I just read a blog entitled “Is every doubt a sin for a christian?”
The answer was basically “No, it’s okay to doubt… yourself.”
My response, which I thought was worth passing on:
Doubt is what we call it when your brain is doing more than keeping your head inflated. It’s the mechanism by which we tell truth from lies and correct ideas from nonsense. Any belief system that has at it’s core “you shall not doubt” as a commandment is going to be as corrupt as any dictatorship, and for the exact same reason.
Doubt is what keeps us from all leaping to follow the next dear leader. The freedom to call bullshit on things is what separates us from north korea. It’s perhaps the single most necessary thing a human being can do in a free society. It’s the only real check against tyranny and evil.
Don’t just doubt some, question every single thing you’ve ever thought or been told in your entire life until you run out of things to question, then go find some more.
agnophilo 
Doubt is just thinking … if a faith system can’t withstand doubt then it hasn’t got much of a leg to stand on
@Nushirox2 – I agree entirely.
Your explaination about doubt has merit. But, we also need to view how one focuses doubt. If doubt is focused on oneself, then that is not a good thing. So, doubt can be viewed at times as a lack of will and inner strength .So, maybe overall we should eliminate doubt from our belief system as much as possible and redefine it as a lack of conviction.
Doubt is important in everything from complex issues to simple issues of survival. In a case of a kid goading another kid to walk out on an ice-covered lake telling him the ice is thick enough, the kid being goaded is wise to have his doubts. It’s important to doubt others in many circumstances but it’s as important to doubt oneself. I mean the latter in the sense that it’s important to ask, “Is it possible I’m wrong on this one” and keep an open mind until satisfied either way.
good post.
I agree mostly. I can’t agree completely because I have my doubts.
OK, thanks for leaving that comment in response to my blog: http://craigwbooth.xanga.com/771225092/is-every-doubt-a-sin-for-the-christian/Here is my response: As I mentioned in my original blog posting, doubt has a range of meanings. Questioning everything is good. I have questioned how it is that we have a Bible in the first place, how it is that we believe there is a God, how it is that a man named Jesus was widely reported to have done miracles opposite the laws of observable nature. The Bereans were called nobel because they investigated everything Paul preached to them to see if those things were factual. Asking questions and investigating the answers is good. It keeps everyone honest.Doubting the answers, even after you have done the investigation and found that the answers are more likely true than not, that doubt is what leads to spiritual trouble. For example, the Jews were led out of Egypt by Moses and immediately doubted that they should continue to follow the God that Moses preached because it was inconvenient. That led to big problems.Believing in a saving God but then abandoning that faith in favor of doubting merely on the basis of the peer pressure coming from one’s social circle is problematic. That kind of doubting is not driven by sincere conclusions but by fear of one’s fellow human beings and compels us to violate our own consciences just to conform to the group.So, no, I do not think all doubting is based on reason. Just like all other dumb things we humans do, our doubting can be based on fear, greed, desire for comfort, hope for power, etc. In other words, doubt toward religion can be just as driven by poor motives and faulty reasoning as can embracing a religion that you do not really believe in. Doubt is no more profound than is faith; one must examine the underlying motives and logic behind it.But asking sincere questions to hear sincere answers…that is always noble.
@Nostra_Damus – Doubt in the sense of skepticism does not favor any particular conclusion, it is simply examining the issue to seek the truth in it. What you’re describing is bias, fear etc. Not doubt in the sense that I’m talking about.@TheSutraDude – I agree – was this meant for nostra_damus btw? If so you forgot to tag him.@Tallman – Thank you.@Tallman – It makes me sad that so many people don’t doubt – their world must be so small : (@whyzat – Amen : )@craigwbooth – Will read and respond there.
@agnophilo – It wasn’t meant for him. Look at the time his comment and my comment were posted. I was typing while he posted his. I didn’t read his comment after submitting mine.
@TheSutraDude – I believe you, lol. No need for forensic documentation. It just seemed like a perfectly tailored reply to his comment.
i agree.. not only doubt is good…but is an indication that the the mind is open to possiblities other than the ones right in front of us..it reveals the flexibility of the mind..a person without doubt would be a square head indeed….
@agnophilo – Haha! Purely coincidental. I couldn’t waste good forensic documentation staring me in the eye. I usually have to search for forensic documentation. That one was a gift. 😛
I doubt all the time and I doubt everything…especially God, Myself and teachers or mentors. And I always ask the question Why? And I get some interesting answers.
@locomotiv – True.@TheSutraDude – : P I have the mind of a lawyer (but with the heart of a person) too.
@agnophilo – I’d say that’s a good combination.
@TheSutraDude – Complimenting yourself – I see what you just did : P
@agnophilo – Haha. Caught in the act! I think of my mind more as that of a mathematician, simple math mind you. 1+1=2. 2+2=4. Therefore 1+1+1+1=4. That’s usually all the math I need. On rare occasions I need to stretch my mental powers to 8. Fractions are heresay and personal opinion. 😛
@TheSutraDude – Decimals can live, but fractions should die slow deaths in my opinion.
AGREED. Must strongly agree… even though I would state I believe in God and tend to align myself with Christianity. Christian religions preach that God put us here to make a choice… a choice between following him or sin and the devil. So… if you are to truly believe in God and know that God is real, then shouldn’t you have gone through the process of doubt and questioning? I think so.I think people should question everything, be curious, and experience life.
“AGREED. Must strongly agree… even though I would state I believe in God and tend to align myself with Christianity.” Did you ever seriously question those beliefs?”Christian religions preach that God put us here to make a choice… a choice between following him or sin and the devil.”A false dichotomy.”So… if you are to truly believe in God and know that God is real, then shouldn’t you have gone through the process of doubt and questioning? I think so.”Believing in things that can’t be proven and are internally consistent is easier if you try your best not to question anything. “I think people should question everything, be curious, and experience life.”I agree.