Tag Archive for: Mike Taylor

Why Most People Would Rather Be Right Than Find the Truth

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By Mike Taylor

Can we be honest with each other for a minute and admit that being right feels good?

It makes you feel powerful. When you’re right, it implies that someone else is wrong, which feels like you have a higher social standing than the other person. There’s a moment of elevation that happens in our minds when we feel like we’re right.

Most of the time, the facts don’t matter. We’ll throw out research and data for the sake of feeling right. It doesn’t even necessarily matter if we’re right or not just as long as we feel right.

But why is that?

The Science Behind Why Being Right Feels So Good

When you feel as though you’re right or that you’ve won an argument[i], your brain is flooded with adrenaline and dopamine[ii]. This chemical cocktail causes you to feel like you’re on top of the world. We feel in control, dominant, and powerful. That feeling becomes something we can easily become dependent on for self worth. Before we know it, we’re addicted to being right.

This is why some people poke and prod just to get a reaction out of someone. This is why people jump into an argument on social media to bicker over a point that is essentially meaningless. It’s because they’re addicted to the feeling of being right. And in a world where there are hundreds of micro moments where we can feel right on social media, we find ourselves in a digital buffet of vices that feed our addiction.

This is why the feeling of certainty can also become an addiction. Whenever we feel like what we’re doing is not 100% right or 100% certain, then we start missing our adrenaline and dopamine hits because we’re not feeling like we’re “right”. That’s when we’re likely to switch gears or change directions to find that ever-elusive high.

One study[iii] found that “a rush of dopamine accompanies fresh experiences of any kind.” Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps us feel pleasure, and anytime we find something new or feel like we’ve won an argument, that dopamine makes us feel important and victorious.

So we switch from one fleeting moment of feeling right, certain, and confident for the next exciting moment rather than doing the hard work of digging in, pushing through conflict, and dealing with the friction of uncertainty. And we wonder why we don’t see progress in our personal and professional lives – but it’s because we’ve become addicted to chasing “right” rather than the pursuit of what’s true.

How to Overcome the Addiction to Being Right

The first step to overcome the desire to be right is to understand what’s happening in your brain. Whenever you get into an argument with someone, your body is automatically sending signals to release cortisol, which is your stress hormone. Cortisol causes your thinking, reasoning, and compassionate side of your brain to go off-line.

When this happens, you go into what you’ve probably heard referred to as “fight or flight“ mode. Your body is in “lizard brain” and its only goal is to survive. It’s in that moment that we begin the hunt for dopamine through some sort of victory. That’s why most people’s reaction to conflict is to fight.

But if you can understand and harness how your body responds to conflict, then you can start to put measures into place that keep you from doing something that damages a relationship.

For example, one of the most effective things you can do when you’re in an emotionally charged situation is to take yourself out of that situation momentarily. You have to do what could be referred to as “emotionally sobering up”.

Whenever you’re in conflict, your brain naturally becomes emotionally drunk, and it can literally feel intoxicating to attempt to shut down the other person’s argument. But now that you know what’s happening, you can take a step away, take a breath, and give yourself the space you need to make a reasonable and compassionate choice rather than fighting for a dopamine hit.

An effective way to bring your thinking brain back online is to bring yourself to the present moment. Box breathing techniques[iv] are particularly helpful to bring your mind to the present moment. You can also take notice of the objects around you or start counting your fingers and toes. The goal of this is to engage the part of your brain that thinks rationally and compassionately so your survival-mode lizard brain can take a break.

Another effective way to bring yourself out of your emotions is to simply read something that isn’t emotionally charged. Take 15 minutes and read a boring article about something you’re mildly interested in. Read part of a chapter in that book you’ve been neglecting. Count to 100 backwards while you brush your teeth. Whatever it takes, do not ruminate on the situation, and don’t formulate potential responses.

Ruminating and dwelling on conflict only feeds your brain‘s desire to be right. Then, whenever you see the person you’ve been in conflict with, all of those built-up scenarios and emotions will overflow on them (and not in the way you pictured it in your mind when you were ruminating) and you’ll be right back in the same unhealthy conflict.

Once you’ve given yourself some space and brought your thinking brain back online, start thinking empathetically. In other words, put yourself in the other person’s shoes without defaulting to putting your desires over theirs.

Think about why they’re so adamant about their position. Chances are, they have a good reason. What were their expectations that were not met? What were your expectations that weren’t met? These unmet expectations are at the heart of all of our conflict, so getting down to that will do wonders for driving healthy conversations going forward.

Next time you feel the need to be right, remember it’s probably your brain craving the comfort of another hit of dopamine. Instead of giving into the craving, give yourself room to sober up emotionally, bring yourself back to the present moment so you’re thinking rationally again, then let empathy drive your thinking going forward.

If you do these things, you’ll find that conflict actually becomes productive, the truth becomes more apparent, and everyone will be better off for it – including you.

Footnotes

[i] https://www.mikeptaylor.com/personal-growth/how-to-win-an-argument/

[ii] https://hbr.org/2013/02/break-your-addiction-to-being

[iii] https://brainworldmagazine.com/the-importance-of-novelty/

[iv] https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-box-breathing

Recommended resources related to the topic:

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

What is God Like? Look to the Heavens by Dr. Frank Turek (DVD and Mp4)

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Mike P. Taylor is an author from Nashville, TN who writes at mikeptaylor.com about biblical, practical, and relevant content that re-shape how modern culture understands the goodness of God.​

 

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¿Deben los cristianos perseguir el éxito personal?

Por Mike Taylor

¿Alguna vez has visto la vida de alguien en las redes sociales y te has preguntado cómo puede hacer todo lo que hace? Vemos a personas en Instagram que se toman vacaciones, compran coches, abren negocios, dejan sus trabajos y hacen otras cosas glamurosas, todo ello al mismo tiempo que crían a varios hijos y terminan su máster. O eso parece, al menos.

Y mientras contemplamos su gloriosa vida, no podemos evitar preguntarnos: ¿cómo demonios tienen el tiempo, el dinero y la energía para hacer estas cosas?

Entonces podríamos empezar a preguntarnos: “¿Es vivir una vida centrada en la riqueza material y el éxito personal algo que Dios quiere para nosotros?” Porque parece que la glorificación de la riqueza está en todas partes hoy en día, y los cristianos están a menudo justo en la vanguardia de la locura.

Pero, ¿está bien que los cristianos persigan estas cosas? ¿Está bien que los cristianos busquen el éxito personal y la riqueza material en una sociedad capitalista?

Seamos sencillos. Volvamos a las cosas que necesitamos. Todos necesitamos dos cosas en nuestra vida: comodidad y significado.

Mira la jerarquía de necesidades de Maslow:

> Necesidades fisiológicas (Comida, agua, refugio, etc.) = Comodidad

> Necesidades de seguridad (Seguridad, empleo, recursos, salud, etc.) = Comodidad

> Amor y pertenencia = Importancia

>Estima (Respeto, estatus, reconocimiento, libertad) = Importancia

> Autorrealización (ser lo máximo que se puede ser) = Importancia

En ese contexto, todo lo que perseguimos en la vida se reduce a estas dos categorías tan básicas: comodidad y significado.

De hecho, sólo renunciaremos a una de esas cosas en la medida en que seamos capaces de ganar con la otra. Es una dinámica muy interesante.

Por ejemplo, una persona sólo hará ejercicio (sacrificando la comodidad) si cree que esa actividad le dará más importancia física y mental. Se esforzará mucho en el gimnasio si cree que el trabajo duro y la disciplina le harán más significante .

Lo mismo ocurre con la comodidad. Por lo general, sólo estamos dispuestos a renunciar a la posibilidad de ser significativos si con ello conseguimos una cantidad importante de comodidad. Mucha gente pasa una cantidad desproporcionada de tiempo fuera del trabajo y de otras obligaciones sentado en el sofá comiendo comida chatarra . Todos somos culpables de esto en algún nivel, y la razón por la que lo hacemos es porque, consciente o inconscientemente, estamos tomando la decisión de aceptar la comodidad en lugar de la importancia. Es un compromiso que estamos dispuestos a hacer, nos demos cuenta o no.

Así que, “éxito” es simplemente la abreviatura de más comodidad y significado. Si exploramos lo que significa ser exitoso, encontraremos que todo lo que visualizamos vuelve a estas dos cosas.

Así que la pregunta es: ¿le parece bien a Dios que yo busque más comodidad y significado?

Ni la comodidad ni la importancia son malas. De hecho, yo diría que estamos vivos por estas dos razones. Todas las mejores cosas de estar vivo trae un cierto nivel de comodidad. Si nos sentimos incómodos, y si nos sentimos incómodos sin ninguna razón asociada a una futura ganancia de comodidad o significación, entonces es probable que algo esté mal.

Por ejemplo, si estás experimentando cada vez más molestias en tu espalda en forma de dolor de espalda, probablemente haya algo mal. Lo sabes instintivamente porque no hay un objetivo final de lograr más comodidad o importancia de tu dolor de espalda.

Así que la incomodidad en sí misma no es algo bueno. Sin embargo, tu cuerpo lo sabe y te alarma continuamente utilizando la incomodidad y haciendo que te ocupes de posibles problemas a largo plazo.

Si eres un seguidor de Jesús, entonces todo lo que crees está basado en la comodidad y el significado.

El cielo es consuelo (Apocalipsis 21:4), caminar con Dios aquí en la Tierra trae consuelo (2 Corintios 1:3-4, Salmo 23:4), y ser un hijo de Dios es donde encuentras significado.

Dios nos hizo para encontrar consuelo y significado en Él, y nos guste o no, todo lo que hacemos en nuestras vidas gira en torno a estas dos cosas.

El problema viene cuando perdemos el enfoque en la fuente correcta de estas dos cosas.

Con demasiada frecuencia en nuestras vidas, nos apoyamos en otras fuentes tanto de comodidad como de importancia. Buscamos en nuestros trabajos, en nuestras familias, en nuestro estatus social y en cualquier otra cosa que nos ayude a obtener consuelo e importancia.

El problema es que nada llena el vacío, y las personas que tienen buenas intenciones terminan abandonando sus falsas fuentes de consuelo e importancia sin reemplazarlas nunca con la verdadera fuente. Entonces acabamos creyendo que el consuelo y la importancia son cosas que no están destinadas a nosotros.

No puedo decirles cuántas personas he conocido que viven vidas vacías porque han llegado a creer que la comodidad y la importancia son cosas malas. Y es cierto, cuando se busca la fuente equivocada, son cosas malas. Pero estamos hechos para la comodidad y la importancia.

Piensa en la historia bíblica de la raza humana. En un momento de nuestra historia, teníamos toda la comodidad y la importancia que queríamos. Teníamos todos los recursos a nuestra disposición y toda la autoridad que podíamos pedir. Eso era el jardín del Edén. Excepto que había algo más.

Había una cosa que parecía que podía traer más comodidad y significado, así que lo probamos. Pensamos que si aprendíamos lo suficiente y nos esforzábamos lo suficiente, podríamos ser la fuente de nuestra propia comodidad e importancia. Sin embargo, aquí estamos hoy en día, probando la misma táctica. Ahora no trae comodidad ni importancia duraderas, como no lo hacía antes .

Pero aquí es donde se pone divertido. Una vez que puedes ver e identificar el problema, realmente tienes una oportunidad de resolverlo. Una vez que sepas que la intención de Dios es que tengas consuelo e importancia, ahora sabes qué vacío llenar. Ahora sabes qué batalla librar.

La verdad es que el éxito no es algo que deba temerse . No todos los sueños en tu corazón son cosas que hay que reprimir . No siempre es el orgullo y no siempre es el enemigo el que intenta destruir tu vida a través de las aspiraciones.

Estás vivo para un propósito, y ese propósito puede y debe traerte frases de comodidad e importancia (es decir, éxito). Si podemos aprender a luchar la batalla dentro de nosotros mismos – la batalla de tratar de ganar comodidad e importancia por nuestra cuenta en lugar de sacarlos de Dios – entonces hemos aprendido a luchar la única batalla que vale la pena luchar, la batalla de la fe.

La fe por la que tú y yo luchamos es la creencia de que la comodidad y la importancia provienen de una fuente superior y no de nuestras propias capacidades de logro. Así que no rehuyas el éxito. El éxito es sólo una abreviatura de la comodidad y la importancia, y Dios tenía toda la intención de que tuvieras éxito.

En lugar de ver el éxito como algo que hay que evitar, míralo como lo que es: un regalo de tu Padre. Una vez que te des cuenta de eso, entonces encontrarás una gratitud y una plenitud crecientes que, francamente, sólo provienen de ver el éxito. Si te ves a ti mismo como una persona humilde cuyo trabajo es renunciar a todo lo bueno en favor de la abnegación, entonces ¿qué tienes que agradecer? ¿Cómo estás sabiendo y viendo que el Señor es bueno? (Salmo 34:8)

Dios promete prosperidad a su pueblo cuando lo escucha y lo sigue (Salmo 1:1-3, Levítico 26). Jesús dijo: “Pero buscad primero su reino y su justicia, y todas estas cosas os serán añadidas”(LBLA). Dijo “todas” estas cosas – no el mínimo de estas cosas. Dios no quiere que vivas una vida desesperada. De hecho, lo diré de esta manera: Dios quiere que lo tengas todo, sólo que no quiere que todo te tenga a ti.

Así que no debemos huir del éxito, y ciertamente no debemos hablar en contra de los que tienen éxito. Eclesiastés 10:20 dice: “Ni aun en tu recámara maldigas al rey, ni en tus alcobas maldigas al rico,” (LBLA). En cambio, como dijo Jesús, “usad las riquezas mundanas para ganaros amigos, de modo que cuando se acaben, seáis bienvenidos a las moradas eternas.” Usa el éxito como una herramienta para influir en Dios.

El éxito es una lupa – te hace más de lo que ya eres. Y si me preguntas, el mundo necesita más personas exitosas con el corazón de Cristo.

 

Recursos recomendados en Español: 

Robándole a Dios (tapa blanda), (Guía de estudio para el profesor) y (Guía de estudio del estudiante) por el Dr. Frank Turek

Por qué no tengo suficiente fe para ser un ateo (serie de DVD completa), (Manual de trabajo del profesor) y (Manual del estudiante) del Dr. Frank Turek  

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Fuente Original del blog: https://bit.ly/3wjpSwV 

Traducido por Jennifer Chavez 

Editado por Monica Pirateque 

 

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Should Christians Pursue Personal Success?

Should Christians Pursue Personal Success?

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By Mike Taylor

Have you ever found yourself looking at someone else’s life on social media and wondering how they’re able to do all that they do? We see people on Instagram taking vacations, buying cars, starting businesses, quitting their jobs, and doing other glamorous things all while simultaneously raising multiple kids and finishing their Master’s degree. Or so it seems, at least.

And as we take in their glorious life, we can’t help but wonder: how on earth do they have the time and money and energy to do these things?

Then we might start to wonder, “Is living a life focused on material wealth and personal success something God wants for us?” Because it feels like the glorification of wealth is everywhere we look nowadays, and Christians are often right at the forefront of the madness.

But is it okay for Christians to pursue these things? Is it okay for Christians to pursue personal success and material wealth in a capitalistic society?

Let’s keep it simple. Let’s go back to the things we need. We all need two things in our life: comfort and significance.

Look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

  • Physiological needs (Food, water, shelter, etc.) = Comfort
  • Safety needs (Security, employment, resources, health, etc.) = Comfort
  • Love and belonging = Significance
  • Esteem (Respect, status, recognition, freedom) = Significance
  • Self-actualization (being the most you can be) = Significance

In that context, everything we pursue in life comes down to these two very basic categories: comfort and significance.

In fact, we will only give up one of those things inasmuch as we are able to gain from the other. It’s a very interesting dynamic.

For example, a person will only exercise (sacrificing comfort) if they believe that such an activity will give them more physical and mental significance. They’ll push themselves pretty hard in the gym if they believe that hard work and discipline will make them more significant.

The same is true of comfort. We’re typically only willing to give up the chance at being significant if it gains us a significant amount of comfort. Plenty of people spend a disproportionate amount of time outside of work and other obligations sitting on a couch eating junk food. We’re all guilty of this on some level, and the reason we do it is because we are, either consciously or unconsciously, making a decision to accept comfort in the place of significance. It’s a tradeoff we’re willing to make whether we realize it or not.

So, then, “success” is simply shorthand for more comfort and significance. If we explore what it means to be successful, we’ll find that everything we envision comes back to these two things.

So the question is: is God okay with me pursuing more comfort and significance?

Neither comfort nor significance is bad. In fact, I would argue that we are alive for these two reasons. All the best things about being alive bring some level of comfort. If we are uncomfortable, and if we are uncomfortable for no reason associated with future gain of comfort or significance, then something is probably wrong.

For example, if you’re experiencing increasing levels of discomfort in your back in the form of back pain, there’s probably something wrong. You instinctively know that because there is no end goal of achieving more comfort or significance from your back pain.

So discomfort in and of itself is not a good thing. Yet your body knows that and continually alarms you using discomfort and causing you to address potential long-term problems.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then everything you believe is based on comfort and significance.

Heaven is comfort (Revelation 21:4), walking with God here on Earth brings comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 23:4), and being a child of God is where you find significance.

God made us to find comfort and significance in him, and like it or not, everything we do in our lives revolves around these two things.

The problem comes in when we lose focus on the right source of these two things.

Too often in our lives, we lean on other sources of both comfort and significance. We look to our jobs, our families, our social status, and any other number of things to help us gain comfort and significance.

The problem is, nothing ever fills the void, and people who mean well end up abandoning their false sources of comfort and significance without ever replacing those sources with the true source. Then we end up believing that comfort and significance are things that aren’t meant for us.

I cannot tell you how many people I’ve come across who live empty lives because they’ve come to believe that comfort and significance are bad things. And it’s true, when you’re reaching for the wrong source, they are bad things. But we were made for comfort and significance.

Think about the biblical history of the human race. At one point in our history, we had all the comfort and significance we wanted. We had every resource at our disposal and all the authority we could ever ask for. That was the garden of Eden. Except there was more.

There was one thing that seemed as if it could bring more comfort and significance, so we tried it out. We thought that if we just learned enough and tried hard enough then we could be the source of our own comfort and significance. Yet here we are today still trying the same tactics. It doesn’t bring lasting comfort or significance now just like it didn’t then.

But here’s where it gets fun. Once you can see and identify the problem, you actually have a chance at resolving it. Once you know that God intends for you to have comfort and significance, now you know what void to fill. Now you know what battle to fight.

The truth is, success is not something to be feared. Not all dreams in your heart are not things to be stifled. It’s not always pride and it’s not always the enemy trying to destroy your life through aspirations.

You’re alive for a purpose, and that purpose can and should bring you sentence comfort and significance (i.e., success). If we can learn to fight the battle within ourselves – the battle of trying to gain comfort and significance on our own instead of pulling them from God – then we’ve learned to fight the only battle worth fighting, the fight of faith.

The faith you and I are fighting for is the belief that comfort and significance come from a higher source and not from our own abilities to achieve. So don’t shy away from success. Success is just shorthand for comfort and significance, and God had every intention of making you successful.

Instead of seeing success as something to shun, see it for what it is – a gift from your Father. Once you realize that, then you’ll find increasing gratitude and fulfillment that, frankly, only come from seeing success. If you see yourself as a lowly person whose job it is to give up everything good for the sake of self-denial, then what do you have to be grateful for? How are you tasting and seeing that the Lord is good? (Psalm 34:8)

God promises prosperity for his people when they listen and follow him (Psalm 1:1-3, Leviticus 26). Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He said “all” these things – not the bare minimum of these things. God doesn’t want you to live a life in despair. In fact, I’ll say it this way: God wants you to have it all, he just doesn’t want it all to have you.

So we shouldn’t shun success, and we certainly shouldn’t speak against those who have success. Ecclesiastes 10:20 says, “Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom.” Instead, like Jesus said, “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Use success as a tool for godly influence.

Success is a magnifying glass – it makes you more of what you already are. And if you ask me, the world needs more successful Christ-hearted people.

Recommended resources related to the topic:

Counter Culture Christian: Is the Bible True? by Frank Turek (Mp3), (Mp4), and (DVD)

Counter Culture Christian: Is There Truth in Religion? (DVD) by Frank Turek

Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace (Book)

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Mike P. Taylor is an author from Nashville, TN who writes at mikeptaylor.com about biblical, practical, and relevant content that re-shape how modern culture understands the goodness of God.

 

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Why Most Doubts About God Are Emotional, Not Intellectual (Part II)

Why Most Doubts About God Are Emotional, Not Intellectual (Part II)

By Mike Taylor

How to Deal with Emotional Doubt

Most of the time in our lives, it’s not the facts of the situations around us that are important; it’s how we process those facts. Similarly, the worst kind of a pain in our lives is not from what happens to us but how we download it or process it.

For people dealing with emotional doubt, when something bad happens, they give themselves permission to let those events determine why they have problems. However, beliefs (i.e., the way we download information) are the things that stand between those events that happen to us and the consequences that come from them.

Events alone rarely cause all the consequences we experience. Events plus negative or detrimental beliefs about those events often cause excessive consequences. So, when we say negative things to ourselves about things that matter to us – things like “What if God doesn’t really love me?” – it’s important to refute those thoughts with “That’s not true because…” It’s all about how you talk to yourself about the events in your life because most of us lie to ourselves without even realizing it. 

Here are a couple of simple steps to dealing with this type of emotionally-driven thought pattern:

1. Locate the misbelief

Usually, there’s a primary and secondary misbelief. You might tell yourself something that’s untrue, but there’s usually a deeper lie about life beneath that. As yourself, “Why do I have a hard time believing this?” or, “Why does this seem so unlikely to me?” Don’t just shut down the idea of trusting God because it’s difficult to believe. Be willing to explore your reasons for not believing.

For example, for many people, distrust is bred over time as a result of painful situations such as abandonment, neglect, abuse, or some other type of emotional damage we experience. When those negative memories and thought patterns are left unchecked, they can create in us a mindset that people are not to be trusted. As subtle as it may be in us when we approach evidence for God with this distrusting mindset as our basis, no amount of factual evidence is going to break through our barrier. It’s only by moving to step two that we can take a truly unbiased look at evidence for God.

2. Remove and replace

Once you’ve identified the root of the emotional doubt, it’s important to confront those doubts with empirical truth – truth that can be verified through observation and experiences (i.e., the resurrection of Jesus, the goodness of God as evident in creation, etc.).

The best way to do this is to simply remind yourself, “That’s not true because…” Replace the misbelief with an evidence-based truth. Change your perspective and choose to see things from a neutral perspective instead of from the negative, misleading perspective. After all, most emotional doubters are anxious doubters. They’re being anxious or obsessive-compulsive by doubting. It’s not a rational issue they’re dealing with.

It’s important to address emotional doubts because if you allow yourself to be dominated by your emotions rather than what’s true, eventually, you’re at risk of simply giving up and completely turning off to God. That’s what Dr. Habermas calls volitional doubt.

Volitional doubt describes people who know Christianity is true, but they’re typically mad at God, and they’ve turned away from God completely. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but it’s a matter of the will. It’s an unwillingness to believe despite known truth. God loves you enough to give you freedom, and using that freedom to walk away from Him is the one thing He can’t save you from – not because He isn’t able, but because He loves you too much to force you to be with Him if you don’t want to.

The good news is, you’re in control of your doubts. You get to decide what to do with them and how to manage them. Remember that the most damage that occurs in our lives is not from what happens to us but how we process it. So, understanding the necessary facts is key, but then reminding yourself of those facts in negative situations is also vital. After all, the facts about God don’t change just because your circumstances change.

This is where faith comes in.

In Scripture, the word for “hope” refers to a grounded hope, not a hope in something you don’t know about. That hope comes from faith that is grounded in facts.

Faith does what reason can’t do. Faith says, “This can be trusted.”

Faith says, “Quit asking ‘what if’ about stupid questions when you already have good answers. Reason says, “Here are good responses.” Faith says, “Those are good enough. You can trust those. Walk-in it.” Faith comes along and says that belief is warranted.

Faith is trusting the evidence. It’s okay to keep studying to build on good answers, but not because you have to keep answering the same question every day.

You have to train the habit of faith. Learn the art of learning enough and then letting go. And faith is not going to stay there if you ignore it. That’s why people who follow Jesus read the Bible, worship, fellowship with other Christians, etc. because it reinforces our faith when we hang around people who don’t think they have to answer the same questions every day.

Remember: The gospel is the most important message in the Bible, and it’s the one doctrine that is the most supported by evidence. In other words, God put the most evidence for the most important thing we need to know. 

So, minimize the importance you place on periphery issues. It will save you a lot of stress and wasted time. Look to answer the most important central doctrines:

  • Jesus is the Son of God.
  • Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
  • Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

Then, if that’s not working and something is still nagging at you, and you’re in pain, then you’re probably experiencing emotional doubt.

You can read the first part here.

[This article was an adaptation from my book Grounded Faith for Practical People. You can download it for free at MikePTaylor.net]

Recommended resources related to the topic:

Doubt by Gary Habermas (DVD) 

Emotional Doubt by Gary Habermas (CD)

 

Mike Taylor is an author and speaker who communicates God’s love to a new generation in a way that makes sense. His book Grounded Faith for Practical People addresses some of the most difficult questions about Christianity and simplifies them in a visual format that makes it easy to understand and share. You can download his book for free at MikePTaylor.net and follow him on Instagram @mikephilliptaylor.

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Why Most Doubts About God Are Emotional, Not Intellectual (Part I)

Why Most Doubts About God Are Emotional, Not Intellectual (Part I)

By Mike Taylor

If we’re honest, we would all admit that we have doubts about God to some degree or another. I mean, on some level, it almost feels like human nature to resist fully trusting anything. We doubt ourselves, we doubt other people, and more than anything, we doubt God.

Doubt is normal. No matter who you are, you’re going to have doubts. Even biblical heroes such as Job, Abraham, David, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Thomas, and Paul had doubts about God. But for some reason, too many of us think that doubts should be avoided.

I think we get the idea that doubt is bad from a misapplication of Scripture. In Matthew 21:21, Jesus said we should pray without doubt, and incredible things will happen. So doubt must be bad, right? But the point Jesus is making is that faith is all or nothing. We either trust God, or we don’t; there is no in-between. 

We can’t half-trust someone. I can trust a complete stranger to make my food at a restaurant, but I won’t leave my children with them. I doubt them in important things, but I can trust them with small things. That’s what Jesus was saying – that we must have faith like that of a mustard seed. He said, “it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree…” (Matthew 13:32) 

It’s only by exploring and pressing into doubts that you can take the necessary small steps of faith. After all, if you only explored the things that made you feel comfortable, you would never need to trust God.

So doubts aren’t bad, and they aren’t a sin. They can actually be beneficial if we address them properly. But how do we know how to deal with doubts when they come? Because if you don’t know what to do with doubts, you’ll end up going back and forth between the latest trends and ideas.

In order to healthily and effectively deal with doubts, we must start by knowing where our doubts are coming from. Otherwise, we’ll try addressing them the wrong way without ever knowing the source.

3 Types of Doubt

In his book The Thomas Factor, Dr. Gary Habermas says there are three types of doubt: factual doubt, emotional doubt, and volitional doubt.

These categories are largely self-explanatory: Factual doubt is doubt caused by a lack of information or evidence, emotional doubt is doubt rooted in some sort of emotional pain and resulting distrust, and volitional doubt is basically an unwillingness to believe or to apply known truths. The first is a matter of the mind, the second is a matter of the heart, and the third is a matter of the will.

According to Dr. Habermas, most people doubt for emotional reasons, and only about 15% of doubts are factual. Because of this, doubts are almost never remedied by information alone. Sure, dealing with factual doubts is important, but there’s more than enough evidence to get you past those doubts. In other words, good answers are necessary, but not sufficient. They simply serve as the foundation for faith.

According to Habermas, emotional doubt is the most painful, but it’s the least serious. In fact, emotional doubt is the only doubt that comes with pain. Factual doubt and volitional doubt don’t hurt, but emotional doubt does. Emotional doubters know the facts; they just have a hard time believing them due to an emotional view of the facts. They might think it’s too good to be true, or they might obsess over all the “what if’s” that they ultimately can’t answer anyway.

When you have the facts of a situation, but you still struggle with doubt, there’s probably an emotional, anxious, or obsessive cause to those doubts.

Emotional doubters usually ask similar questions to factual doubters, but they ask for different reasons. 

For example, they might both ask for evidence of the resurrection, but one is genuinely looking for facts they don’t have, and the other is asking because they’re really wondering if it could be possible to be wrong.

Habermas says that one common characteristic of emotional doubt is when a question starts with “What if…”. The person asking a question like that probably knows the evidence, but they often wonder things like, “What if we’re wrong?”

But you could turn that around and say, “Do you have any reason to think we’re wrong?” People with emotional doubt tend to have general “what if” questions without evidence behind it. Their doubt is painful. 

They might say things like, “It would be horrible to be wrong.” They might have fears about Jesus saying He never knew them or that they might still go to hell even though they’re saved. They might also obsess over questions like, “How do I know if I love God?” and other questions that can’t be backed by evidence.

Dr. Habermas says emotional doubters might include people who keep getting saved because they doubt their salvation. They just “know” they’re not saved even though they believe the gospel. It’s an emotional response to the data.

Another example of emotional doubt might be someone who has no problem believing that God exists, but emotionally they can’t come to grips with why God would allow evil to come into their lives. They’ve seen the facts, and the facts make sense, but they let their emotions dictate what they’re willing to believe.

The emotional doubter might say, “But what about hell? What is it, and who goes there? And how can it exist with a loving God?” These are questions that go beyond available human knowledge and therefore require faith.

This type of person has moved past the intellectual stage of doubting and into emotional doubting. They see the world the way it is, they’ve heard the explanation of why it is that way, yet they don’t want to believe it because of their emotions and past pain.

Let’s look at a couple of ways to overcome this type of doubt on the next part of this mini-series of Why Most Doubts About God Are Emotional, Not Intellectual.

[This article was an adaptation from my book Grounded Faith for Practical People. You can download it for free at MikePTaylor.net]

Recommended resources related to the topic:

Doubt by Gary Habermas (DVD) 

Emotional Doubt by Gary Habermas (CD)

 

Mike Taylor is an author and speaker who communicates God’s love to a new generation in a way that makes sense. His book Grounded Faith for Practical People addresses some of the most difficult questions about Christianity and simplifies them in a visual format that makes it easy to understand and share. You can download his book for free at MikePTaylor.net and follow him on Instagram @mikephilliptaylor.

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