J.R. Briggs

Reflections from doubt :: night

January 20, 2010

Last night we held another doubt :: night discussion.

We had a fantastic, participatory discussion for two solid hours – and I am sure we could have gone longer. I opened the evening talking about the vision of Renew – how we’re a Jesus community for skeptics and dreamers.

Before we began our discussion, I talked about the difference between a cynic and a skeptic – and what it means to be a dreamer. Cynics are fault-finders, skeptics are fact-finders and dreamers are truth-finders. I shared that there are places for skeptics and dreamers at Renew, but not cynics. If you’re simply here to pick a fight or point fingers at others, this wasn’t the place for you. Fortunately, every one in attendance was there to learn and grow and process. It made for a great evening.

I also shared a few quotes about doubt and belief and allowed them to lead into our discussion:

“Doubt is uncomfortable but certainty is ridiculous.” – Voltaire

“When in doubt, do courageous things.” -Jan Smuts

“Doubt is not the opposite of faith. It’s one element of it” -Paul Tillich

“I believe. Help me with my unbelief!” – father talking to Jesus in Mark 9

We also managed to discuss topics such as the earthquake in Haiti, St. Teresa of Avila, cuss words, the significance of love, beer, the three longings of every human heart and faith being like a song and a melody. You never know what to expect in these discussions!

I thought I’d list some of the great questions asked – either questions we discussed or ones that were written anonymously on index cards and submitted for discussion.

• “Hell doesn’t seem fair. What’s up with that?”
• “In exploring the gospel message of grace, how do we really know that aren’t ‘religious hoops’ to jump through when throughout the New Testament (Paul, John, etc) it is often said if you do not do this or that, there’s no place for you in the Kingdom of God?”
• “Why do some ‘non-Christians’ act more like Christians than Christians? Will God really send them to hell?”
• “What really is sin? Did we just make up the concept of sin?”
• “What does acceptable faith to God look like?”
• “Is there even a hell?”
• “How do we know the Bible is true and accurate?”
• “What is sanity?”
• “Can we really know anything?”
• “Heaven: how do we know it exists? If it does, what is it?”

But my favorite question of the night was from Julie, a college student from Ursinus who I met for the first time last night. She admitted she herself was curious about spirituality and how it fit into her life. She asked a courageous and fantastic question: “What does a more spiritual life look like – and why even pursue it?” We discussed this question for a good forty minutes last night.

I can’t stop thinking about it. Thank you, Julie.

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