I didn’t grow up in the Adventist bubble. I grew up in a home where no conversations were off limits, and I went to a public school that infused me with questions and a burning passion for scholarship and truth. Growing up, I learned that Christianity is an intellectual religion full of exploration driven by a lack of certainty—something we call doubt. At Southern I learned this does not apply to Adventism, and it disturbs me. So this Christmas, I wish the greatest gift upon you: doubt.
In Adventism, there is a cultural concept that people are either faithful or atheistic; the dichotomy is rigid and fixed, meaning skepticism is fatal and unwavering faith is salvation. This concept fits nicely in a fairytale, but is completely useless in reality as all people struggle to believe something they hope for but cannot see. While this attitude treats doubt as fatal, it subjects believers to a dilemma they cannot escape: they must either lie to themselves and others or become atheists. Realistically, there are sections of the Bible and Christian texts that are difficult to trust. When a young man’s body falls on the bones of Elisha and resurrects, I find myself wondering how much culture affected the writing of the books of the Kings and Chronicles, and that’s the whole point. While the Bible is mostly clear enough for first-time readers, it is a grouping of intellectual texts capable of, and at times demanding, deep study, skepticism and challenge. People looking for an easily digestible worldview should look to Hollywood or cheap novels. Furthermore, Christ himself doubted in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the disciples abandoned Him because they thought his downfall was clear, yet none of them were atheists as a result. Faith cannot be an either-or system because it is a process. People do not flip switches and become faithful; they live, suffer and triumph, and as a result they become more sure of what they believe.
If doubt is truly fatal, then salvation is not worth reaching for. As I have discussed, faith is a process, and if we are damned for suffering through a process, then neither God nor the Church are just. Biblically, God does not eternally condemn people for growing, failing or regressing; consider his treatment of Peter and Thomas. Instead, those who do not question cannot achieve salvation because they have not chosen it. Through fear or laziness, they have stood in place. They have not sought truth, a fundamental Christian exercise. To never question faith is inherently unbiblical, and as those who warn us against doubting would say that being unbiblical cannot result in salvation.
I don’t encourage doubt because of bitterness or anger. I encourage it because its absence horrifies me—Christianity is the most complete intellectual system to exist. Currently, Adventism is not. Yet if we change the culture and stop fearing doubt, we will have a system to rival anything else.