On Doubt
This is making big news right now. On one hand I understand, but on the other, I don’t at all. So Mother Theresa had doubts about her faith — faith is not the absence of doubt. And anyway, I wonder…maybe it was her doubt that drove her mission to the poor?
Does this unnerve you, or make you feel better…for me it’s the latter.
Don’t you think Mother Theresa had great reason to doubt her faith? She was a devout catholic who based her salvation in part if not in whole upon her works didn’t she?
It does not unnerve me, because I don’t see Catholic Faith the same as Christian faith.
What are your thoughts?
Andy
August 26, 2007 at 3:34 pm
It’s not that she doubted herself, or her standing in relationship to God, but that she doubted in the bigger sense — she doubted God’s very existence. (This is somewhat speculative, since I actually read the book — I intend to though.)
I asked the question because my sense was, when I first saw this on the news yesterday morning — the secular media acted like this was a shocking discovery…and yet I think that periods of doubt and questioning are normal experiences for most of us in the faith journey.
What I admire about Mother Teresa (and I’m assuming that she’s the best of Catholics — balancing faith in Jesus Christ and an active “James 2″ kind of faith) is that her struggles with doubt didn’t cripple her — she didn’t get so focused on her own junk that she forgot the mission — “your kingdom come.”
charliedean
August 26, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I read that article in Time the other day.
You said you think “periods of doubt and questioning are normal experiences,” but this was 50 years…. I can’t even begin to fathom what that is like.
Somebody forgot to send her a copy of John Piper’s “When the Darkness Will Not Lift.”
…just kidding. I don’t understand why God would let his servant endure that though. I don’t think I could do it.
ben
August 28, 2007 at 12:49 am
What’s with the Catholic hate Andy? Can you really say that Catholics are a works based religion… that they are a different faith than us? They have the same bible and creeds and affirm the grace of God in many ways. Their faults are certainly at least matched by our own many glaring faults.
That really strikes me as sidestepping the issue… I do not doubt her genuine faith…
There are plenty of good “evangelical” christians who still have huge times of doubt and loneliness in their lives… times where God can seem distant or missing…
I believe Job himself would stand up and applaud mother teresa as possibly more noble than himself in the face of suffering.
Salvation is not based on the right labels… and label throwing does not resolve this issue.
brandon
August 28, 2007 at 7:28 am
I don’t think that Andy is saying that Catholics are a works based religion, I think that is what Catholics say.
They say that salvation is gained through the sacrements. Not that a Catholic cannot be a Christian, but if a Catholic truly places their faith in the dogma of the Catholic church then they have a misplaced faith.
No amount of works can guarentee (sp.) salvation so it is even possible that Mother Theressa was not a child of God. We can’t know for sure and all that we can do is judge fruit, and I would add that her fruit looks pretty good and probably tells us something.
But when it comes down to it, doubt is most often based in wrong thinking and an earthly perspective. The more we know what God says and understand who He is, the less that doubt should creep in. Paul talks about the importance of “renewing our minds” because without this mind renewal our fleshly perspective will continually bring doubt.
Just some thoughts.
KG
Kevin Gwin
August 28, 2007 at 9:01 am
But when it comes down to it, doubt is most often based in wrong thinking and an earthly perspective. The more we know what God says and understand who He is, the less that doubt should creep in.
People who say things like this usually don’t know what it’s like to truly experience doubt.
ben
August 28, 2007 at 9:13 am
Not to further pick a fight, but kevin, I don’t think I could have any perspective further from you on both the issue of catholic orthodoxy and whether a strong Christian will and should have strong doubts.
Jesus himself struggles with doubts in the Garden… and on the cross… he felt like God the father had hidden himself from Him (Jesus)…
Thus… my God my God why have you forsaken me…
To be human is to struggle… faith only deepens the struggles in many ways.
brandon
August 28, 2007 at 12:36 pm
I appreciate the dialogue and don’t see it as picking a fight. “Iron sharpens iron”.
Since I am not Catholic, most of my perspective comes from the understanding that I get from my Catholic family members who tell me about the faith and then from my family members who used to be Catholic and experienced the grace of God and now see the Catholic church as a blinding barrier to experiencing that grace. That is why I said that Catholics say that it is a faith based on works. Just the experience of the what the Catholics that I know have told me. Maybe not true of all and so I apologize if the statement was too broad, but it has been my experience.
As far as your understanding of Jesus and His words, I would in no way see that as doubt. I would love to talk about this in person, but it would be futile to explain why or go back and forth here. It would be counter productive.
I doubt, you doubt, others doubt, but I personally see it as a stretch to say that Jesus doubted. But again, we would have to hash that out to truly interact with that idea.
My understanding of doubt would be the opposite of faith. My college professor Dr. Chris Miller used to say that faith is not something mysterious our unknown. “Biblical faith is simply taking God at His Word.” Whenever I am doing the opposite, which is a part of my journey, I am doubting God and not walking in faith.
A few of my thoughts on the issue, thank you for being willing to disagree in a conversational way Brandon.
Ben, I’m not sure that we would get very far in conversation because you seem to want to shoot and attack and not interact. If that is not true, I would appreciate your thoughts as well and not your quick judgements on someone that you have never met. Again Ben, I don’t know you so I am just going off of your concise judgement. I know that it is probably not reflective of you in the way that I have understood it, but unfortunately that is how it came across.
KG
August 28, 2007 at 8:38 pm
How can it not be a little unnerving? If this be a kingdom, then I am no more than a peasant. What would I think of the monarchy when someone I figured to be working in the castle questioned if the king might be on vacation? Is there no rest for the righteous either?
On another note, I was interested in the book until I read that it is something she never would have wanted published. I think this might be the first Christian book I don’t read because of moral reasons.
Mitchell
August 28, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Kevin –
Dr. Chris Miller…Really?
That makes you a Cedarvillian, huh?
I was Chris Miller’s grader, before he was “dr.” back in the early-mid 90’s! He’s a good man!
And yet…I think that as I’ve followed the discussion, the question I have is, “what do we mean when we use the word ‘doubt’?” Exactly what is it that we’re doubting? My biggest doubts are probably about God’s plan for my life…not God’s existence. And yet, if I just throw out “I doubt sometimes,” it leaves things far too open.
charliedean
September 6, 2007 at 8:47 am