The Positive Side of Doubting God

Someone recently asked me if I had any advice on how to help teens who are pushing back against faith or having doubts about God . In 20+ years of Youth Ministry, I have actually dealt with questions of faith and doubt quite a bit, as you would imagine.  There are a couple simple guidelines I keep in mind as I talk to teens about these issues.  Most of these are probably second nature for most of us, but I do find it helpful to give myself reminders.  I may have encountered these multiple times, but for the kids we work with, it is likely the first time for all of them.

1.      Questioning faith is a natural part of growth – Teens push back against everything at some point, trying to decide what they will hold to or adopt as their own.  This is a vital, important part of the developmental process.  We should welcome the questions and encourage them to ask them.  If they don’t feel comfortable asking or talking about them, they will likely believe they are alone in their doubts or begin to distrust the faithful adults around them.

       Teens need to be reminded that God is not afraid of their questions, or bothered by them – He welcomes them.  If God is real, he certainly is not afraid of us questioning his existence.  Our questioning him will not make him weak or cause him to no longer exist. If we are afraid to talk about these kinds of questions – Does God exist? – Is God good? – etc. it tends to put God in the same categories as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny in the minds of teens.  “If adults can’t reason with me about the existence of God, perhaps it is because deep down they can’t make a good case for him really existing.”

3.      Teens need permission to live in the tension between faith and proof. There are a host of great resources which talk about whether faith in God is reasonable or event defensible, but the bottom line is that no evidence will prove beyond any doubt that God is, and that He is good.  God has designed us with minds and intellect and emotion all rolled up together so that we can find him through evidence AND faith. 

Below are some of the best resources I have found to help kids dealing with these issues:

Lee Strobel has done a great job of putting the basic questions and arguments together in a way that is easy to read and understand while also being engaging to teens.  These are good starting places for the discussion with teens who are truly interested in reading and talking about these issues.  I have used them with middle school and high school kids. Read them for yourself. You will get through them quickly. Then you can glean what you need to share or decide whether to hand them off to teens as a challenge to study and think for themselves.

The Case for Christ

The Case for Faith

The Case for the Creator

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller is a more detailed and insightful search of these questions. For some teens, the Strobel material may seem too simplistic.  Keller is a more difficult read , but I have had juniors or seniors really love this book and find it helpful.

Blessings - and embrace all the questions!

Jack