10th January 2006
Last night I began thinking through Romans 14:23, the last part of which reads, “everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Many probably take this injunction to mean that what it comes to spirituality and matters of faith, one may not permit any doubts to enter in, or else one is in sin.
In fact, many people teach that doubt comes from Satan, the Devil, the Enemy of our souls. That notion is probably implied from Genesis 3: 1-5, when the Serpent questioned God’s word, “Did God really say…?” throwing doubts to Eve’s mind about God’s command for Eve.
So, does Romans 14 really teach that it is sinful to have doubts? Read the rest of this entry »
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10th January 2006
Recently, I wrote a post that was, in part, in response to some dialogue I was having with another blogger concerning Christianity, religions, faith and skepticism. In so doing, I wrote a couple of posts in an attempt to explore what it means to have faith. I made reference to previous posts I have written in regards to logic and dogmatism. I suggested that having faith doesn’t mean that one does not have any doubts whatsoever, and holding one’s faith in tension with one’s doubts can be a very healthy form of spirituality. In this post, I would like to explore the matter further, especially in the light of Romans 14:23, the last part of which reads, “everything that does not come from faith is sin.”
This Scripture is probably rather well-known, but I suspect that it is also much misunderstood. I have heard this verse read in many a sermon about faith. When we take this statement at face value, we may think that Paul is teaching that doubts and spirituality do not mix. One might be tempted to think that if you have any doubts about your faith, then you are either immature, or worse yet, you have sinned.
Read the rest of this entry »
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