The role of doubt in faith

Two-thirds of self-reported Christians say they’ve struggled or are currently struggling with doubt. So why do some modern evangelicals speak about God with such certainty? And what can we all learn – religious or not – from the practice of staying curious?

Those are questions pastor and author Stephanie Williams O’Brien wrestled with herself. She chronicled the role doubt played in making her own faith vibrant in her new book, “Stay Curious.”

“Most of us are going through the motions … either believing we’ve found all the relevant answers to life’s questions or believing none can be found,” she said. “We shy away from our deepest questions about God because we fear the uncertainty on the other side. But when we make certainty and correct belief the end goal of our faith, we miss out.”

Tuesday, O’Brien joined Kerri Miller in the studio to talk about how curiosity resurrected her faith to be something that’s more questioning than certainty – and she has tips for how we can let doubt animate our journeys, no matter where we are on life’s path.

Guest:

• Stephanie Williams O’Brien, pastor at Mill City Church in Minneapolis and author of the new book “Stay Curious: How Questions and Doubt Can Save Your Faith.”

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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