The Question of Questioning Faith

I never cease to be amazed by the diversity of religious experiences I encounter among young people. Some of them have little if any contact with their spirituality, pushing it aside because it interferes with what the world tells them. Others are very in tune, but still in danger of letting their piousness become arrogance. In the middle are those who are agonizing over whether or not to ask the most important question of their lives: "Does God exist?". I say that they are agonizing over whether or not to ask the question because deciding first is there is a question to answer will determine what path you will take. If you decide that there isn't a question because God doesn't exist then you have already chosen the path of least resistance. You have stopped before you even started. Yet if you decide that there is a question and that you are unsure of the answer then you are ahead of the game than even many devout followers of religion.

Questioning our faith in God is not only natural but necessary. It is through asking questions about who God is, what role he has our lives, and how we feel about him that we come to understand if just a little what life is all about. I myself am glad that I questioned my childhood faith while in college because it helped me tear down the extraneous structures built around my faith and left me with the most important component of all: Christ.  I discovered that Jesus Christ is at the center, and that if he isn't then I am off the path on which God wants me to be.

This stream of consciousness has come about after a discussion with a student. I was given the opportunity to ask them questions about their faith, about who they thought God was, and what that meant for her. She surprised me by being so frank. She told me that she wasn't sure if God existed. She wondered if she believed only because others believed and that her faith wasn't genuine. I told her that she was very wise for her age. I told her that it was important to question her faith and that doing so was not offensive to God. In fact, it gave her an amazing opportunity to draw closer to God in a personal way that was closer than she had ever experienced. I encouraged her to pray more, to listen closer at the mass, and to listen more than anything to what God was placing on her heart.

I think she appreciated the talk and how honest I was about my own doubts. Raising children in this world is difficult. We wonder how we are to grow their faith when it seems so fall. But we must remember that the kingdom of God belongs to the little children. Their faith may be child-like but it is by no means small.  My sincere prayer is that we will draw closer to God by asking him to draw closer to us. Our souls are meant for him and we must strive to open them a little more each day.