Coffee Groups Continuing Conversation – Doubt Week 1 10.10.11 Dialog

Thanks for joining our Coffee Group at Orchard Perk.  We hope you enjoyed the conversation we began at Orchard Perk.

As follow up from that time, to continue the conversation, watch this short video (below) of different questions other Christians are struggling with and go through the Next Steps Section below:

Next Steps

Remember what we said at our Coffee Group:

“Some view times of doubt, questioning and even wonder as an enemy to faith. But as theologian Paul Tillich puts it, “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” When someone has questions and doubts, it simply means they’re unclear about where they stand on a given issue. And the ironic thing is clarity is often gained by asking more questions. When a person eventually stands firmly on a conviction, it’s usually because they’ve worked their uncertainty through a series of questions and eventually landed at a place of intellectual satisfaction. So again, wrestling through our doubts is a key element to faith development, not an enemy to it.”

Take some time to write out those things you have questions about. Think about some of the questions brought up in the video. Maybe you have similar questions or possibly entirely different ones. Either way, articulating them can be a very healthy process.

Additionally, write down areas you’re certain of—things you’re not currently questioning at all.

For instance, do you believe God exists, or that the Bible is in fact God’s Word? Do you believe that you’re forgiven, or that you cannot in- crease or decrease God’s love for you? When faced with what you don’t know, it helps to have a foundation of things you do know. Write these certainties down and continue to bring the dialog back to these areas. This helps keep a foundation for our faith, while still leaving the door open for further discussion and uninhibited exploration.

Our goal is not for you to exhaust yourself in each of these areas. Rather, the goal is to simply begin discussing and working through them. Your questions don’t have to rattle your faith, but they can if we don’t process them.

Feel free to check out the following resources as well: More than a Carpenter or The Case for Christ.

Often the simple task of talking through those questions we have with another person and looking into Scripture for ourselves can answer a lot.

We will continue this conversation next week together at our Coffee Groups.

- Kevin