In chapter eight of his book Faith & Doubt, John Ortberg separates “destructive doubting” into three categories. First is the skeptic, who is afraid of getting taken in and would rather stay on the sidelines, saying, “I’m not sure.”
The second is the cynic – one who believes there is no answer and distrusts others who say there is. We become cynical when we are promised something that doesn’t materialize.
And, finally, the rebel. This doubter is afraid of what would happen if he were to surrender himself to God. Destructive doubting, then, can be defined as having nothing to believe, nothing to rely on.
We used Jennifer Heicht’s thirteen-question “Scale of Doubt Quiz” and were fascinated by our own answers to such questions as – Do you believe that a particular religious tradition holds accurate knowledge of the ultimate nature of reality and the purpose of human life? Another was: Do you believe that the thinking part or animating force of a human being continues to exist after the body has died? And — if someone disagreed with our answers, would we call them “wrongheaded”
A lot to dissect; a lot to think about.
Written by: Carolyn Wall
