"When one permits DOUBTS to enter his thoughts and reasonings, he is on dangerous ground. He is thinking negatively. Whoever DOUBTS is damned. I want the reader to learn that lesson.
"If one is not certain -- if he has not PROVED a doctrine or a fact -- then the teaching of God is, with open mind free from prejudice, to seek all the facts -- to PROVE it. This is not negative, but positive thinking and procedure. Doubting is not proving. Doubting is not intelligent! It is negative thinking about something one does not know enough about to warrant this form of unfounded disbelief." - Herbert W Armstrong, Autobiography Volume 1
When it came to Herbert Armstrong there seemed to be NOTHING that church members could ever do that was right. Do you honestly remember any time he did a sermon praising members for being strong in the faith, doing good in their lives, and following God faithfully?
All we got was one miserable shouting sermon after another with jowls flapping and a face red with anger. as he pounded the podium/desk in anger. "You just don't get it!"
Herbert's comment that whoever doubts is damned is absurd and just one more link in the chain of cultish mind control of the church.
The very essence of faith produces questions to a believer and doubt is working through the questions. Doubt is not a dirty five-letter word. Doubt is not some dark struggle that we need to keep secret. If we are honest, all believers experience doubt at varying times and in varying degrees in their faith life.
Think about all the examples of people in scripture who doubted. Two examples stand out in the New Testament. Thomas who is often referred to as "doubting Thomas" and John the Baptist. You could really call Thomas a realist because he just wanted to see to believe. He said, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." I can relate to him.
John the Baptist began doubting after hard circumstances came into his life. He found himself sitting in prison for doing what was right and standing for truth. In prison he began to have doubts so he sent two of his disciples to Jesus and asked, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" In his doubt, he was questioning if Jesus was actually the Savior that he had believed in.
In both instances Jesus did not respond with disgust, by telling them they were wrong, or by making them feel embarrassed or ashamed. Instead, His response was to help them through their doubts and to fix the missing element in their faith. Thomas needed to see to believe so Jesus showed him His hands and His side and told him to touch the wounds. John the Baptist just needed to take time to remember. Jesus sent back the two disciples to tell John,
Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Remembering these facts resolved John's doubt and strengthened his faith. Is it ok for a Christian to doubt?
I have heard church members claim they have never had a day of doubt. They say they have proven all they were taught as true and have nothing further to worry about. Talk about foolish thinking! It's like the Mormons who talk about feeling "a burning in their bosom" so they do not need to prove anything else or question.
Truthfully, the church was NOT a safe place to let doubt be known. The second you did you were looked at as a backslider or lukewarm in the faith. Even worse, you were labeled as a Laodicean, the ultimate epithet of the church. The church quickly and efficiently shut you down. If you dare to doubt then you dare to doubt what the minister or Dear Leader says and they cannot have that happening! Proper church government, remember! Doubt means you do not respect church government and that is the ultimate sin, one step above the unpardonable sin.
Many faithful honest Christians talk about seasons of doubt in their lives as they walk through the desert.
If you’ve struggled with doubt or are currently struggling with it, before you do anything else, you simply must know that going through these seasons — those ones that wreck you about Jesus and God — is normal.
And not only is it normal, but it’s also necessary.
Doubts are the growing pains of the faith. It’s always been that way. They’re usually seasons of discomfort, and sometimes they bring us to tears. It’s real pain. But they’re seasons we must endure if we want to grow in our faith. Is it Okay to Doubt God?
One of the best stories in the bible is about a man seeking Jesus to heal his epileptic son. He said he believed but yet needed help in his unbelief (doubts).
For those coming out of Armstrongism (or any other church, for that matter) with their faith shattered, finding community with others who struggled with doubt was a refreshing thing to behold. Sharing that doubt, talking about it, mulling it over, spitting out that which was no longer needed, and struggling with others who found ways to overcome doubt is a wonderful journey. A journey where one finally realizes that doubt is a good thing and creates space for learning, investigating, mulling it over, and discarding the useless things that really have no meaning or bearing on one's Christian walk. God knows there were a LOT of useless things in Armstrongism that are not necessary for an honest Christian or doubter.
Many left the church because they felt the church was an unsafe place to question or have doubts. How can you trust a church that isn't honest and open? “Just have faith” and “don’t ask questions” are the mantras of the church and are believed by far too many, without any reservation, as biblical truth.
Doubt is often used as the opposite of faith in the church. But that isn't true. The opposite of faith is unbelief.
Even John the Baptist wrestled with doubt:
Near the end of his life, John was in prison facing imminent death. He called two of his disciples and requested that they go to Jesus and ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Luke 7:19). John was essentially saying, “I think I believe you’re the Messiah, but in this moment, I’m not 100 percent sure.”
Really? After all John had seen and testified about? After calling Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? After hearing the Father’s audible voice identifying Jesus as his Son? After all that, the precursor to the Savior himself doubts that Jesus is the actual Savior?
Now, such facts about John the Baptist might make someone scoff at his lack of faith. If I’m honest, though, I’m comforted by his doubt. Why? Because if he could doubt and admit it plainly—to the point that it’s recorded in Holy Scripture—surely I have liberty to doubt and be candid about it, too.
John’s doubt means I’m free from the shame of admitting my own. I’m free to honestly stumble along in faith, knowing God is big enough to handle it when I quake.
And let’s not forget how Jesus responded to John’s questions: he was patient and gracious. He wasn’t turned off by John’s sudden doubt. He calmly answered the question and gave assurance that he was the Messiah (Luke 7:21–23). My Comfort in John the Baptist’s Doubt
Armstrongism taught us to pray harder or more often to alleviate doubt, and of course read everything the church published, since it had ALL the answers. All that really did was make the questions even louder causing the shame and unworthyness to set in.
Christians should take stock of the fact that all of the disciples wallowed in doubt, especially at the end. Did that doubt lead them away from faith, or from being a follower of Jesus? It did not and neither should you worry if you have doubts. The true enemy of the faith is not doubt but fear. Armstrongism lived in a world of fear. Christians live in the world of grace. A world where doubt has a home.
