Christians Should Question their Beliefs

Katiee

Growing up Catholic, I spent a lot of time in Mass and Catechism, as an altar server, and most of my life was centered around completing the Sacraments. During this, I couldn’t help but question my beliefs and why God did certain things. I think this is a pretty common experience, it's normal to be curious and want answers for unexplained things. However, I couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty for doing this, I felt like I needed to go to confession immediately after questioning God and pray about ten Hail Mary’s. As a philosophy student I still can’t help but feel a teeny bit of guilt when I consider arguments against God’s existence. However, the more I read about this the more I think it’s actually good for me to question God, (still feels wrong to even type that). I think questioning one’s faith can lead to stronger faith. The more I question my faith, the more I’m reading scripture, talking to God, and just trying to understand rather than trying to look for a reason not to believe. Plus, isn’t it better to believe in something you understand rather than just blindly believing what you’re told? As a kid, I blindly believed, and I thought it was wrong to question, but questioning only leads to more understanding, and that can’t be wrong. If I were to lay this out in a formal argument, I think it would be like this:
1: If you want to believe something, then you should understand it.
2: Questioning one’s faith leads to understanding their belief.
3: So, if you want to believe something, you should question it.
Maybe I’m wrong, maybe the feeling of guilt is the Holy Spirit telling me to stop questioning; I’m pretty sure I heard that from my Catechism classes. However, I do think it’s right to question your beliefs, if you don’t already understand them, even if there’s a chance it can lead to losing faith.

Wayfarer

↪Katiee

Hi Katiee, and welcome to the Forum.

I would say, honest doubt and wrestling with doubt is an integral part of any mature faith. If you're at all familiar with Aquinas (I hasten to add, I'm no scholar of Aquinas!) you will notice nearly all his arguments begin with objections and their patient rebuttals. This is part of the dialectical approach to faith which is rather sadly absent in much of the debate around these matters.

So - I agree with you, I think honest questioning is definitely an important part of spiritual growth. The other thing to consider is that there are some very learned philosophers in the Catholic tradition, people like Stephen M Barr and Robert Spitzer SJ who have written a lot on questions of faith and science in the modern age. That's one thing the Catholic faith has in spades. There are also some really interesting youtube channels on faith, philosophy, science and religion nowadays.

So I think you're in a good place, and you're asking questions definitely worth asking.

Tom Storm

↪Katiee

I would have thought the first things to ask yourself and to really drill down upon are some more basic questions:

1. What reason do I have to believe Christianity is anything more than a myth written by anonymous sources (gospels) which were copies of copies of translations of copies, many decades after the supposed events?

2. Why do I use certain reasons to justify my belief in Christianity when these can be equality applied to Islam, or many other religions to justify them? How did I dismiss those other religions but not my own?

One of my favourite Christian writers is Bishop John Shelbey Spong (an Episcopalian) who was pretty ruthless towards some of the more appalling practices and presuppositions of Christians.

Perhaps the most telling witness against the claim of accurate history for the Bible comes when we read the earliest narrative of the crucifixion found in Mark's gospel and discover that it is not based on eyewitness testimony at all.

John Shelby Spong

The Bible has lost every major battle it has ever fought. The Bible was quoted to defend slavery and the bible lost. The Bible was quoted to keep women silent, and the Bible lost. And the Bible is being quoted to deny homosexuals their equal rights, and the Bible will lose.
John Shelby Spong

Banno

Not just Christians.

kudos

Plus, isn’t it better to believe in something you understand rather than just blindly believing what you’re told? As a kid, I blindly believed, and I thought it was wrong to question, but questioning only leads to more understanding, and that can’t be wrong.

I consider the belief to be in a strange kind of way the activity of faith. Belief – even blind belief – can assert a greater religious freedom in some sense, since it disseminates the idea of freedom of the religious doctrine. However, one who believes blindly also trusts in their society, their family, and friends to direct them towards their best interests. In this I see it as a symbol of religion, and something that sets it apart from plain ideology since it is self-reflexive; it is the activity of faith that defines it. I agree that only through self-reflection, philosophizing, and dialectic questioning is it really fully free.

Vera Mont

3: So, if you want to believe something, you should question it. — Katiee

of course you should! How else can you know that you actually believe it, rather than just repeating what you've been told? You have a whole life to live inside that same head; it serves you well to keep it as tidy and functional as possible.

Remember, too, that its okay to questionall of your sources of information regarding that creed. It may be that some are more reliable than others, more consistent, more in tune with your own way of perceiving the world - and some are less. It's okay to keep some tenets and discard some dogma. It's okay to custom-design your own personal faith. If Jesus is really up there, paying attention, he knows all about it: he went through the same process.

Outlander

Oh don't you worry. People hear you're raised from birth to be a trusting, kind, charitable person. And that you basically have to be. And have something to take or benefit others from (ie. looks or wealth). You'll have all the opportunities to question your beliefs in the world. Believe me I know.

unenlightened

Some people support the local football club and never waver, through good times and bad. Others wonder and question, and others again look for a winner and support that.

Asking a philosopher whether or not to question, is like asking an alcoholic whether rum is good. There is surely goodness in the child's simplicity and trust, and goodness too in the agonised questioning of youth. But with or without questioning, one has to hang one's hat in some hallway or other. The hall I will choose is a place where authority is diffident, and kindness and forgiveness abound, and folks support one another, and are generous to strangers. The logic of their talk is less important.

Art48

I was taught in Catholic school that the Roman Catholic Church is the "One, True Church." Which means God allows almost everyone to be born into one of the Many, False Churches. So, either I'm extra-special, or I, too, was born into one of the Many, False Churches. I'm not extra-special. So, I decided that truth was something to be pursued, not something to be spoon-fed to children. If you want to see where I ended up, here's an account of what I believe.
https://adamford.com/NTheo/NewTheology.epub
https://adamford.com/NTheo/NewTheology.pdf

IP060903

From a religious perspective, God is more pleased by a genuine search of the truth instead of a blind assent to authority. That is besides the point though. Philosophically speaking, truth must be searched and questioned absolutely until it is found absolutely and can no longer be questioned absolutely. Recognizably, this is not easy, yet Christ has taught that the Christian life is not easy. However, you are correct that questioning one's beliefs can actually strengthen those beliefs, or if one discovers the truth, destroy that belief. Yet if you discover the truth, then those beliefs were better off gone. Truth is the ideal principle of Christianity, as Christ is in the faith, Truth Himself. At least, this is what Christ intended, but that many Christians do not practice Truth, or even understand the truth of Truth, is reality.

Arne

All should question their beliefs on a regular and ongoing basis.

Arne

From a religious perspective, God is more pleased by a genuine search of the truth instead of a blind assent to authority. That is besides the point though. Philosophically speaking, truth must be searched and questioned absolutely until it is found absolutely and can no longer be questioned absolutely. Recognizably, this is not easy, yet Christ has taught that the Christian life is not easy. However, you are correct that questioning one's beliefs can actually strengthen those beliefs, or if one discovers the truth, destroy that belief. Yet if you discover the truth, then those beliefs were better off gone. Truth is the ideal principle of Christianity, as Christ is in the faith, Truth Himself. At least, this is what Christ intended, but that many Christians do not practice Truth, or even understand the truth of Truth, is reality. — IP060903

Good stuff.

Christians Should Question their Beliefs

Welcome to The Philosophy Forum!

Categories

More Discussions