On Destructive Doubt

On Destructive Doubt
Compared to Fruitful Faith
Scott L. Vanatter, October 1, 2006, August 29, 2007, October 10, 2007, May 15, 2012

Of course, there is such a thing as faith run amok, as well as there is such a thing as a healthy skepticism. (“Trust, but verify.”) Still . . .

I.
Faith creates clarity.
     Doubt causes confusion.

Faith enlightens.
     Doubt darkens.

Faith is light.
     Doubt is dark.

Faith feels.
     Doubt numbs.

Faith joys.
     Doubt fears feelings.

Faith is full.
     Doubt is empty.

Faith fills with beauty.
     Doubt ends in ugliness.

Faith Sings.
     Doubt sorrows.

II.
Faith is assurance; doubt, misgivings.

Faith creates commitment; doubt, discord.

Faith commits; doubt cannot.

Faith fills us with promise; doubt sets limits.

Faith opens new Opportunities and beautiful Vistas.
     Doubt closes doors.

III.
Faith is action.
     Doubt is delay, hesitation, wait, pause, ‘not now’, later.

Faith is believing.
     Doubt is skeptical.

Faith creates confidence.
     Doubt facilitates frustration.

Faith creates conviction; doubt, disbelief.

Faith creates courage.
     Doubt is a nagging fear.

Faith is Do.
     Doubt is Don’t.

Faith is dynamic.
     Doubt is static.

Faith engenders a lively encouragement; doubt, a dulling discouragement.

Faith moves forward.
     Doubt is bogged down.

Faith is freedom.
     Doubt enslaves.

Faith urges onward.
     Doubt causes reservations.

Faith creates a cautious optimism; doubt, a sure failure.

Faith is positive.
     Doubt is negative.

Faith sacrifices.
     Doubt clings.

Faith Overcomes.
     Doubt succumbs.

IV.
Faith is the power to act.
     Doubt is paralysis.

Faith builds up.
     Doubt tears down.

Faith builds respect; doubt, disrespect.

Faith encourages appropriate respect for proper authority.
     Doubt ends in anarchy.

Faith is power.
     Doubt is weakness.

Faith is service.
     Doubt is selfish.

Faith is strength.
     Doubt is feebleness.

Faith is trust.
     Doubt is suspicion.

Faith is truth; doubt, lies.

Faith is Dedication, Devotion, Loyalty.
     Doubt is lonely.

V.
Faith is focused.
     Doubt is vague.

Faith frees.
     Doubt nags.

Faith creates hope; doubt, cynicism.

Faith is filled with Hope.
     Doubt haunts over us.

Faith is inquisitive.
     Doubt never settles.

Faith includes a healthy skepticism, and a searching inquisitiveness.
     Doubt says there can be no answers.

Faith is a steady, dependable Perseverance.
     Doubt is cut and run (in times of trouble).

Faith queries, questions, seeks answers, and wisdom; doubt has qualms about everything.

Faith releases.
     Doubt constrains.

Faith sharpens.
     Doubt dulls.

Faith Preserves the best.
     Doubt destroys hope.

VI.
Faith connects.
     Doubt separates.

Faith is connection.
     Doubt is separation.

Faith is God-centered.
     Doubt is man-oriented.

Faith is Heaven-sent.
     Doubt is earth-bound.

Faith is Holy.
     Doubt is base, regular.

Faith is Now.
     Doubt is never.

Faith is unifying; doubt, dividing.

Faith is Union.
     Doubt is division.

Faith is Unison and Harmony.
     Doubt is divisive.

Faith is Unity.
     Doubt is cacophony.

Faith is Everything.
     Doubt is nothing.

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Anonymous said…

Doubt for me is positive. Doubt caused me to read, to study the origins of the LDS church. Doubt motivated me to check exactly what those with the training and knowledge of Mesoamerican archaeology to find that horses and other animals that are mentioned in the BOM were not in the Americas until the Spaniards arrived.
Doubt led me to examine the Book of Abraham question. The papyri have been translated and nothing to do with Abraham.
I was interested in neuroscience reading such books as The Brain the Changes Itself and Whatever Happened to the Soul:Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature.We do not have any "spirit" proved by both neuroscience and correct interpretation of the various passages in the Bible. So there was no pre-existance. We lie in the ground until the Resurrection.

October 19, 2012

Scott said…

THAT kind of Doubt is (positive). I think of what you describe as a healthy skepticism. I am not describing Doubt, but a Destructive Doubt. As I lay out in the piece. IOW, the path of overemphasizing Doubt to the point of never Believing. To the point where it prevents all Belief. To the point where it is enthroned as the Highest Value. SURELY, we all must all Doubt -- and do it profitably. Being OPEN to Belief. I think you get the picture. I think we agree.

October 20, 2012

"Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance."

Bertrand Russell

October 14, 2014

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