In Christianity, doubt is sometimes presented as a problem, as lack of faith, as unsuitable for a good Christian, and so on. I am sure those who have a more mature take on Christianity have found ways to embrace doubt – it’s human, understandable, authentic, and can lead us to a deeper and more honest exploration.
THE VALUE OF DOUBT
I see doubt as essential for an honest and authentic exploration of who and what we are.
If we want to sincerely explore life, we need doubt and to embrace doubt.
We need to doubt second-hand information and what any thought tells us.
Somewhere in us, we already do so why not embrace it?
And why not make use of it? Why not use it to engage in a more honest and thorough explanation?
WHAT’S UNDENIABLY HERE
Eventually, this brings us to what’s undeniably here.
We cannot ultimately trust any second-hand information. We don’t know exactly where it comes from, and words never completely convey the insights or realization it comes from.
We also cannot ultimately trust any thought. Thoughts are stories. They can help us orient in the world. They are questions about the world. They are maps. They are, in some cases, pointers to something we can find for ourselves. They cannot hold any final or absolute truth.
We cannot even ultimately trust our own experience. What we experience is what’s happening in our sense fields, and we interpret it and understand it through our own mental representations. All of that is inherently unreliable.
So what’s left? What’s undeniably here?
What’s undeniably here is what a thought may label awakeness or consciousness.
When we examine our first person experience, we may find that all our experience happen within and as consciousness. We are capacity for the world as it appears to us. Our field of experience happens within and as what we are.
DOUBT CAN LEAD US TO NOTICE WHAT WE ARE
In this way, doubt – when taken seriously – can lead us to notice what we are.
Especially if we have some guidance and pointers.
Doubt can help us notice it now and not just have the memory of a previous noticing.
And doubt can keep us honest with ourselves in general.
OUTLINE
- doubt
- essential to doubt what others say + any thought
- brings us to notice what’s here, what’s undeniable
- ….
….
First, we all naturally and inherently doubt. Somewhere in us, we doubt second-hand information we haven’t verified for ourselves. And we doubt our own interpretations. So why not admit this?
It’s also essential to doubt what others say and what any thought tells us.