Written by: CampUs4
2/17/2010 10:52 AM

 Redeeming the D-Word: How to Handle Doubt

(part 1 of 2)

by Wilson McCoy

Growing up in church, I believed doubt was a dirty word. Doubt meant weak faith and put any assurance of salvation into a state limbo.

Therefore, I smothered any faith concern (e.g., wondering if my baptism “counted” because I wore an earplug when I went under). In my mind doubt was a one-way ticket to being burnt at the stake, so I kept all suspicions hidden. I was far too young to be sacrificed as a heretic. 

For most of my life doubt meant having no belief, being entirely negative, indifferent, or just having an excuse for doing whatever a person wanted to do.

In the New Testament, James’ warning about being “double-minded” makes clear that not all doubt is inherently good or healthy in the walk of faith (James 1:5-8). However, I thought all doubt was just a false veneer for stagnancy and apathy. 

The dirtiness of the d-word changed, however, when I began to see doubt in a different light. The story that altered my assumptions occurs in Matthew 9:27-31. Two blind men approach Jesus and cry out for mercy. He responds by asking them, “Do you believe I am able to do this?” Jesus makes room for these men to look inside themselves, to question, and to make a faith declaration. He turns a moment of truth into a moment of questioning—a moment of doubt. When viewed as an honest questioning, doubt potentially becomes a doorway to faith and an avenue of transformation. At least it did for these men. 

This shift in one’s perception of doubt from a shameful problem to a growth opportunity is the starting place for learning how to deal with doubt. From here it takes great courage to embrace doubts instead of avoiding or denying them. Yes, hard questions will likely take us to some very difficult places, but faith that is not pruned with regular doses of doubt is bound for death. It is essential for believers to question their convictions, to investigate their assumptions, and to confess their doubts for what they are. Confession here does not necessarily mean a negative admittance of sin. It’s an act in which believers voice and own their questions. 

In addition, an essential resource for handling doubt is community. Faith was never intended to be a solo enterprise. In fact, implied in the very act of confession is the presence of another person to hear and receive what the confessor voices. Faith mentors, confidants, and counselors are all needed reservoirs of belief with whom we can journey while working through our doubts.

Following people of faith is still a faithful posture.  Sometimes the purpose of the church is to believe for us while we cannot believe for ourselves. Ironically, and sadly, many people often leave this very group that should be supporting them through their faith crisis because they mistake the church for God. 

I am adamant about affirming the need for faithful individuals and communities because I was profoundly blessed with a faith mentor who walked with me during a particularly dark time in my life. Each week when we met, he offered me the same challenge: “Live as if the Story were true.” This phrase resonated because I realized that part of my struggle of belief hinged upon the fact that I was trying to believe a Jesus I was not trying to follow.

Courage. Confession. Community. Challenge. I believe these four dimensions are starting places when trying to figure out how to handle doubt. Doubt is not the unforgivable sin (reading Twilight more than once is the unforgivable sin). Questions and doubts can be normal and good for the people of God. Your current doubts are not a sign of apostasy, but may just be a time of cutting back so that new, deeper faith can grow.

Wilson McCoy plans to graduate this May with a Master of Divinity degree from Abilene Christian University. He was born and raised in Tennessee and received his undergraduate degree from Lipscomb University in Nashville. Wilson has served churches in his home state and Brisbane, Australia, and is currently the preaching minister for a local congregation.

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