In his book ‘keep the faith’, Martin Ayers says this,
“when you are battling nagging doubt about a particular issue it’s important to think carefully about the alternative. In order for your doubt to be valid, something else must be true.”
There is a lot to appreciate in the point that Martin makes. It’s very easy to doubt something without considering the consequences of our doubt. Sometimes we think that dismissing in disbelief the subject of our doubts we are then dealing with the issue, that nothing further is required of us. In Martin’s book he is explicitly thinking about the Christian Faith, but his point is applicable to many other fields. To merely dismiss an idea but not fill the void that it once took is not enough is it? Well I don’t think it is. But all too often that’s what we do.
We are to carefully consider our options as we confront our doubts. This is perhaps one of the harder practices to assume when confronting doubts because it does not come naturally to us. Doubt is such an emotional journey and it causes such turmoil within us at times that careful consideration is often asking too much. But let me encourage you anyways. In your doubt; stop and pause, take a metaphorical walk in the woods away from the tense and horror filled house of doubt, let your mind settle, sit by that pond with your legs crossed, breath in the good vibes of the universe. Then return to those doubts and start considering afresh. Incidentally, it’s amazing what a good night sleep will do to someone!
There will always come a time when we must do what Martin says, that is, continually test what we believe unless there be something more valid to believe in. But we don’t merely consider what we believe as we test its buoyancy through the precarious waters of doubt. Be pre-emptive. Prepare for the storms ahead because sometimes they are fierce. Do your future self a favour and consider the claims of atheism, buddhism, new-age spirituality, or anything else. But more importantly, do your future self a favour by investigating Christianity more and more. Hopefully you’re already doing this or perhaps you don’t even realise you are. Regular church, regular Bible study attendance, regular reading, even just regular chats as we catch up with each other. All of these are doing your future self a great service for the seasons of doubt.
Moving on, let’s revisit this line, “it’s important to think carefully about the alternative.” When pondering the alternatives as we consider that which we doubt, it’s fair to say we’re often blind to the myriad of options that are out there. I think this goes both ways. That is, considering the strengths of the Christian faith and the relative weakness of other worldviews. If we are doubting the Christian faith, it’s more likely we haven’t considered the breadth and the depth of it. The roots of the Christian faith are deep and it has weathered many storms. All of this has left it stronger. On the flipside, we often think that arguments against Christianity have more weight than they do. It’s probably that we haven’t really stressed the metals of these other worldviews. You’d be surprised that the tungsten of atheism, the steel of Buddhism, and the titanium of new-age spiritualism are just thin sheets wrapped around some soggy MDF boards. They won’t hold as much weight as you might think. In my own personal experience, we often face a problem and become overwhelmed by it. This then gives us tunnel vision and we suddenly feel like we are the only person facing this problem, that there is no viable alternatives to consider and that we must come up with the invention of the wheel from ground zero to face our nuclear threat.
But what happens next? Maybe we pluck up the courage to tell someone our problems, or we are so despondent and despairing that we simply vent them. At which point we are surprised to hear our fellow comrade say something to the effect of, “oh yes that ancient problem! I remember going through that existential crisis myself when I was your age. I found reading “so and so”, and “what’s his name…” really helpful. Then I came to realise [insert important fact we hadn’t realised] and also [insert more important facts we hadn’t realised]. It’s a wild ride! Anyways, I’m always here if you want help thinking about it or more resources.”
I bet you’ve had a similar conversation to that. And I bet you were wondering, “but how can that person have such confidence about [subject that I’m struggling with]?! They must be ignoring the facts or something. They must be ignorant!” More often they are not ignoring the facts. They are simply further along the journey than you are. There are so many ways in which this scenario plays out in all of our lives. It’s not just about the Christian faith. We face this in many different ways: at work, in raising kids, the leisurely pursuit of some other intellectual niche we’re interested in. But most importantly we do face it in the Christian faith. For most of us it won’t be a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’. Hopefully we will face these times of doubt well, with thoughtfulness, with diligence, with others, and with prayer.
Ayers, Martin. Keep the Faith: Shift Your Thinking on Doubt. Kingsford, N.S.W.: Matthias Media, 2012. p.85
Bigvai and Shiphrah 