Key verses
“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in
my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!’ ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed” (John
20:27, 28).
Thought for the Month
But this is an age not of faith, but of cathartic doubt, and unless everything can, potentially at least,
be questioned, then there is a kind of betrayal of the spirit of the times. It seems possible that
doubt is our search for meaning, and that whatever refuses this painful path has cut itself off from
our search for life.
Monica Furlong, The End of our Exploring, Hodder and Stoughton, 1973, page 16
Dear Friends
I once attended a great Christian event at which many thousands were gathered. At this event I
heard the preacher say the following - “All doubt is sinful”. I have to say, I took issue with this at the
time, and I still do so. I wish this month therefore to look at the subject of doubt – an interesting
one in my opinion!
The great poet Lord Alfred Tennyson once wrote “There lives more faith in honest doubt,
believe me, than in half the creeds.”
Although this is a surprising statement, I can understand to some extent what Tennyson was trying
to describe. Doubt is an important part of faith. Blind faith, simply reciting the Creed without
thinking about what we are saying, is actually not real faith at all. It is when we search and
question, that we begin to go deeper in our faith.
Please let me give you an example of this. As you will know, we have many baptisms here at
Aylesford, and each family is visited at home before the baptism to explain the meaning of the
service. When questions are raised about the promises the parents and godparents are to make, it
is then that I begin to feel more encouraged. The questioning approach with regard to the meaning
of the promises is, for me, a sign that the family I am talking with are really beginning to think about
the seriousness of the commitment they are undertaking. When no doubts or questions arise, it is
then that I can actually feel less encouraged – a paradox perhaps, but that is my honest opinion.
The questioning approach is a sign of someone wrestling with the heart of the Christian faith, and
such wrestling and questioning normally produces very good results in the end.
Of course there are different degrees of doubt, and some forms of doubt are clearly sinful. Thomas
doubted, and was forgiven by Jesus. Jesus fully complied with Thomas’ wishes to see his wounds
and scars, and the two were reconciled. Indeed, the revelation led Thomas to move far deeper into
his commitment to Christ with the words “My Lord and My God”. On the other hand, we all know
what happened to Judas Iscariot, whose doubts led him in an entirely different direction, to betrayal
and eventual suicide. His doubt was negative, destructive, and showed a lack of discipleship which
has led to Judas’ name being held in low esteem ever since.
It seems to me then that doubts can lead in one of two directions. If they are genuine questions,
arising from a searching heart and mind, the expression of them can actually lead us to a deeper
faith, rather like they did to Thomas. If however, the doubt is more an abdication of responsibility, a
desire to escape from commitment, and a cover for self-interest, then, like Judas, these doubts can
lead us away from God. Doubt, as with most things, comes in different forms – some doubt can
lead us to a deeper faith, some forms of doubt clearly lead us away a deeper faith.
To conclude: if your doubts are stopping you from attending church, or from reaching out to God in
the quietness of your own home, I do hope that you will not feel “condemned” by your doubts.
Perhaps the very questions and doubts that you have are the silent working of the Holy Spirit,
raising questions in your mind, that, if properly expressed, will lead you to a deeper faith and
Christian commitment. Even the most mature Christian will after all still have questions that, this
side of heaven, can never be fully answered.
Let us remember, Thomas’ questioning approach led him eventually to an ever deeper faith. It is
therefore only when we seek that we find, and only when we knock that the door is opened to us.
All good wishes
Simon Tillotson
Old and thoughtful thoughts
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