In Two Minds

The dilemma of doubt and how to resolve it.

Os Guinness

November 23, 1996

ISBN 0-87784-771-1, Library of Congress: 75-21456

Based on my questions and anguish expressed in our "Life Group," Tom Lusby recommended and loaned me this book sometime in the fall of 1995. I read it from September 11 to November 22, 1996.

Guinness deals effectively with doubt and reached me in several places. His style is pretty repetitive. It seemed to me that for pure content, the book could have been half as long.

He deals with the nature of doubt, with specific families of doubt, with how to face and help others to face doubt and finally ends with short treatises on a couple of particularly difficult doubts.

Doubt is not the opposite of faith, indifference is, and we're not dealing with agnosticism here, we're dealing with faith and questions of faith. Doubt is "being in two minds," that is, believing one thing and believing some contradictory thing at the same time. Being in two minds can't go on for long; resolution of a particular issue will strengthen, correct, or damage one's faith. Indeed, my doubts fall into this category and into the categories he further describes. These are not really rebellions or disbeliefs but an inability to fathom or to accept without question or investigation certain beliefs that are held before me as defining Christianity. After all, I have to live life, making decisions and judgments and am unwilling to blindly base these directions on anything that I don't think of as well-founded.

Doubt has value if it is not allowed to be destructive. It can be illuminating and clarifying. Everybody has doubt no matter what their beliefs. There is no certainty in this life, in this creation. The seven categories of doubt are worth listing because of the way in which doubts show up everywhere in the various forms:

Doubt from ingratitude, not understanding that our situation is hopeless without God.

Doubt from a faulty view of God. Knowing that God is needed and trusting God are different things.

Doubt from weak foundations. Is Christianity rational or not? Is there mystery? Are we crazy?

Doubt from lack of commitment. One must really care for the pursuit to be worthwhile.

Doubt from lack of growth. Test faith and let it lead.

Doubt from unruly emotions. It happens to everybody, bad days, chemical imbalance, etc.

Doubt from fearing to believe. The disciples in the Upper Room had been hurt so badly by the crucifixion that, even when the resurrected Jesus stood before them, they could hardly believe their eyes.

Dealing with doubt in others, he breaks the technique into four: listening, discerning, speaking, and warning. This was the part of the book that lost me most. Guinness was adamant about my duty as a Christian to be able to help others with their doubts, to know how to listen enough but not too much. To discern what the real problem is and not just answer some objection that will lead to further off point discussion. To lead my fellows into responsible behavior, to drag the sinner from the precipice if necessary, is my duty. Guinness prescribes a therapy and wants me to learn it by heart, make it my own, and do it in my own words. Maybe it is just from being an introvert, I could see the value in all this and the claims of responsibility, but I just couldn't latch onto it.

Finally he addresses a couple of widespread doubts both as illustrations and discussion. The first is Keyhole Theology, the inability to suspend judgment when faced with mystery. The second is the inability to wait on God in the presence of (possibly badly formed) action. These can be similar. Acting too fast and judging too early can be related.

The book was helpful and I thank Tom for his concern and insight. Indeed, in the book it says that sometimes the right thing is to refer the doubter to the right book. Indeed.