Prodigal: Do you like my mustache?
Me: Yes, but I doubt that it is real.
Prodigal: How did you know.
Me: I took a real close look at it.
This is from the book The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
Lets’ begin with believers. 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.
Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts–not only their own but their friend’s 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. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.
I have questioned my beliefs a thousand times and then took them in prayer to the Lord. What I know more than anything. I am not crazy and my faith is real!
Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
