Research shows that one of the top reasons youth walk away from their faith is they don’t have a safe place to express their doubts. Instead, they are given the impression that it is wrong to doubt and they just need to have faith, but is this really what God wants?
When famous defender of Christianity, Josh McDowell, was told by his son that he didn’t know if he believed anymore, he was actually delighted and encouraged his son not to be afraid of having questions but to keep seeking the truth. He knew that his son needed to make his faith his own and wrestling with doubts was a key part of this journey. Eventually, his son was able to come out the other side with an even stronger conviction in God and now he too is in full time ministry encouraging others to seek truth also.
As Christian author and speaker Tim Keller said, “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 probing 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.”
Doubts should not be ignored, instead they should motivate us in the pursuit of truth which we have no reason to fear.
I’m Becky Gillespie from Thinking Matters and this has been your Thought for the Week.
For more reasons to believe visit thinkingmatters.org.nz