Jay Bakker: Faith, Doubt and Other Lines I've Crossed

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Jay BakkerPastor, Author, 'Fall to Grace'

GET UPDATES FROM Jay Bakker   Like 6 Faith, Doubt and Other Lines I've Crossed Posted: 02/19/2013 6:03 pm Follow   Christianity ,   Christianity ,   Christianity ,   Scripture Commentary , Belief , Belief In God , Doubt , Faith , Fundamentalism , Scripture Study , Religion News
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One of the worst things you can be when you're a dogmatic person is wrong. If you insist that you're right about something and it turns out you're wrong, you're not just wrong about that something. You're wrong about having been right. You're wrong simply for your attitude toward your own knowledge. This is something Paul gets at when he writes "Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?"

Years ago, I believed in a lot of things like heaven and God. And I was told that to really believe in them, I had to eliminate any kind of doubt. The problem was I'd study the Bible and doubts would creep in. I'd find difficult passages that we'd based clear-cut theologies on. I'd learn more about the writers of the books and why they wrote and to whom and suddenly everything was looking a lot muddier.

This kills belief. Belief can't handle being wrong. Belief is concerned not with what is believed but the the rightness of the one believing. And so belief takes things like "God" and "heaven" that should be fluid and evolving and growing and maturing as ideas and separates them from the people. Belief puts God behind a curtain, preserving God like a museum piece.

Since then, I've gone from believing in these things to hoping in them. Because when you believe in something "unseen" to use Paul's word, you become dogmatic. You can't prove it to anyone, and so you end up insisting that you are right instead of insisting on what is right. But hope -- hope leaves room for doubt. Hope embraces your doubt. I hope in God, but I could be wrong. I hope in heaven, but I could be wrong.

This does two things -- one, it opens you up to people. It opens you up to loving people. To seeing who they really are, and seeing how they see you. To discovering new things every day in them. To finding reality in other people instead of in creeds and beliefs and dogmas. To finding God in all of life, not just the smells and bells of the church.

Second, this kind of hope turns away from belief and discovers faith. When I have faith in something, I don't have a handle on it. I don't have it in my grasp. I have to hold it with open hands, but when I do, I discover true freedom. Sure, hold on to your truth, faith says, but your truth doesn't have to hold on to you. The freedom to have faith instead of belief -- the freedom to doubt -- is one of the most beautiful things about following Christ.

With faith, I can work for good in the world. I can see the world in all of its messy, random, meaningless tragedy and say: So what? I'm going to create meaning. I'm going to love my neighbor. I'm going to work to free the oppressed. I'm going to live out grace. I'm going to feed the hungry. I'm going to live as if life has meaning, despite the evidence, and hope that I'm right.

This allows me to live with the mystery, to love my neighbor without having an agenda for their conversion. My agenda is for their peace, their equality, their worth as a human being. Doubt allows me to follow Jesus in my own life, and help people find grace and peace and acceptance in their lives.

Doubt also keeps me sane. Rather than making me like a wave tossed by the sea, as the book of James puts it, it allows me to go on. It allows me to participate in the grace and love of God even though I feel separated from it so often. It allows me to read the Bible seriously -- which is very different than how I grew up. It allows me to rethink things like hell and sin and this thing called penal substitution that imagines God demanding blood for sins (and offering Jesus to die to satisfy that bloodlust). And it allows me to love, to really love.

Because love, too, doubts. Love is uncertain. Love is a risk. It's something you have to have faith in, not something you can believe in. Love "hopes all things" Paul tells us, and that means it doubts.

I'll be honest, it's hard to doubt. There are days I want to just give up on this whole thing. It's hard. But that's what community is all about. We're there to help each other doubt more, and have more faith. I wouldn't be who I am today without the people who have encouraged me to doubt, and to have faith, and to let go of my belief.

One thing I know: We can't conquer hopelessness with certainty. We can't fix tragedy with dogma. We can only embrace the doubt that comes when we hope, when we have faith, when we love.

 FOLLOW RELIGION Like 40k   Get Alerts #ad_bottom_article_text {margin-bottom: 15px} Scripture StudyScripture CommentaryChristianityOne of the worst things you can be when you're a dogmatic person is wrong. If you insist that you're right about something and it turns out you're wrong, you're not just wrong about that something. Yo...One of the worst things you can be when you're a dogmatic person is wrong. If you insist that you're right about something and it turns out you're wrong, you're not just wrong about that something. Yo... Related News On Huffington Post:  
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of our newest badge: Community Curator. View AllFavorites Recency |  Popularity Kevin Marshall0 Fans 7 minutes ago ( 9:00 PM)ThanksKevin_Marshall: Thankshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Kevin_Marshall/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231213155.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program BOBinPSReally?200 Fans 46 minutes ago ( 8:21 PM)Dude, religion was counting on you not being able to read.BOBinPS: Dude, religion was counting on you not being able tohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/BOBinPS/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231204699.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program frozenlake92 Fans 24 minutes ago ( 8:43 PM)That's why they didn't want the bible translated for hundreds of years.frozenlake: That's why they didn't want the bible translated for hundredshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/frozenlake/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231209603.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… homer winslowTruth in Beauty, Beauty in Truth1098 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:33 PM)I'm going to create meaning. I'm going to love my neighbor. I'm going to work to free the oppressed. I'm going to live out grace. I'm going to feed the hungry. I'm going to live as if life has meaning, despite the evidence, and hope that I'm right.

You can do all that without bringing god into the picture. The meaning that life has is the meaning that we give to it.homer_winslow: I'm going to create meaning. I'm going to love myhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/homer_winslow/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231179257.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USERSayBladeThis micro bio intentionally left blank.665 Fans 2 hours ago ( 7:15 PM)You like to tell other people what they can bring into their life picture much? What is the point of your comment in relation to the article?SayBlade: You like to tell other people what they can bringhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/SayBlade/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231189382.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… ZenSufiSisters and Brothers of America!474 Fans 2 hours ago ( 7:19 PM)Create meaning. Create God.ZenSufi: Create meaning. Create God.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/ZenSufi/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231190386.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… Overd0g2227 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:32 PM)Exactly why now I only hope for a pet Unicorn instead of believing in them.Overd0g2: Exactly why now I only hope for a pet Unicornhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Overd0g2/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231178837.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USERSayBladeThis micro bio intentionally left blank.665 Fans 2 hours ago ( 7:15 PM)Do you have a point to make?SayBlade: Do you have a point to make?http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/SayBlade/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231189482.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program gia36 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:25 PM)Faith and love is interchangeble.gia: Faith and love is interchangeble.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gia/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231177212.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it mrovin161 Fans   2 hours ago ( 7:35 PM)Faith and gullibility are interchangeable. Plenty of people who love who have no faith.mrovin1: Faith and gullibility are interchangeable. Plenty of people who lovehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mrovin1/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231194049.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… modeforjoeWe had the experience, but we missed the meaning265 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:23 PM)Sweet, sweet sentiments and well expressed. "Faith" is the state of believing in something for which no compelling evidence is supplied. Someday you will find the strength to adopt a more mature position, finding your own self-worthy reasons for loving others and doing good deeds.modeforjoe: Sweet, sweet sentiments and well expressed. "Faith" is the statehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/modeforjoe/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231176629.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… Ozvoxhumana51 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:11 PM)When you have been indoctrinated to have "faith", the process of recovery can be painful.

But you do eventually get to the point where you realize that "faith" is nothing more than "the fear-driven adherence to an unprovable dogma".

Once you get to that point, the world becomes a much happier place.Ozvoxhumana: When you have been indoctrinated to have "faith", the processhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Ozvoxhumana/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231173521.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it homer winslowTruth in Beauty, Beauty in Truth1098 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:35 PM)Fanned for your realization. I hope many more will join us.homer_winslow: Fanned for your realization. I hope many more will joinhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/homer_winslow/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231179665.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… HUFFPOST SUPER USERshirley thomasforward not backward2404 Fans 2 hours ago ( 6:52 PM)Once u get to that point u truly walk into the light, and find real joyshirley_thomas: Once u get to that point u truly walk intohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/shirley_thomas/faith-doubt-and-other-lines-ive-crossed_b_2719657_231183932.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them AllLoading comments… Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…    new comment(s) on this entry — Click to refreshLoading comments… Most Popular Higgs Data Suggest Universe Has Finite Lifespan Man With Down Syndrome's Death In Police Custody Ruled A Homicide WATCH: Incredible Thing Happens When Gay Man Confronts Homophobic Subway Preacher Brothers Blow Up Their House Celebrating Lottery Win: Cops Shooting Spree Leaves At Least 3 Dead Lady Gaga Introduces Her Wheelchair (PHOTO) 'That Is So Debasing, But I Like It': The 15 Most Bizarre Moments From The Jodi Arias Trial (So Far) 6 'Black Presidents' Before Barack Obama Fergie Announces Pregnancy On Twitter Bestselling Self-Help Author Dies Alabama GOP Lawmaker Claims A Baby Is The 'Largest Organ In A Body' Vatican Residency Ensures Benedict's Immunity From Abuse Prosecution Harry Styles Speaks Out About Taylor Swift Split Former Beatles Frontman Dies At 72 Man Who Allegedly Slapped Toddler On Plane Flight Now Out Of A Job Holy Crap, 'SNL' Mindy McCready Dies At 37 Clinton Heads To Speaking Circuit 8 Lessons We Learned From 'Life Is But A Dream' Julia Roberts And Danny Moder Share Rare PDA Moment Follow HuffPost Email Facebook Twitter Google Plus RSS Mobile HuffPost Daily Brief Religion Get top stories and blogs posts emailed to you each day.

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