Kerby Anderson
Doubt is something that we all face. All of us have doubts, but these shouldn’t lead to confusion, hopelessness, and unbelief. Doubts can often deepen our dependence on God and give us empathy for others.

Pastor Bobby Conway was on my program recently to talk about his new book, Doubting Toward Faith: The Journey to Confident Christianity. Sean McDowell wrote the foreword to the book, and he was in my radio studio recently and also talked about doubt.

Bobby Conway reminds us that there are different forms of doubt: emotional doubt, intellectual doubt, volitional doubt, and evidential doubt. He also had two chapters on all of the doubt triggers in our world today. These range from questions about alleged contradictions in the Bible to moral and ethical questions found in the Bible. And he reminds us that Jesus can handle our doubts. After all, Thomas had questions and doubts. Jesus did not condemn him but answered his questions and provided evidence for his doubts.

In the foreword and his radio interview with me, Sean McDowell shared how doubts first hit him as a college student. He sat down with his father to share his doubts. Josh McDowell responded, “I think its great that you want to find truth.” This gave Sean room to pursue his questions and resolve his doubts. It allowed him to make the faith of his parents his own faith.

He discovered that doubts don’t have to be the end of faith. They can often be the impetus for the development of a deeper, more genuine faith. Of course you have to be intentional in your search for truth.

If you have doubts or know someone who has doubts, this is an excellent book to read and pass on to others. It is well-written and immensely practical. As some of us have said, we wish we had this book when we were growing up and asking good questions that few (if any) seemed able to answer.