Apologetics

Doubt: The New Faith?

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There’s a new phenomenon sweeping the Church in America, the Gospel of Doubt. Questioning the veracity of the Bible, questioning whether doctrine has any worth today, and questioning the need to live out the traditional bedrock assumptions of the Faith have all become standard fare for today’s Christians.

In what has become almost a fad among the spiritually trendy, Doubt has become the new Faith. The heroes of the faith today are not those who stand firm in the midst of trials, but those who quiver with doubt that anything good can come out of tough times. Job’s cry of faith, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” has been replaced with “There is a chance my Redeemer may actually not live.”

We are watching a revisioning of what is worthy of admiration occur in just a decade. Those who routinely express their doubts are now considered the most spiritually mature, the most worthy of imitation. This trend is so new that the language of doubt is still wet on the page, but look for more nominally Christian books discussing it to show up on the shelves of your local bookstores soon.

Postmodernism is partly to blame for this trend. The rejection of assurance in a relativistic age makes heroes of self-proclaimed seekers and villains of those who advocate any kind of certainty. But did our Lord hold up doubt as something to admire? His words say otherwise:

Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
—John 20:27 NIV

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
—Matthew 14:30-31 NIV

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
—Matthew 21:21-22 NIV

The New Testament has other admonitions:

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
—Romans 1:17 NIV

Without weakening in his faith, [Abraham] faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
—Romans 4:19-21 NIV

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
—Hebrews 10:39 NIV

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord…
—James 1:5-7 NIV

Clearly, we do understand that people who are unquestionably Christians do doubt from time to time. But we should never make an altar to doubt. Doubt is the shadow of faith and is, therefore, a pale reflection of the truth. We need to resist it, not make it a virtue lest we find ourselves to be a powerless Church. We must remember that it was in Jesus’ own hometown that we see the fruition of doubt:

He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
—Mark 6:5-6 NIV

We should not be surprised, though, at this elevation of doubt over faith. It is the sign of the times and will persist till He comes again, for the Lord Himself warns:

However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
—Luke 18:8b NIV

If we Christians make doubt the new faith, the answer to Jesus’ question is sadly obvious.

Little Heaven, Little Hell

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I have come to the conclusion that the we are rapidly losing sight of both Heaven and Hell in today’s Christian theology.

Hell is being preached as being separated from God (which it surely is), but with no mention of any kind of eternal punishment—no torment, no fire, no weeping and gnashing of teeth. Our message to the lost concerning Hell is just one big shrug: Since people are separated from God in the here in now, why should separation from God in the future be all that bad?

We are doing a massive disservice to people with our theology of a little Hell.

Likewise, Heaven is no longer held out as being all that wonderful. We talk about being in God’s presence forever, but since the average person experiences so little of His presence in daily existence, how much of a draw is Heaven really? I sometimes wonder if the promise of a great day at an amusement park holds more hope for many than does Heaven.

We are cheating people with our little Heaven.

Why are so many churches, pastors, and teachers so afraid to talk about a BIG Heaven and a BIG Hell? We’re all going to spend so much time in one place or another that, in light of eternity, our lives right now will not even be a nanosecond in comparison. A big Heaven and big Hell was the crux of most of the preaching before the 20th century, but now in today’s rush to be self-sufficient, we don’t need to talk about either place. We cheat Hell with therapy and our money can buy us Heaven. At least we think so.

How we believe about Heaven and Hell influences every aspect of our lives. In the “olden days” you had preachers who understood the depths of both Heaven and Hell, and to save just one person from the latter would have walked over burning coals and broken glass. That depth of understanding changed how ministry was done and it drove some of the greatest growth in the Church.

Last time I heard anything of any importance about either Heaven or Hell? I can’t even remember. I can’t believe it has gotten this bad.

We need to recover the powerful reality of Heaven and of Hell in our preaching and teaching. We need to believe about them in proportion to God’s view of them and why they exist. Anything less is a travesty.

Cults: What is not covered here…

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In the midst of this examination of the major branches of practice within the American Church, a word must be said about cults.

Ask any two cult experts what defines a “cult” and you will find a variety of answers. For me, the two most common beliefs of pseudo-Christian cults are:

1. Non-Trinitarian
2. “Jesus and…”

Denying the orthodox truth of the Trinitarian nature of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is a surefire way to get a cult label. This test alone weeds out your major pseudo-Christian cults: Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons (Latter Day Saints), The Unity School of Christianity, and others.

“Jesus and…” is a more critical test. Adding to the finished work of Christ is an enormous mistake. Many supposedly Christian churches fall down here, insisting that salvation only comes when something else (i.e. – a ritual, practice, a human leader, or additional extra-biblical theology) is added to Christ’s propitiary work.

The “Jesus and…” test traps the major cults above, too. Sadly, this test also culls the Roman Catholic Church (for more on what the RCC adds, click here.)

For this reason, pseudo-Christian cults will not factor into anything we discuss here.

Our basis will always be that the Trinity reflects the true nature of God and that salvation comes from Jesus’s finished work alone operating in the life of the believer.