What if I Have Doubts? (continued)
In this section we will wrap up our discussion on what to do if we have doubts. We will explore in a bit more depth some of the vital issues we have been mentioning.
Short Answer Version
Hopefully, these pages on ''What if I Have Doubts?'' have effectively addressed many of the concerns that cause doubt to prevent people from believing. Nearly every argument by detractors of Jesus can be severely weakened by identifying their fallacies of logic and misuses of science.
Many of the emotional issues causing hesitancy to believe can be addressed by stripping the discussion of every fear, by using the calming influence of the true meaning of the good news. The Bible says ''perfect loves casts out all fear.'' The gospel conveys perfect love.
At the end of the day, when all our defenses have been laid aside, God gives these directions: ''Seek Me and live'' (Amos 5:4). ''You will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.'' (Deuteronomy 4:29)
Long Answer Version
We can take the power away from our doubts by confronting them with logic, reasoning, positive emotions, spiritual openness, and most importantly: discovery. Be willing to apply the tools we have provided for confronting your doubts. Seek and you will discover Jesus! Let His discovered presence strip away arguments and doubts.
Please keep in mind that the laws or rules of logic were discovered within the limits of human intelligence. As such they are amazingly insightful. Yet, they are limited compared to the intellect and ways of God. Isaiah chapter 55 explains it better than I ever could. You might want to read it when you get a chance. The rules of human logic are nonetheless fine tools for combatting erroneous human claims about God, as well as many other forms of deception. They also help in discerning the level of understandable truth in teachings that appear spiritual and godly. But God thinks in levels so high above human limitations, that we require His help and presence to rise above human logic, not contradicting it, but superceding it with better, expanded wisdom. Fortunately, James in the Bible gives this explanation of how to access the wisdom of God:
''If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting'' James also tells us in chapter 3 verses 13 - 18 the difference between earthly selfish wisdom and God-given wisdom. The latter is what God gives liberally.
Applying Wisdom To Defuse Faulty Logic
You have seen us refer to logic fallacies quite a bit so far in this section.
When our doubts are influenced by the muddy messages we have been exposed to, we can clean up our thinking by learning to identify invalid arguments. In our minds we can negate them and replace them with truer concepts.
I spent decades not understanding how powerful it is to be aware of ''cheating'' in the debaters. When a person cheats in this way, they tip you off that they are doing something not good. When you notice repeated logic fallacies, it is a ''red flag'' to be a little wary about the speaker's point.
When examining an argument, it is a good idea to understand these abuses. Wikipedia is a good starting point. If you want to take a deeper dive into the subject, check out their list at:
https://wn.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies.
Logic fallacies are so common, even the valid side of an argument might contain some. I have caught myself unwittingly using them. The point might not be a fallacy, but my tactic of expression is. For example, I sometimes find myself using a rhetorical question supporting something I know to be true.
Not all rules of logic are absolute. If something is true, and you use a fallacy in support of it as an argument, the rule says the proposed conclusion is false. However, it is entirely possible to have a true conclusion, but unintentionally use a fallacious argument for it. So that rule has exceptions.
Convoluted logic is common today, due in part to the media. Assumptions and presuppositions based on popular ways of thinking yet lacking in substance are also abundant.
One fallacy I mentioned above is the Fallacy of Many Questions (plurium interrogationum). It involves complex questioning, loaded questions, and other fallacies rolled into one.
I mentioned arguments against Jesus that attempt to appeal to a separate topic than believing in Jesus for salvation. This is called a Red Herring Fallacy. Such arguments attempt to prove some unrelated point, to infer an implication back to the real issue, one which usually does not truly apply.
There is an Appeal to Authority Fallacy. It can be used by a person claiming to be an expert, or by citing ''experts''.
One related trick of persuasion is the portrayal of lofty attitudes. I watched a movie in which several seemingly authoritative people one after another explained the newer discoveries in quantum physics, which I found fascinating. At the very end, they let on that they had been laying out a case against God’s existence because the conclusion to the mysteries of quantum physics was ''who knows?''
I don’t know if these people were even scientists, but their expert-like personalities made them seem quite erudite, persuasive, and believable. That is, until they most ignorantly tried to suggest quantum physics proves God does not exist.
Talk about surprise endings! More can be said about quantum physics to support belief of God's creative and intelligent abilities than to deny them.
When we apply the logic fallacy test to the many statements within a formal argument against Jesus our Savior, and rule out all that fail the fallacy test, what points are we left with to consider? Very few if any. The arguments lose most of their weight.
I have sometimes talked to people who live in places and are surrounded by people where nothing exciting appears to be happening with God. They think that nothing exciting is happening anywhere else, nor has it ever happened before, nor ever will. They are hindered by their surroundings, their era, and lack of exposure to the real thing. They have lived their entire lives surrounded by spiritually empty or non vocal people.
It is sad, but a little amusing that they look at me as if I am from another planet. A person blind to Jesus might argue against Jesus based on lack of exposure to people who encounter God personally. At other times, it is more an indication that they just need to meet the right people.
Just as the laws of nature were created by God, and therefore God is above them, human logic was created by God, and He is above it. I have pointed to the use and misuse of logic in learning how to spot errors in the arguments of those denying Jesus Christ as Savior. I am not doing that because I exalt human logic or its principles. I simply find it useful in exposing ineffective attempts at dissuading people from Jesus and His salvation.
What many people call ''common sense'' can sometimes be profound, but at other times it can be uninformed because it does not take into account the many complexities of an issue.
Determining the most logical assumption for situations is possible, yet often quite elusive. This is because real life has too many variables to fit neatly in any logic model. But I greatly appreciate the discipline of logic and encourage people to become familiar with it. I have grown in analyzing complex systems because of it.
I find it amazing how my way of being logical differs from the many other approaches people have developed. Sometimes multiple angles are valid and can be equally enlightening. To combine them helps us derive a better vantage point. That is why it is good to consider several perspectives.
When it comes to comparing the teachings of other religions as if they were arguments against Jesus, it is pointless to explore. We can defend our relationship with Jesus and the truth He brings, but to attack another person’s spiritual beliefs is not conducive to openness about our main message.
When we say that believing in Jesus is better than following a particular religion, we are not putting the religion down. We are not arguing. We are not saying that believers in Jesus are better than believers in other religions. Rather, we are trying to help. We hope to help the listener find something we think is better, which is a relationship with Jesus, not a religion. My focus on relationship with Jesus is based on its primary importance in the life of each believer, no matter what else they have yet to grasp.
A common obstruction in peoples’ minds to believing in Jesus is their lack of long term perspective. It is not easy to see how long eternity is and how short earthly life is. I had an insightful friend who said, ''This life is the womb of eternity.'' You have probably heard the saying a person ''can’t see the forest for the trees.'' Many people cannot conceive of eternity because their focus is on the things that block its view. The Bible depicts this physical life as a vapor: ''For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.'' I may have mentioned that this life is like a split second compared to the rest of eternity.
If we really grasp the opportunity to do, in this short life, something that will affect us, and others, positively forever after, we will jump at the opportunity, regardless of the many talking heads telling us not to.
Creation Comes From a Creator
Mostly all we have discussed has been about Jesus, His way to Salvation, and why it is unwise to doubt Him as who He claims to be. Now, let's take a final few moments to discuss creation apart from our earlier discussion of science.
I am very intrigued by the many facts and stories about nature that indicate to my heart extremely advanced design and intelligence. Conversely I have not noticed any brain possessed by ''the universe'' or ''mother nature'' that could possibly perform these astounding things.
Anatomical evolution (of any living species) has no recognizable guiding intelligence within itself. Evolution is merely a term describing a specific kind of theorized and observed process. Why attribute to it the qualities of some secret being or force?
I just watched an episode on TV about a study of the Veerie Bird. In it the Veerie bird is documented to have a means of reliably forecasting the severity of the next hurricane season months in advance. They do this to ascertain when to fly South for the winter.
The show is called ''The Hidden Science of Everything'', and looks at a number of puzzling relationships between seemingly unrelated things. The episode on Benford's Law was one of the better ones.
The BBC's series Planet Earth features dozens of similar phenomena. The episodes having to do mostly with nature, detailing nature's interdependence unexplainable by human reasoning are my favorites.
Our society almost worships the presence of genius in a human, and highly regards abilities far beyond the norm. Is it possible that even the greatest human ability had as its origin a higher genius, the Creator, God? I ask myself, ''how could human genius exist if it was not so?'' It is understandable that creation can be considered logical by the human mind and heart.
There are many books, articles, movies, and other media eloquently presenting the subjects we are very informally addressing here. I suggest a seeker or new believer starts with the books by Lee Strobel, such as ''The Case for Faith''.
When Doubt Is A Feeling
Identifying the sense of doubt within us and exploring what it really boils down to, is the starting point. Feelings are processes within us. They can be learned, such as from the reactions and responses of others. Before I was saved, I was influenced by many different people. In my teenage years, the friends I wanted to be like were generally in disfavor of following Jesus. The school systems were teaching as if Jesus was not important. My father adhered to a religion that taught Jesus was no more than a good man.
These experiences shaped my opinions in a strong emotional way. Somehow I adopted these experiences in a way that seemed to be forming my identity. I took it as an affront to who I thought I was when people said and did religious things. Of course, being emotionally insecure already, I reacted to the ''affronts'' by moving toward fear and anger about the issue. Of course, it came out in a general distrust of Christians. That is just my little example of how people can be warped by hard to discern emotional doubts about Jesus.
Each of us has many such emotionally impacting transactions in our past. To overcome emotional based doubts about Jesus takes the willingness to apply open mindedness to see where we might have been unwittingly shaped in wrong directions. It could have been by others, or by our own decisions. The best way to do this is through prayer. God is very kind and can lead us into truth that untangles our doubts in this way.
Whether the obstacles to believing in Jesus come from faulty logic, deep emotions like fear or anger, or sins like self exalting pride or haughtiness, all arguments break down when fully examined, especially in a prayerful attitude.
So I would like to leave you with this quote coming from the mouth of Jesus:
''I
say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and
he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son
asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or
if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or
if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.''
(Luke 11: 9-13)
(End of section ''What If I Have Doubts)
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