http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/ articles/news/news.html? in_article_id=460983&in_page_id=1770

I just read this article about Jonathan Edwards loss of faith. It is really sad to see a man whose faith in God has collapsed along with his marriage.

One comment in the article was the most telling for me.

"I don’t claim to fully understand what I am feeling other than to acknowledge that something I never doubted - God - I have huge doubts about now."

He states that he never doubted God and this to me appears to be the beginnings of the problem. Now I have been a Christian for about 2 years and ever since I first noticed God working in me and others I have had doubts about his existance. I have seen God do some amazing things in people and in myself yet occasionally I still have doubts. The bible is full of people who doubt God, Thomas, Abraham (God will give him a child), Moses (God will use him to lead his people out of Egypt) ect. Lots and lots of doubters.

Now, because I experience doubts often, they aren't as crippling. I read my bible, do some research, think over all of the things I think I have seen God do. I look at the world and see how God fits into what I see in my friends and family. I read books, watch films (nearly every book or film a story of good vs evil or redemption), listen to music, most of which if Christian are praising God, or if secular, searching for him. I see the mistakes people make in trying to fill their lifes with someone or something other than God. I see the beauty of creation and the joy it gives to everyone. I see the effect of art, a God given impulse, on people that don't know him and on myself.

It is not a matter of closing my mind to opposing (non-Christian) viewpoints. It may be scary to deal with them at first, but as you get deeper you realise their flaws and assumptions. To be more secure in your faith you need to have knowledge about other views. If you don't deal with them throughout your journey, one may come and cripple you later on. That is why alpha has been such a blessing to me as it has forced me (often uncomfortably) to deal with opposing viewpoint or evidence.

I suggest we pray for Jonathan Edwards that he will come back to God and that his blind-faith with return with opened eyes. We should never fear doubting because we can trust that God will show us the evidence. The very act of doubting and reaffirming our faith brings us closer to Him.