The Raft of Doubt

Doubt…

Can anyone here honestly say they have never experienced doubt?

Of course not! Doubt is so universal that according to lyrics.com there are 183,292 songs that include the word “doubt” in the lyrics. IMDb says there are over 600 movies & tv shows that explore the concept of doubt. And there are a ton of phrases or idioms about it. One we will talk more about shortly…Doubting Thomas, of course. What are some other phrases about doubt you know of? Shout it out when you think of one.

The benefit of the doubt

Beyond a shadow of a doubt

Cast doubt on

Have doubts

Hold in doubt

No doubt about it

A reasonable doubt

When in doubt, throw it out

Without a shred of doubt

Often wrong, never in doubt

Without a doubt

Plant the seeds of doubt

Sow the seeds of doubt

When in doubt, leave it out

A nagging doubt

When in doubt, do nothing

A doubting Thomas

So many ways we express doubt in our language, like uncertainty, reservation, suspicion, skepticism, anxiety, wariness. So many different words we created to further communicate our doubt.

The word doubt comes from a Latin word that will sound very familiar…”dubius.” Spelled slightly differently, but it essentially means two. Of two minds. 

To believe…or not to believe.

And that is where we meet Thomas in today’s Gospel lesson, isn’t it?

Thomas has seen Jesus perform numerous signs, wonders, miracles, but a story of the resurrected Jesus appearing in human form, having conversations with his fellow disciples is a step beyond what his logical brain can reconcile. He is having trouble believing.

Is doubt harmful or helpful?

Doubt can be harmful. 

Having doubts when your significant other is telling you the truth can cause hurt feelings, and the erosion or even destruction of your relationship.

Having doubts about a scientific finding, leading you to take action in opposition to that finding could leave you vulnerable, causing potential physical harm to yourself or your children.

Having doubts about our ability to achieve something in the workplace that may require you to stretch, but we are actually capable of can cause harm to our careers, and self-doubt can also cause mental harm. 

But doubt can also be your teacher.

Doubt can keep you from helping the “prince of Nigeria” with his large money transfer.

Identifying doubt for what it is can be motivating. Vincent Van Gogh said, “If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”

Doubt can help us dive deeper into our own faith to uncover our personally-held beliefs. Writer, David Hughes is a Buddhist, and offers up an example of this that I think can be applied to Christianity, He says, “The Buddha talks of his teachings as a raft, taking his students from one side of their river to another. Upon having reached the other side the raft can be discarded. Doubt is rather like that raft, we use it to progress but should be prepared to leave it when we have reached a point where we have honestly examined our feelings about a particular subject.”

The beauty of doubt may lie in balance.

Robert Glazer, a marketing entrepreneur, was talking Conor Neill, an MBA professor, about the subject of doubt and Conor shared a recent conversation he had with a devoutly religious friend. “This friend spoke with Conor about the importance of having faith in the face of doubt. His premise is that, if you have only doubt, you’re cynical. On the flip side, if you do not doubt, then your beliefs begin to border on fanaticism, even fascism in the most extreme cases.” Glazer had some takeaways about this conversation on the benefits of doubt and openly contemplating it with others:

• It keeps us open to new ideas and perspectives
• It keeps us humble and motivated
• It causes us to question more and to test our own assumptions more carefully

Doubt, at its best, serves a purpose. It’s the raft from our story that helps take us across our river. The Bible cautions us against clinging to doubt, saying in James that a doubter, “is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.” Doubt can be a short-term companion to help us get to the other side. But...

Doubt should not be a constant companion.

The Dunning Kruger Effect can be applied to our faith.

What is the Dunning Kruger Effect? Psychology Today defines it as, “a cognitive bias in which people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area. This tends to occur because a lack of self-awareness prevents them from accurately assessing their own skills.” In other words, it is the inability to understand how little you know. 

Joe Iovino, the Director of Denominational Content Strategy at United Methodist Communication, shared this hilarious graph from Wikimedia Commons to explain the concept. “With little experience or knowledge of the skill/topic, our confidence is high. We tend to believe that our knowledge is all there is about the topic. We don’t know what we don’t know. When we continue to study, we encounter the complexity of the topic or task. That can shake our confidence. Many people stop here. We give up.

"If we keep studying, however, and gain a level of mastery of the topic/task, our confidence returns but in a different way. Our understanding of the complexity of the topic may cause us to answer with reservations—knowing there are others who may think differently or have the ability to see the topic from a variety of angles.” Iovino connects the Dunning Kruger effect to our faith. “We see that doubts are not necessarily a sign of a weak faith. Instead, they may be a sign that we are moving forward in competence of thought. For example, when one begins to think deeply about faith, questions arise, and frankly, they can be frightening. We think things we’re afraid to say aloud:

• How does that work?
• Does that make sense?
• What about other people?
• I’m not sure I like that.
• I am sure I don’t understand that.

We don’t have immediate answers to those questions, and simple answers that used to satisfy, don’t anymore.

Through study and reflection, we begin to know what we don’t know and our confidence in our understanding can be shaken. But that lack of confidence may be a sign we’re growing. If we truly want to understand our faith, we must continue to confront the questions. Don’t stop. Keep thinking, asking and growing. If we don’t give up, there may be better answers ahead.” 

Let’s get back to our beloved, and relatable Thomas.

Thomas said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

It’s funny to imagine a look of horror on the disciples’ faces after that as Thomas says,” He’s behind me right now, isn’t He?

But that is not how this story unfolds, is it? It was a week later that Jesus revealed His resurrected form to Thomas. Because Jesus wasn’t trying to condemn Thomas, He wasn’t punishing him. Jesus did what Jesus does and continues to do for all of us every day. He taught. He continued to be the teacher the disciples knew. The teacher Thomas knew. The teacher that promises us, “soon.” The teacher that left Thomas on the raft for a full week to turn over the story in his mind. 

After that week, Jesus appeared to Thomas with the mark of the nails in His hands and the gash in His side and He told Thomas not to doubt, but to believe. He told Thomas to get off the raft. Then He continued to be Thomas’ teacher, teaching him the importance of faith, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 

Jesus taught Thomas a lesson in faith, but used doubt as the most important tool, the vehicle to help Thomas understand the blessings that flow from faith. 

Don’t be afraid of doubt, but let Jesus teach you through it, lead you through it. Let doubt guide you back to your faith…and believe.

Amen.