Magyar Egyház, 1975 (54. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1975-03-01 / 3. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 HOW TO HANDLE DOUBT We are living in one of the in-between periods of history. This is an era in transition. One world is dying. Another world is trying to be bom. The old fences are down. The old disciplines are gone. The old patterns of life have ceased to exist, and the old attitudes no longer prevail. You can almost see the trappings of the old world fall apart. The world is in ferment. Nothing is accepted at face value. Everything is being challenged. Nothing is sacrosanct. We are hanging a question mark on everything. That is especially true in the area of religion. We belong to an age which enjoys tinkering with religion. Just as a child will take apart a toy to find what it can do and what makes it work, so we live in a world that is taking apart religion, reducing it to its component parts. In the end, “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put it back together again.” A nuclear-conscious and science-minded age has concluded that the idea of God is irrelevant. The age will not even permit the most rudimentary Christian beliefs to stand. There are those who wonder if Christianity has the answer. The mantle of the prophets and apostles has been transferred to the men of science. The high priests of today are the economists, sociologists, psychologists, computer technicians, and research experts who insist that everything must be weighed, measured, and counted. We rush for help not to the altar but to the laboratory. There are doubts raised not only by forces outside of organized religion but also by forces within organized religion which affirm the God they defend is dead. To this nuclear age religion is so unreal, unreasonable, and unrealistic. Doubts mushroom in the dark and grow like weeds. We have doubt about the meaning of life, doubt about the purpose of living, doubt about the sense of values, doubt about moral standards, doubt about the Bible, doubt about God, and doubt about immortality. The Christian who lives in an age of hydrogen bombs, interstellar communication, space capsules, nuclear power, and revolutions must remember that the simple faith of childhood is often challenged by doubt. It is never easy to live in such a world. One day a student came to my study in the university, and there was bewilderment written all over his face. He said to me, “I have just come from a lecture where I learned something that I never thought possible, and the professor pulled the rug out from under my life.” Then he said, “I wish I had never heard it.” It is much more comfortable and agreeable to accept everything that is put before you, whether food or facts: ask no questions, and just swallow. There is a popular cliché: I have made up my mind, don’t confuse me with facts. I recall the Arab in the desert who awakened in his tent very hungry at midnight. He lit a candle and reached for a bowl of dates. He took one out, held it up to the light, saw that a worm was in it, and tossed it aside. He reached for a second, held it up to the light, saw a worm, and tossed it out of the tent. Then he blew out the candle and proceeded to eat the bowl of dates. It is so much easier and more comfortable to live in that kind of world. What has the Christian faith to say in such an hour? One day Jesus of Nazareth came upon such a person. His name was Nicodemus. He was a ruler of the Jews. He was exemplary in character and intelligence. He belonged to a distinguished company of seventy-two elder statesmen. He was an authority on law and an interpreter of religious statutes. He had heard of Jesus. Perhaps he had even met Him on previous occasions. He was familiar with His teachings. They ran counter to his deepest beliefs and denied traditions which he held most dear. He could not possibly become a disciple, but he refused to turn his back on Jesus. He could not say yes, and he would not say no. So he came to Jesus by night for a long, unhurried, unbroken, and uninterrupted conversation. He confronted Jesus with the question, “How can this be?” You can’t run away from your doubts or sweep them under the rug. Sooner or later every human life must face up to them. If you will take the time to read this story carefully, you will discover that Jesus made clear to Nicodemus two basic facts. The first was an assurance. The second was a warning. Take the first. Jesus made clear that doubt may be an open door to greater certainty. There are, of course, negative and dishonest doubts born of blank ignorance, dull incompetence, and sheer prejudice. There are unfortunate people who only see what they cannot accept. This kind of doubt poisons the roots of life and sours the soil of living. Honest doubt may be the most rewarding and enriching experience of your life. It has a place. It is valid. It is part of the pattern of life. Peace of mind comes not by freedom from doubt or a disregard of doubt but by facing it without fear or shame. Accept it. Face it. Come to grips with it. Truth never need be afraid of light. The more light you let loose upon it, the more beautiful it be
