{"id":827,"date":"2021-08-17T20:21:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T00:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/?p=827"},"modified":"2021-08-17T20:45:37","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T00:45:37","slug":"dealing-with-doubt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/dealing-with-doubt\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with Doubt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd have mercy on those who doubt.\u201d – Jude 22<\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll never forget the first time I seriously questioned my faith. I was thirteen, sitting in the back of a Christmas Eve service, and as I looked up at the church ceiling, I thought, \u201cHow do I know this isn\u2019t all made up?\u201d Feeling the tears build in my eyes, I rushed out of the sanctuary to collect myself. As I sat in the lobby, a domino effect of uncertainty and confusion set in. I began to question more and more of what I had been brought up to believe. I felt overcome with fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

My fear stemmed from a view of faith as a binary thing that you either had or didn\u2019t have. Growing up in church, sometimes I\u2019d look around and it would feel like every other Christian had it all figured out, with complete confidence in their convictions. I wanted to be that way too, so I\u2019d act like I didn\u2019t have any doubts. I would hear stories about people who had left the faith after they had started doubting; so at some point, I developed this notion that if I were a real Christian, I wouldn\u2019t experience doubt. Doubt became something to avoid, to push away, or to treat like it didn\u2019t exist. As a result, I came to fear it. Once I grew older and the questions kept piling up without being addressed, eventually, I hit a breaking point. I had all this doubt built up and absolutely no idea how to feel about it, where to go with it, or what my life would look like if I ever made it out.<\/span><\/p>\n

I know I\u2019m not alone in having felt this way. In fact, it seems to be very common. There are a lot of things in the world that can lead someone to doubt. It could be a family member receiving a concerning diagnosis, a news station describing the latest tragedy, or something as simple as curiously searching a Bible question on Google and being bombarded by dozens of skeptical and atheistic responses. Sometimes, the messiness of it all makes it feel like we just can\u2019t believe what Christianity teaches. This is only worsened by COVID-19, where prolonged isolation and a spotlight on worldwide suffering bring with them a slew of new questions, magnifying whatever uncertainties about Christianity we may have had previously. Christians today need to be prepared to deal with doubt, both in our own lives and our communities, but we can\u2019t be ready if it\u2019s something of which we are fearful.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is why Matthew 11 has quickly become one of my favorite passages in the Bible. In this chapter, John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus and even baptized Him, has just been put in prison. Likely awaiting death, he has his followers ask Jesus a question on his behalf: \u201cAre you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?\u201d<\/span>1<\/span><\/p>\n

This question still shocks me when I read it because it reveals that John the Baptist had some serious doubts about his faith. I know that if I were in John\u2019s position, I would have been absolutely terrified to ask this question. John, the man who was related to Jesus and witnessed His miracles and teachings, the man who talked about Jesus by proclaiming \u201cthis joy of mine is now complete.\u201d<\/span>2<\/span> You\u2019d think if anyone had confidence that Jesus was the Christ, it would be John the Baptist! Yet, there he was, publicly questioning Jesus\u2019 validity, doubting the very faith that he had once championed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed that when talking to people about how their doubts have been received, their experiences generally fall into one of two camps. The first is that people feel their concerns are inflated, where the doubter ends up feeling judged or reprimanded for asking questions. The second is to have their concerns mitigated, to be told their doubt will fade away and that all it takes is more faith. Both of these approaches can lead people to fear their doubts, which is why Jesus\u2019 response to John is so amazing. Jesus says, \u201cThe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.\u201d<\/span>3<\/span><\/p>\n

At first glance, Jesus\u2019 response can seem confusing. John asked a yes or no question, so why didn\u2019t Jesus answer accordingly? However, in this context, His response was really a resounding \u201cyes.\u201d New Testament scholar Craig Evans elaborates by referring to<\/span> 4Q521,<\/span><\/i> a Dead Sea Scrolls fragment that describes what some of Jesus\u2019 contemporaries thought should be happening in the world when the Messiah arrived. Evans explains that \u201cJesus has appealed to some of the same passages and phrases that were employed by the author of <\/span>4Q521<\/span><\/i>… In answering John’s question in this way, Jesus has clearly implied that he is indeed Israel’s Messiah, for the wonderful things that are supposed to happen when the Messiah appears are in fact happening in Jesus\u2019 ministry.\u201d<\/span>4<\/span> Jesus doesn\u2019t just have an answer; He has evidence that backs up his answer, showing John that there is good reason to keep the faith. By pointing to what He has done in the world, Jesus reminds John that despite the circumstances, Jesus is the One who is in control.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus then goes on to say, \u201cAmong those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.\u201d<\/span>5<\/span><\/i> Given how disrespectful John\u2019s doubt would have appeared to be, it would have been easy for Jesus to either attack John or ignore his question. However, Jesus not only takes the question seriously but also builds John\u2019s confidence back up with His response. As American theologian Russell Moore points out, \u201cA narcissistic cult leader or political guru would be offended by this wobbliness, but Jesus was not.\u201d<\/span>6 <\/span><\/p>\n

I think Christians can benefit greatly if we take Matthew 11 to heart when dealing with doubt, both for ourselves and our fellow believers. Doubt doesn\u2019t have to be something we fear, because if even John the Baptist had major doubts in his journey, it\u2019s safe to say that we probably will too. Instead, we can encourage Christians to be open about their uncertainties, knowing that they are a natural part of our faith journey. For most Christians I know, myself included, doubts have ultimately played a key role in strengthening our faith by acting as an invitation to investigate and understand what one really believes and why. If we treat doubt appropriately and make sure to imitate Jesus in building up our brothers and sisters when they\u2019re struggling, crises of faith can turn into catalysts of faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the months following that Christmas Eve service, I was able to work through my doubts thanks to the help of many wonderful Christian mentors. However, I would be lying if I said they didn\u2019t return frequently. Life is weird and messy, and just about anything in a pandemic can cause you to feel uncertain. Remarkably, I no longer fear doubt. Just like with John, regardless of circumstances, I can take comfort in looking to the very real things that Jesus said and did in the world and be at peace knowing that at the end of the day, Jesus still is the Christ. He still died and overcame the grave for us. He still is Lord, and He still loves us.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

FOOTNOTES:<\/span><\/p>\n

1 Matthew 11:3 ESV<\/span><\/p>\n

2 John 3:29 ESV<\/span><\/p>\n

3 Matthew 11: 5-6 ESV<\/span><\/p>\n

4 Evans, Craig A. <\/span>Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels.<\/span><\/i> IVP, 2007. <\/span><\/p>\n

5 Matthew 11:11 ESV<\/span><\/p>\n

6 Russell, Moore. \u201cReal Christian Courage Looks like Elijah at His Most Pathetic.\u201d Christianity Today, 18 Mar. 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew Nachamkin \u201924 is a prospective Statistics major at Williams College. From Cold Spring, NY, he enjoys theater, basketball, and reading on his Kindle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd have mercy on those who doubt.\u201d – Jude 22 I\u2019ll never forget the first time I seriously questioned my faith. I was thirteen, sitting in the back of a Christmas Eve service, and as I looked up at the church ceiling, I thought, \u201cHow do I know this isn\u2019t all made up?\u201d Feeling the … Continue reading “Dealing with Doubt”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2579,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49347],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issues"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":831,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions\/831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/telos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}