

    I read Tim Keller’s “The Reason for God” in May and enjoyed the emphasis on critical thinking as an evangelistic tool. On the other hand he is really boneheaded when discussing origins, but along with what you are saying, I’m constantly asking myself what are the strongest arguments on the other side. It’s important to keep challenging the ideas we agree with and wrestling with the strongest arguments of our opponents in order to clarify what we believe and what the Scripture actually teaches.

  2. PJ 11 July, 2011 at 10:16 am - Reply

    What is the difference between doubt and unbelief? Is there a difference?

  3. Jason Harris 11 July, 2011 at 10:32 am - Reply

    PJ’s got me thinking… that’s a really good question…

  4. Jeremy 11 July, 2011 at 12:19 pm - Reply

    @ George – I concur. Keller’s conclusion on the doubt paragraph is that Christianity is the answer to any doubts.

  5. Jeremy 11 July, 2011 at 12:21 pm - Reply

    @ PJ – Because the post is based on Keller’s book (not Bible) – I will do a lexical study to investigate the possible difference between doubt and unbelief. Great idea and comment – I’ll do it for my 3rd blog post.

    From the context of what Keller is saying – he is saying that doubt is any questions you might have as to the validity of Christianity whether or not you claim to be a Christian (but the quote specifically relates to professing Christians).

  6. Steve 14 July, 2011 at 1:28 am - Reply

    Doubts – When you are not sure something is true.
    Unbelief – When you are sure something is not true.

    “Am I relying on past spiritual experiences instead of present day spiritual vitality?”

    Should Christians think this way at all? It sounds like relying on present experience rather than past experience in order to erase doubt. I think both are equally dangerous and will lead to doubt. Doubts come from flaws or inconsistencies in ones epistemology. If a person bases their knowledge of truth on experience, doubt will inevitably result.

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