Doubt Facets

Question 1

Facets of doubt

Answer 1

Intelectual

Emotional

Question 2

What underlies emotional doubt

Answer 2

fear, anger, worry, depression, confusion, usually produced by suffering, injustice, and evil.

Question 3

What is the value of suffering in a Christian’s life?

Answer 3

Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “Suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”6 Notice the
progressive cause-effect relationship here. As we suffer we must choose to endure. And as we endure something amazing happens. Character is
produced. And as we observe this character formation taking place, we are infused with hope.

Question 4

Intelectual doubt

Answer 4

We experience intellectual doubt when we struggle to find an answer to
a question we’ve stumbled upon

Question 5

How can a Christian live with the tension of unanswered questions?

Answer 5

celebrate our finitude: “Instead of being crushed by a
gigantic snowball of questions, let your questions increase your awe for God. If we could figure God out, He’d be a pretty small God.”

Question 6

Volitional doubt

Answer 6

Volitional doubt is experienced
when there is a battle between God’s will and ours

You find yourself in a crisis of belief, wondering, “Does God really know what’s best for my life? Can I trust Him to lead me in the right
direction? What if I follow Him only to regret it later? Is it possible my life
would be better off if I just made my own decisions?”
And besides, who likes surrendering their will? Letting go. Loosening
the grip. Relinquishing control. None of this comes naturally. Yet, so much of the Christian life involves surrender. It’s about yielding and about dying to self. Indeed. The very essence of faith is about surrendering our will to God’s will.

Question 7

How to deal with evidential doubt.

Answer 7

to step back and look at all the evidence we do have. We can get so lost in the weeds that we feel like we’re losing our way. When this happens, it’s
helpful to focus on the abundant evidence at our disposal rather than obsess over what we don’t have. I find it comforting to know that our faith can be
philosophically, scientifically, and historically grounded.

Question 8

What is the anthem of the volitional doubter?

Answer 8

Jesus in the garden prayed “Not my will, but yours be done”

but the volitional doubter says ‘Nevertheless, not
Your will, but my will be done.’