Author: David Ellis

Don: As we discussed last week, it seems that in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall, there was neither faith nor doubt. Adam and Eve “walked by sight and not by faith.” There was no ambiguity in Genesis about who owned and ran the Garden: It was god. The two important trees in the…

Here is one of a series of “Big Questions Videos” made by this year’s Templeton Prize winner, Msgr. Prof. Tomáš Halík. It asks the question: How can atheists be embraced by those with faith? It seems very relevant to much of what we have been discussing, and it seems to reach very similar conclusions.

Jay: To get us started, here are some random quotes about doubt from the Internet: Doubt is too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. Seeking to know is, only too often, learning to doubt. Faith that does not doubt is dead faith. Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an…

Don: Doubt can lead to growth in faith or to disillusionment. What factors—inherent or external to the thing doubted—influence the direction of our doubt? The stages of faith model we have been discussing allows for the fact that some people may never move from one stage to another; but the model nevertheless does describe the…

Don: As we have discussed, doubt that leads to spiritual growth is instructive, a tonic, medicinal. I call this “intellectual doubt,” because it stems from an incomplete dataset, from questions to which there is no apparent answer. It is a spur to action, to inquiry, to investigation—to a search for answer or at least some…

Robin: Henry Drummond (1851-1897), a scientist, evangelist, and lecturer at the Free Church College of Scotland wrote in a sermon entitled “Dealing with Doubt”: Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is “can’t believe”; unbelief is “won’t believe.” Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content…

Don: Doubt is a double-edged sword. It can be a Christian virtue that drives one to seek deeper spiritual understanding, to open one’s mind to god. Or, it can be destructive and lead to spiritual disillusionment, leaving one paralyzed in faith. Jacob’s story provides a window on some of the struggles we have with our…

Don: Doubt seems to run counter to faith and is therefore to be discouraged. For example: James 1:5-6: But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for…

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…