That would be doubting ... and doubting is bad. It's very bad! And it's ALWAYS BAD!!!
While no intelligent or reasonable person would take a position (at least I don't think anyone would take such an extreme stance), it's implied sometimes, it seems, that to question the faith of your parents, your faith, or to question God is like an affront to the whole deal.
I firmly believe, however, that God can handle our questions. I think He can even handle our anger. I actually believe that God can handle our fury -- all of our wrath -- even our worst cuss words. I happen to think that, if we are honest with ourselves, that our behavior and attitudes sometimes come across as strongly as the vilest language or lowest insult would. And I firmly believe that God can handle this. I think that He, like the "us" He created in His image, might get His feelings hurt, or it might sadden Him to see us throwing a fit or being angry at Him and lashing out at Him, I also believe that His love and forgiveness is never-ending. He can see past the pain-inspired tongue lashings we might give Him.
McManus makes a point in his book (and Meaning Entry #7 -- The Answer Is the Question (or the Other Way Around) that all of us have questions. We're all trying to bring meaning to our lives and find out why... why we're here, what our purpose is, how we got here... He brings up a good point: that if you catch us young enough, our list of things we'll believe is long. It includes Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and perhaps Buddha, Allah, Krishna, and Jesus. Many people, as they find out that one or the other is false, give up on everything on that list. The point he makes, though, is that we're all inclined to believe in something.
I wonder why that is...
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at December 27, 2007 02:42 PM