At the end of the day there are two kinds of people who question the Bible…which one are you?
As I have already noted previously, everyone questions the Bible at some point. Doubt is a natural part of the journey of faith. But we shouldn’t doubt just to doubt. Young people especially need safe space to express their honest questions and sincere doubts. But the goal is not (or at least shouldn’t be) a radical skepticism that questions everything and never lands anywhere.
What Do You Ultimately Want?
Path #1: When I interact with students who are asking the tough questions because they want the truth I am deeply encouraged because I know their faith muscles are being strengthened. They want to know what is real. They don’t want to live a lie and they don’t want to follow a path that is a spiritual or moral dead end. The first pathway is seeking the truth.
A text book (and biblical!) example of this mindset would be one of the earliest biographers of Jesus:
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.” –Luke 1:1-4
Path #2: I also have the experience of interacting with students, adults, or people on social media who are not after the truth with their questions. Not really. The best illustration of this kind of mindset and posture I have come across is prominent NYU professor, Thomas Nagel:
“I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It just isn’t that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I am right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want the universe to be like that.”–Thomas Nagel (The Last Word)
This is refreshing and instructive honesty because it shows the power of the human will to bend our reason and make it submit when truth is not our goal. The second pathway is space.
The Bottom Line
If you want truth, you will find it in the end because Christians have nothing to fear from the truth. However if you are using your questions to create space between you and the God of the Bible so that you can do whatever you want because you don’t want submit to an authority…that is a different path altogether. People are certainly free to take this path, but if space is what you ultimately want, then you will get it because you can always create space by asking another question.
However, please keep this in mind. Just because you can ask another question doesn’t mean that there isn’t a reasonable answer to your question. Why? Because if in your heart of hearts you just want space, then your will can accomplish this with enough effort.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, I actually want people to question the Bible. I want this because I want them to find the truth and the confident faith that flows from the knowledge of the truth. But we also need to be honest and recognize that if truth is not your goal, then you will not find it.
If you are honest with yourself in this moment, what are you ultimately after? Truth or Space?
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