Left and Right is like Faith and Doubt
Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2014 10:03 pm
The way faith is often defined presents a paradox to me. I tire of others saying that one needs faith and no doubts. Yet these scriptures tell me something else.
Now here is the paradox, how does one have faith and no doubt? Faith is not equal to knowledge. If one really knows something, faith is not required. So if one has faith they don't have a knowledge but a belief. It is impossible to have faith without doubt because they are opposite sides of a coin. Both drive us to seek out more knowledge. Faith seeks to be vindicated where doubt seeks to be proven wrong. I've no doubt or faith that there is a sun because I see it and feel it. Now I've never seen or felt Christ so I have faith but I also have doubt because I believe, I don't know. Belief doesn't always turn out to be true. Anybody remember believing in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny? How did that faith or doubt turn out once replaced by knowledge?
Let's say you have a long stick. If I tell you to break off the left end of the stick and only keep the right side, no matter what you try you'll always have a left end. There is no way you can end up with a stick with only a right side or only a left side. Same with faith and doubt. They are opposites that never seem to be rid of each other. So for those of you who don't believe my little spill, how can you have faith and no doubt?
Alma 32:18 wrote:Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.
Alma 32:21 wrote:And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
Hebrews 11:1 wrote:Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Now here is the paradox, how does one have faith and no doubt? Faith is not equal to knowledge. If one really knows something, faith is not required. So if one has faith they don't have a knowledge but a belief. It is impossible to have faith without doubt because they are opposite sides of a coin. Both drive us to seek out more knowledge. Faith seeks to be vindicated where doubt seeks to be proven wrong. I've no doubt or faith that there is a sun because I see it and feel it. Now I've never seen or felt Christ so I have faith but I also have doubt because I believe, I don't know. Belief doesn't always turn out to be true. Anybody remember believing in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny? How did that faith or doubt turn out once replaced by knowledge?
Let's say you have a long stick. If I tell you to break off the left end of the stick and only keep the right side, no matter what you try you'll always have a left end. There is no way you can end up with a stick with only a right side or only a left side. Same with faith and doubt. They are opposites that never seem to be rid of each other. So for those of you who don't believe my little spill, how can you have faith and no doubt?