There are a lot of beliefs in our culture, beliefs the likes of…
• Donald Trump is racist
• Lady Gaga is a bad influence
• Science and the Bible do not mix
• You should act upon whatever sexual orientation and desires you have or think you may have
• Kanye West is a genius
• Humans evolved from a single-celled organism over millions of years
• The Earth is thousands of years old
• The Big Bang model explains the beginning of the universe
• You can be a good person without believing in God
• Religion is responsible for most wars
Now, whether or not you identify as a Christian, I image you would either hold to – or doubt – at least one of the above beliefs.
Here are some quick points… First: it is NOT within the scope of this post to debate whether or not any of the items in this list are TRUE or FALSE. Second: doubt is healthy; doubt in and of itself is not a problem. What is a problem, however (and where it gets sticky), is when our doubt becomes unhealthy. Therefore, it is 100% within the scope of this post to challenge you on whether or not how you carry your beliefs – or doubts – reflects a commitment to truth. After all, why believe in something if it isn’t true?
Answer: NO reason at all!
So how is doubt unhealthy? Unhealthy doubt is when we are skeptic of some belief, but without a sincere interest in the truth of said belief. For example, suppose someone tells you they affirm that all life evolved from a single self-replicating organism hundreds of millions of years ago. If you had unhealthy doubt regarding this belief, then you wouldn’t genuinely care whether or not this belief was true; you would simply dismiss it. We might do this subconsciously and, unfortunately, we might do this often. Not sure? Let’s ask some introspective questions to self-evaluate:
• Do I question everything related to a belief, except the belief itself?
• Do I tear down the person making the claim, instead of the claim?
• Am I open-minded about new information related to that belief/doubt? To put it another way, am I willing to confront the idea that the available evidence lowers the amount of certainty that justifies my own belief/doubt?
• Do I care about WHY someone would disagree with my belief/skepticism?
• If my belief was false, would I still believe it?
• If it turned out God did not exist, would you still be a Christian?
• If it turned out God does exist and is who he is described to be in the bible, would you stop being an atheist?
While we’re mulling over our approaches to doubt, let us also realize that, strikingly, unhealthy belief looks nearly identical to unhealthy doubt. The common ground both these kinds of irresponsible thinking have is the absence of sincere interest in the truth.
In other words, it is possible to have an unhealthy belief that God exists. That is, it is entirely possible for a person to dismiss genuine objections to Christianity – and even clarification questions from curious folks – simply because we don’t want to risk that we’re wrong. A healthy commitment to truth would address objections because we want to know the truth and act accordingly.
(As a sidenote: Christians believe that Jesus is the truth. So if it is the case that Christianity is true, then any investigation of objections/doubt in which our pursuit is the truth should inevitably steer us back to Jesus. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for a Christian to not be highly committed to investigating how and whether Christianity is able to address common objections and questions.)
Suppose we’ve established we have a genuine pursuit of truth, wherever that truth comes from, and whatever implication that entails for our lives. Let us further suppose we think we hold to a true belief about reality. For example, suppose we have arrived at the conclusion it is demonstrably true (or false) that the God of the Bible exists and is who he says he is. Is saying we know the truth of a matter – in this case, God’s existence – arrogant? It depends.
If we – or someone – know(s) the truth of a matter, then the next question is naturally, “Well, how can we really say – in humility – that a belief is true? Isn’t this essentially implying that we are right and that someone holding to the opposing view is wrong?” At face value, it is not arrogant to be unwilling to budge on a belief that is demonstrably true, let alone to hold to said belief. For example, it is not arrogant or wrong to be unwilling to back off the belief that 1 + 1 = 2. It would be arrogant (and an exercise in unhealthy thinking), however, if someone came to you with some airtight mathematical proof that you were unwilling to consider at all.
And despite the fact we may have some demonstrably true beliefs about reality, there is still a lot we do not know about the world around us. Even the greatest minds of our species have been wrong in the past. Plus, we’re just finite beings with limited resources. How can we trust what we think we know? Just because humans do not have all the answers does not mean that therefore there are no conclusive answers to be had about the nature of reality. The most we can do with our beliefs is examine the appropriate evidence – be it empirical, mathematical, deductive argumentation, etc. – and hold to whatever conclusion is the best explanation for that body of evidence… all while maintaining a healthy exercise of belief and, yes, doubt.
