I Believe...
The Apostles' Creed for the Third Millenium
By Robert P. Mills, Associate Editor
The Presbyterian Layman
Chapter Three
The Pace of Doubt
Suggested Scripture readings
Matthew 28:16-20; James 1:2-8 
Must Christians believe without reservation every affirmation
of the Apostles’ Creed? Is it possible to trust Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord and yet be unsure about some things
the Bible teaches? Does having doubts mean lacking faith?
Indeed, is doubt the opposite of faith?
To answer such questions, we must consider not only what we
believe, but how we believe.
'But some doubted'
One place to look for answers to such questions may seem
unlikely – the introduction to the Great Commission. In
Matthew 28:16-17 we learn that after Jesus’ resurrection “the
eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus
had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him;
but some doubted.”
I must admit that when I think of the Great Commission, the
words “but some doubted” are not the first that come
to mind. But, especially considering their context, these
words are very comforting. Some of the disciples – who
had spent three years of their lives with Jesus, who had heard
with their own ears his prophecy of his impending death and
resurrection – doubted even as Jesus stood right before
them. They had heard that the tomb was empty, walked miles to
meet with Jesus, saw him and began to worship him, yet even as
they worshiped some doubted.
That some disciples simultaneously worshiped and doubted
reassures us that absolute freedom from doubt is not a
precondition to the worship of God. Rather, the disciples’
conflicted response indicates that having doubts about things
we do not fully understand is not ultimately incompatible with
worshiping the one we know to be our Savior and Lord.
How can that be? One way of approaching this question is to
distinguish between the content of our faith and the structure
of our faith; between what we believe and how we believe.
Content vs. structure
For example, Christians do not believe that God may exist,
but then again, he may not. Neither do we believe that Jesus
may or may not be God Incarnate, the second person of the
Trinity. Doubts about the existence of God or the deity of
Christ are not a part of the content of Christian faith.
Christians believe and teach that God does exist, and that our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is his only begotten Son.
God knows the
frailty of our human nature, and he responds to our doubts
as to our other weaknesses – with steadfast love.
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However, as finite, not to mention fallen, human
beings, there are times when our faith may be shaken, when
circumstances may lead us to question our most basic beliefs.
Perhaps we have doubted God’s providence because the
forecast rain never came and our crops withered and died.
Perhaps we have doubted God’s love because of a painful
situation in our family. Perhaps, because a fervent prayer
seems to have gone unanswered, we have wondered whether the
God we worship even exists.
Yet, despite our doubts, we continue to worship. And, despite
our doubts, God accepts our adoration and praise. That is
because God knows that we are finite, fallen, fallible
creatures whose hearts and minds, clouded as they are by sin,
are prone to doubt. Yet God continues to love us just as we
are.
Nowhere in Scripture does God condemn a believer who has
doubts. Remember Gideon? He had serious doubts about leading
the people into battle, so he laid out a fleece not once, but
twice. God honored both requests (Judges 6:36-40). And when
Thomas said “Unless I see … I will not believe,”
Jesus answered, “Put your finger here; see my hands.
Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and
believe” (John 20:24-29).
While doubt is nowhere commended as an attitude to cultivate,
neither does Scripture teach that our doubts lead God to cease
caring for us. God knows the frailty of our human nature, and
he responds to our doubts as to our other weaknesses –
with steadfast love.
'Double-souled'
Understanding doubt as part of the structure but not the
content of our faith also gives us insight into James 1:2-8
where James teaches that when we ask God for wisdom we should
“believe and not doubt,” for the one who makes this
request while doubting the one of whom it is made “is a
double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
“Double-minded,” literally “double-souled,”
is a word found nowhere in Greek literature prior to this
occurrence, which suggests that James may have coined the term
for this occasion. A double-souled person is one who prays to
a God he does not believe to exist. He doubts God’s
existence but hedges his bets. His doubt is a part of the
content of his faith.
In contrast, the kinds of doubts that trouble Christians are
part of the structure of our faith; that is, they arise out of
how, not what, we believe. The doubt James writes about is
part of the content of belief, a fundamental doubt that the
God being addressed even exists. That distinguishes the doubts
of Christians from those of “double-souled”
individuals, those who pray to a God whose existence they do
not affirm.
Faith in Jesus Christ does not mean living a life free from
doubts any more than it means living a life free of suffering,
trials, and temptations. It does mean that when doubts arise,
we can prayerfully discuss them with God and ask him for
wisdom. That kind of doubt, which arises when faith seeks
understanding, means that Christians cannot be “double-souled,”
nor can they make requests of God while harboring the kind of
doubt James describes.
I believe
The biblical evidence clearly shows that it is possible to be
a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and to have honest doubts
about aspects of your faith. If you fear expressing your
doubts, remember Christianity has survived 2,000 years, often
in the face of intense persecution. So it seems quite unlikely
that the faith will crumble because you have asked a hard
question. If you doubt that reality, look back at what Matthew
tells us about the disciples.
Had the disciples lacked faith, they never would have gone
from Jerusalem to Galilee to meet someone they had watched die
on a cross. Had the disciples lacked faith, they would not
have worshiped their living Lord. They went and they
worshiped, but some doubted. Yet despite their doubts, these
disciples recognized their risen Lord as God in human flesh,
and they worshiped him.
As we saw in Chapter 2, the most basic creed of the Christian
faith is “Jesus Christ is Lord.” To be sure, that
confession does not give full expression to the breadth and
depth of what it is to be a Christian. But once an individual
confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, he or she is ready to begin an
exhilarating exploration of the mind of God, an exploration
that can be aided by a careful study of the Apostles’
Creed.
Will doubts arise along the way? Undoubtedly. For doubt is
not the opposite of faith. Disbelief is the opposite of faith.
Doubt is merely a part of how we believe, one manifestation
(among many) of our sin-tainted nature. But like the
disciples, despite our doubts, we must worship our risen Lord.
And like them, we must then obey the command to “go and
make disciples of all nations,” secure in Jesus’
promise that “surely I am with you, to the very end of
the age” (Matt. 28:19-20).
For reflection and response
1. In your own words, explain the difference between doubt as
a part of what we believe and doubt as a part of how we
believe.
2. What is the place of doubt in Christian faith and life?
3. Why is disbelief, not doubt, the opposite of faith?
Pray and give God thanks for remaining faithful when we are
troubled by doubts. You may wish to pray Psalm 139:1-12 or to
use those verses as a model for your prayer.
Scripture passages for further study
Genesis 15:1-15; Judges 6:34-40; Matthew 11:1-6; Mark
5:35-41; John 20:24-29.
Additional resources
Os Guiness,
Doubt: Faith in Two Minds (Tring: Lion,
1979).
Alister McGrath,
The Sunnier Side of Doubt (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1990).
Paul Tillich,
Dynamics of Faith: Faith and Belief: What
They Are and What They Are Not (New York: Harper &
Brothers, 1957).