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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’ve frequently heard that “doubt is a part of faith.”  Often it’s said in a very matter of fact way, as if it’s a given.

I just realized that it’s because having faith that God exists is so hard to believe.  Can you think of any other beings that you can’t see (e.g., fairies) that you think are real? Or any beings that live in uninhabitable places (e.g., Santa Claus at the North Pole) that you think are real?  Of course not. That’s why religion requires faith:  Religion allows people to believe in an invisible being who lives in an uninhabitable place.

Belief that being religious is good, also explains why people say things like “his faith is strong” as a positive comment.  Still, what it means is that despite people’s better judgement and their adult thinking skills, they manage to hold on to magical thinking in the realm of religion.

If you believe in God, do you have doubts?

If you don’t believe in God, how did you stop? (if you ever believed)

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I posted below in other doubt thread but believe it is relevant. Thank you for asking as it represents an interesting conundrum.

Yes I believe n God because I have had many life experiences that confirm her presence in my life and it feels right to me.

To me, doubts are the flip side of faith. They coexist.

However, just as there is no substitute for hard work, there is no substitute for disciplined spiritual practice. You can have both faith and doubts that you are capable of creating good art but there is no substitute for getting into your creative zone and making art that communicates feelings/ places/ people/ moments in time in ways that words can’t express.

Faith and doubts are the co-joined twins inside one’s head that is always chattering away -/ but religious practices (prayer/ worship/ meditation/ sacred music need to be lived). Religious practices represent different forms of knowledge and experience to both faith and doubts.

Similarly, knowledge without compassion and love is meaningless to me. I have studied a lot in my life (advanced degree, multiple undergraduate degrees both practical and theoretical, different languages, and more). However, the pursuit of knowledge without being motivated by love, kindness and compassion seems empty beyond words to me.

I am heart broken about the dismantling of federal government especially medical research, science, and evidence based approaches to public policy. The current chaos and disregard for the many short and long term harms being done is wrong headed in so many ways. I have no doubts that religion is being exploited for an extremely unholy agenda.

I have many doubts about literal interpretations of sacred scriptures that are divorced from social, political and historical contexts. I have few doubts that God’s love, grace and mercy transcends our foolish ways.[/quote]

"the pursuit of knowledge without being motivated by love, kindness and compassion seems empty beyond words to me."

Why?  You can have love, kindness, and compassion without believing in any religion.

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