I usually do these "word of the day" thing on one short post, but this one was a bit too much for me to convey in a short paragraph.
DOUBT (n)
- uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making
- a deliberate suspension of judgment
- state of affairs giving rise to uncertainty, hesitation, or suspense
- a lack of confidence : distrust
- an inclination not to believe or accept
UNBELIEF; DISBELIEF (n)
- incredulity or skepticism especially in matters of religious faith
- mental rejection of something as untrue
- an absence of faith
Now you must be wondering why I chose these two words and why they are defined when it looks like they have the same thing in mind. To be honest, I just had this compelling feeling to do so and I guess the reason is because it made me think on things. Very deep things.
As a man who seeks knowledge and reason fervently and enthusiastically, to see something first hand still holds its place as the best way to gain information. To touch, experience, and witness as a phenomenon occurs makes me hold something as true. Reading about it, knowing that the source is credible and legitimate is another way something can be held as fact.
But what happens when you start to doubt this, when you begin to question it? To question something out of the context that you want to know if something is true or not seems harmless, and to doubt something unless you see it with your own eyes is understandable. Here's where we can set apart doubt from disbelief.
To doubt is to withheld belief until it is experienced and seen, whereas disbelief is the outright negation of believing in something no matter what. And I've seen this a lot lately. Left and right, I see people saying "Where is your god now?" or "If there was such as thing as a god...," and so many more questions that refer to the concept of a higher being that governs the entire cosmos as false and irrational. They attack the beliefs of those who themselves have known to accept it and live their lives as it decrees. But I cannot blame them for doing so, and neither can I say to those who doubt that they have wronged and are in need of reformation.
We are human, and as much as we think that we have control over our lives and how we think we know what is best, we are human. To be human means to be weak, to be erroneous, to be at fault. We are not gods that can rule over every aspect of our lives. We just have enough control over what we can. We can never truly reign over all. Even in terms of faith and belief. Our intellect demands answers, which leads us to question and be skeptical. But to regard something as untrue, false, and illogical, seems to stem from what we have inside of us. It may stem from bitterness towards what we cannot comprehend, or tried to comprehend. We were given the chance to discern for ourselves how we will live our lives, and that much is enough for me understand that to doubt is acceptable.
For when we doubt, we grow. We learn and strengthen the beliefs we once wavered on. Is not a pillar that is about to fall strengthened to the point that it is much stronger than it was before it started to crumble? Wouldn't you rather doubt and grow strong, than to never believe and eventually crumble to dust in the end of it all?
As I end this, I want to quote the minister at the church I attended this Sunday.
"Doubt is a problem of the intellect. The person wants to believe, but has questions.
Unbelief is a problem of the heart. One will never believe, despite what he sees."
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