Asking your "faith" questions isn't "questioning your faith"; it is a process of reinstalling what you believe is genuinely biblically factual and sifting out what shouldn't be present. What is just traditionally my religious practices (e.g., suits in church etc...) and what are indeed the mandates of Jesus.
I have been processing and pondering this question for years now. " What is the difference between discipleship and indoctrination? One of the conclusions I have drawn is the ability to ask and have questions without the consequence of shame (a sign that you may be a part of a cult is the shaming of critical thinking).
Many of us have always been told that "confusion is of the devil" ( I am aware this phase can have a place but stay on track with the context of this post) which is a phrase that is told when someone is in a moment of uncertainty, in the pondering state of inquisitiveness.
It feels as we are standing in the timeline seeing the visual thought processes of this generation and others being awakened out of the lullaby of blind acceptance. Are the things that I am seeing, hearing, believing, doing, etc... the mandates of the Jesus of the Bible or and is it just the bondage of religion or the safety and comfort of familiar transitions.
In the book of Acts, the Bereans had questions and sought truth before they took it to heart even as PAUL was teaching. They literally practiced critical thinking regarding the teaching before they accepted it as true teaching. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit leads us up to the truth and is not afraid of us to have questions; especially when it comes to our modern interpretation and practice of some of the things in the Bible. Again, I am not far removed from hearing preachers and pastors preach with passion and conviction that if you aren't wearing a suit to church, you are dishonoring God and not giving him your best which is completely false and has hindered many people from stepping foot in a church before they literally didn't have the attire.
If you aren't sure about something, ask the questions and take it to the Word. If your pastor is preaching something that you don't understand or even believe, approach them and chat about it. They are shepherds, not dictators (hopefully) and would love the conversation as you pursue truth.
There are and have always been horrible and horrific things done in the name of Christianity that Jesus never endorsed. But how would you know the difference without the right to have questions? "Good" and "God" are only spelled one letter apart. We have all heard that God is good, but indeed not all good things are God. I have been in full-time ministry for well over a decade now and I will be the first to tell you to have loads of questions. This pursuit of truth and the heading of the Holy Spirit has helped me in many ways.
Can we normalize followers of Jesus that love the LORD but values the importance of having questions?
-Timothy McCain
