By Reinder Bruinsma
Recently I spent a week of vacation with friends. We went to museums and concerts and enjoyed much stunning scenery. But we also talked a lot about doubt. One of these friends had read my recent book about doubt. In fact, his eagerness to discuss this topic with me was the immediate reason why my wife and I had been invited to his home in southern France. In recent months, in particular, I have become even more aware than in the past, through countless reactions from my readers, that many Seventh-day Adventist Christians are beset by serious, even devastating, doubt.
Doubt: What and Why?
In itself, doubt is normal and healthy. We should try not to be too gullible or naive, and a certain degree of skepticism saves us from many mistakes and from embracing all kinds of dubious theories. But there are forms of doubt that can be very troublesome or worse. Some people have never been able to accept the Christian faith. They cannot over- come their doubt about God’s existence and about the reality of the Gospel. Others, who have been longtime Christians, have found it increasingly hard to believe in a supposedly good and loving God when they are looking at the world around them or trying to come to terms with tragedies that have happened in their own lives. Many Seventh-day Adventist Christians have left the church—and many others are dangerously close to the backdoor—because they have strong misgivings about a number of Adventist doctrines and/or the way their church is handling certain current issues.
The first thing to underline is that it is not sinful to have doubts—certainly not in the sense that doubting makes us personally guilty. Throughout history we find examples of great men and women of faith who went through periods of terrible doubt and many a biblical person faced the same experience. Just think of Elijah who thought he was the only person who had remained true to God, and wondered whether everything he had worked for was falling apart. Think of John the Baptist, who sent some of his followers to Jesus because, as he was the prisoner of King Herod, he was no longer sure of his faith in the One whom he had so forcefully proclaimed as the Messiah. And do not forget the apostle Thomas who had been with Jesus as one of his close companions. Before he became a great apostle, he was “doubting Thomas.”
God has not provided us with absolute scientific certainty about everything. Doubt is the other side of faith, and there is always room for doubt. Gary Parker wrote, in the book The Gift of Faith, “If faith never encounters doubt, if truth never struggles with error, if good never battles with evil, how can faith know its own power?” [1] Of all the definitions of “doubt” that I have come across, I like the one by Os Guinness perhaps best: “Doubt is faith being out of focus.” [2] This means that facing doubt is first of all a matter of refocusing our faith.
Facing Our Doubts
How does a Christian deal with her doubt? Many books have been written on this theme and a short article will therefore not solve all the issues. But the first thing I want to say takes the form of an urgent appeal. Whatever your doubts, hang on to your faith in God and do not leave the church! Even when God seems distant and when there are lots of things you do not understand, do not give up on Him, but keep on trying to believe that He does not give up on you! And even though the church may have all kinds of faults, remember that it is important to interact with other people of faith. You may criticize your church; you may at times be angry at it, but although faith is very personal, at the same time it is also a team sport—it is essential to belong to a community of believers.
The second thing I want to stress is that you do not have to understand (or even be interested in) all theological fine print. Millions of people around the world will be in the kingdom, even though they were unable to read or to understand everything the prophet Ezekiel or the apostle Paul said—however important their messages are! And, as far as the Adventist faith is concerned, I am firmly convinced that not everything in our 28 Fundamental Beliefs is equally important. That is, apparently, also the view of many of our church leaders, who enthusiastically participated in last year’s evangelistic outreach in the African country of Rwanda when more than 110,000 new members were welcomed into the church. These new Seventh-day Adventists learned about the basics of their new faith, but most of them will yet have to learn a lot about Adventist doctrines and practices.
Try to focus on what is really “fundamental” for your faith and to distinguish between “the pillars of our faith” (an expression Ellen White often used) and issues that are of a different level of importance. Just to give a few examples: Celebrating the Sabbath as an essential part of our worship of the Creator and our loyalty towards Him is much more essential than deciding whether a duck is a clean or an unclean animal. Living with the hope of Christ’s soon coming and of the resurrection is far more important than having the final words on the meaning of the seven seals or of the seven trumpets in John’s Revelation. Do not get overly concerned if there are some doctrinal issues you are unclear about or that you doubt, as long as you enjoy a living relationship with your Lord and are sure of the basics of the gospel message and of the “pillars” of the Adventist interpretation of the Good News.
And thirdly, unity is important. However, if a church community is to remain a living organism, it must necessarily change over time, and there must always be room for diversity. Unity is not the same as uniformity. Being united in Christ means sharing in the same fundamental desire to worship the Triune God and adhere to a community that wants to share the gospel of God’s grace and their assurance of their salvation through faith with those around them. But belonging to a worldwide church also means that we all bring our different cultures and histories to the table, and that we all contribute to the richness of diversity within the one fold of the great Shepherd.
This diversity presupposes that we give others enough space when they think somewhat differently from how we think, and that we also allow ourselves the space we need for our own opinions, or our doubts, with regard to particular points.
Dealing With Your Doubts
There is no twelve-point recipe for dealing with doubt, but here are some pointers.
Try to read your Bible with an open mind. Do not jump from text to text, but read longer sections, and let the Word of God speak to you. Also try to find books that will help you in the areas of your doubt. And give yourself ample opportunity to think and to pray. Ask the Spirit, who inspired the Bible writers, to clean the lenses through which you read—not just to find confirmation for your own views— and expect the Spirit to assist you in hearing their message as it applies to our times.
It is important to find like-minded people with whom you can talk without being judged. Putting your thoughts into words will often help you to clarify issues for yourself and others may have insights that can be very helpful.
Do not try to solve all your questions and doubts at one and the same time. Focus on some issues and let other topics rest, at least for the time being. I have found this very important in dealing with my own doubts. If I try to face all my questions at one and the same time, I get confused and tend to panic. Temporarily shelving some of my doubts has helped me a great deal. And regularly reminding myself of my own limits helps me to continue to live with some doubts.
The church is the place where believers meet and worship together. It consists of all kinds of people: pleasant, tolerant people and narrow-minded, judgmental people. In most churches, I have found that the majority fall into the first category. You do not have to be blind to the church’s shortcomings, but find your place within the positive, non- judgmental segment of your church and contribute to its spiritual well being. Use your influence for positive change, wherever you can. Speak up when appropriate. But do not give up on it.
Throughout it all, remember that faith is much more than intellectual assent to doctrinal propositions. These have their place, but Seventh-day Adventist believers who struggle with their doubts should always keep in mind that we worship a living God rather than a church or a set of doctrines. A close relationship with the Almighty supersedes all other aspects of our faith!
–Reinder Bruinsma is a theologian, writer and former church administrator. His latest book is titled Facing Doubt: A book for Adventists on the Margins. It provides practical suggestions on how to deal with doubts. Translated to several languages, it is available at www.amazon.com. Email him at: [email protected]